Monday MAME Club [02/22/05] - Combatribes

[Flack]

I ran into a few technical difficulties this week so we're a couple of days late, but there's still plenty of time left in the week to enjoy this beat em up classic!

Welcome to this week's Monday Morning MAME Club Posting. Every Monday, a member of the MAME club will pick a new game for you to play in MAME! All you have to do to participate is install MAME, download the ROM of the week from this message, and then post your thoughts about the game! You can post a full review of the game or simply tell us what you liked/didn't like about the game. Have you played this game before? Have you played it in an actual arcade? Do you like the genre? How did it run on your computer? Did you beat it? If so, how long did it take? What was your high score? How far can you get? Did you have any problems emulating the game? When writing your review, post it right here in the sticky topic and include any thoughts you have about the game. Remember, YOU are the reviewer. Let us know anything and everything you think about the game! Just remember, if you want people to respond during YOUR week, you should play along on OTHER weeks!

The ROM of the week is: Combatribes (available HERE (http://members.cox.net/flack/ctribe.zip)!)
KLOV Link for the game: HERE (http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?letter=&game_id=7374)

Club Members:

digitalpress (Battle Bakraid)
Gamereviewgod (ESP Ra.De.)
Wisesalesman (Waku Waku 7)
scooterb23 (I'm Sorry)
ddockery (Penguin-Kun Wars)
AlanD (Dr. Micro)
IntvGene (Strike Force)
NE146 (Portman)
jonjandran (Bronze Adventure)
Flack (Rollergames, Yie-Ar Kung-Fu, Liquid Kids, Ninja Clowns, Great 1000 Mile Rally)
IGotTheDot (N/A)
zektor (Battle Bakraid, Haunted Castle)
buttasuperb (Blazing Star)
chadtower (Berkerk)
Sotenga (Caliber 50)
Stark (Mighty! Pang)
christianscott27 (Darius Gaiden)
ECWSandmanECW (League Bowling)
TripppsK (Lady Bug)
vespertillio (Rampart!)
<s>ghsqb</s>
TheSmirk (Bomb Jack)
Flukkake (Elevator Action)
BHvrd (NARC)
ManekiNeko (Battle Circuit)
MarioAllStar2600 (City Bomber)
Ze_ro (Pandora's Palace)
slip81 (Biomechanical Toy)
Qbert (Mysterious Stones)
k8track (Go! Go! Mile Smile)
<s>Hamsnibit</s>
Lady Jaye (Chuka Taisen/Cloud Master)
Sofa King Gud (Crossbow)
Schenley (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom)
Kaine23 (Super Burgertime)
Arqueologia_Digital (Burgertime)
Jiscan (Withdrew)
-hellvin- (Splatterhouse)
Acidic_Pain (Armed Police Batrider)
Gamemaster_ca_2003 (Block Out)
Vigilante (Pu-Li-Ru-La)
Hovoc (D&D: Shadow Over Mystara)
<s>Mr.FoodMonster</s>
sniperCCJVQ (WWF Superstars)
A Boy (Satan's Hollow)
JibbaJaba (Solomon's Key)
Cauterize (The Simpsons)
youruglyclone (Vendetta)
Ed Oscuro (Alligator Hunt)
Gapporin (Daisu-Kiss)
Graham Mitchell (Ataxx)
RockyRaccoon (19xx: The War Against Destiny)
XxMe2NiKxX (Raiden II)
<s>brykasch</s>
Xtasy (Metal Slug 2)
DJ_DEEM (G.I. Joe)
The_EniGma (The Punisher)
!!! DaBargainHunta (Combatribes) !!!
cr0n0
Promophile
Cirrus
Stargate
phantomfriar
GobopopRevisited
soniko_karuto
kevates
Lothars

Remember, you don't have to be a member of the club to download the game and write up a review, but by joining you get the honor of picking a game to share with the group during your week. If you would like to join, simply send me a PM and I will add you to the list!

MAME ON!

[DaBargainHunta]

Since this is my week and my pick, I may as well kick things off.

I discovered Combatribes in an arcade years ago (okay, it was really Wal-Mart :D), and I was blown away by the detailed art style and cool moves (i.e. smashing two enemies' heads together, throwing an enemy into another enemy, etc.). 15 years later (man, I can't believe it's been that long), the graphics are still as beautiful as ever and the gameplay still holds up.

All too often, the main criticism of post Double Dragon/Final Fight era beat-em-ups is that they didn't add anything new to the genre, but I think Combatribes did with its innovative moves and breathtaking art direction. Despite that, this game has never really gotten the recognition or respect it deserves (an SNES port didn't do much to make it more well known or recognized). Perhaps this genre was a passing fad by the time Combatribes came out? In any case, this is one of the first games I downloaded for MAME and it's an absolute must for any beat-em-up fan.

[Gamereviewgod]

Combatribes is a classic in my book. The sheer variety of moves makes it a worthwhile playthrough. I agree with the graphics compliment. The animation isn't terribly good, but considering how many spites the hardware can handle, it's a fair trade off.

Interesting note, the oddball beat-em-up Mug Smashers (playable in MAME) uses the same soundtrack. I firmly believe the SNES version is admirable, losing very little in the translation and actually adding a 1-on-1 mode to make up for the lack of stages.

Here's my full review here on the site:

http://www.digitpress.com/reviews/combatribes.htm

[cr0n0]

This game brought back memories of when going to the arcades actually meant something(at least to me). I played this game once (really) when it came out originally, so I got a kick out of it when I played it again today. The graphics on this game are nice and VERY colorful. They remind me of the Amiga32 games (or Turrican). The animation is nice too, with the lead character having a good amount of fighting moves at his disposal. My favorites where bashing the guy's head into the pavement and getting two people and ramming their head together. I absolutely LOVE the fact that once your opponent goes down, you don't have to wait for him to get up to continue the punishment (play the game and you'll see what I mean). The enemies are also diversed in appearance. You don't have to look at the same freaking bad guy stage after stage, since they change with every one of them. That was one thing wrong with fighting games back then. The ending really took a twist and I won't spoil it for anyone here. It's a doozy.

The only probelms I had where that the levels consisted of one long screen and the controls for the character. No moves to hit the guy behind you?? What's up with that? Double Dragon had the elbow move and Streets of Rage I think had a headbutt ( I think), but I found myself surrounded too many times getting the bejesus beaten out of me. I will stop here cause my hands cramping up....except to complain about the Indian boss. That guy went Chuckie on me like there was no tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! @_@

[stargate]

the game really looks great. I may have seen this one back in the day, but don't rememebr playing it. anyway, as noted above, the colors are amazing. the locations are also really cool. I love the Disney Land-esque stage with the clowns.

MInor complaints. You can't jump and no weapons to use. Other than this it is fun to play and definitely adds something to the genre.

[scooterb23]

*REVIEW BASED ON MY FIRST PLAY EVER*

I couldn't really get into this one. It looks really nice for a beat 'em up, but without consistent jumping, and without weapons (except for motorcycles...you can pick up the motorcycles, but chains aren't allowed, although your opponents can use planks of wood??) it felt like a step back in the genre overall.

[Sotenga]

I'm always up for mindless beat-em-upping, and this game justifies both the mindlessness and the beat-em-uppingness.

(Goddammit. If I had an English major, I'd severely punish myself.)

Anyway, I felt the controls to be a bit sluggish and the variety slightly lacking, but the Combatribes is still a great game in my book. It's like Double Dragon, but with even MORE bad haircuts! :D

[soniko_karuto]

I can say that i've only played this one about 2 or 3 times, on the arcades, and yes, it seems kinda choppy at the start, but if you get another person to play, iy turns instantly into a very very very fun game. The game mechanics are the usual. Music is kinda annoying for me though.

This game gets a 7 on my arcadegame-o-meter. :)

[Hamsnibit]

This game is kinda sluggish and not a good variety of moves, it's pretty typical for the type of game for that time period, but there are definately better ones.