[REVIEW] Rush Bros.

Marcus Estrada 
(PC [REVIEWED])

Rhythm games have seen awesome resurgences over time. Initially, rhythm and music games were all about hitting some sort of button in time with the music. Even more modern successes, such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band, capitalized on the simple formula. In the last decade, though, we’ve seen developers trying to create new ways to interact with music. Titles such as Audiosurf, Beat Hazard, and the Bit.Trip series have shown that rhythm can be infused into a multitude of genres.

Rush Bros. is one such attempt to create a musical platformer. In the game, players assume the role of one of two DJ brothers. They’ve involved themselves in a contest to see which sibling can complete levels first, which means your main goal is to finish each area as quickly as possible. Thankfully, unlike some other timed games, you can never run out of time. It is on you to whittle away times to climb the leaderboards.

Aside from the introduction, there’s no focus on story. It just seems to exist to explain why your characters are DJs and why the game revolves around music. Songs are integral to each level, but not in any way that rhythm/music fans may be accustomed to. Each level always retains its shape and is therefore not randomized. The only facets that change are moving elements which tend to be platforms, sound waves, or a variety of objects that will kill you instantly.

These aren’t enemies, as they can’t follow you around the level. Instead they’re relegated to pendulums, spikes protruding from walls, lasers, and a few other things. You might think it would be easy to avoid static parts of the environment, but you’d be wrong. It will become a very common event to misjudge a jump, or time movements wrong. Objects move to the beat of the music pretty accurately, but this causes trouble when a song ends — as the objects cease movement temporarily.

A rhythm game lives or dies by its music and, thankfully, Rush Bros. has a nice soundtrack. The included songs come provided by electronica group Infected Mushroom. Their tracks sound great, but are basically all of one genre. Those who have grown accustomed to games with more eclectic soundtracks may at first be disappointed. At least, until they realize that you can also fill the game with your own MP3 or OGG files.

Users can simply point the game to their music directory of choice and have the songs fed into the game. It syncs well with most songs, fast or slow, and still manages to keep obstacles fair. For example, blasting a song with 300+ BPM will not cause the obstacles to move at a blistering pace, even though the song is incredibly lively. There is no limit to the amount of tracks that can be added to the game.

The only problem with this is that there is little explanation as to how to do it. The whole song interface is fairly weird and leaves users having to figure it out themselves. For example, the same song may play time and time again until you realize you can switch it to something else from the level select menu. When using your own music, larger libraries are a pain to manage due to lack of control. You can’t sort through multiple folders. Instead, you can simply click through each and every track one at a time until you hopefully stumble upon the one you want to try. Also, every time you start the game up it will revert back to the official soundtrack rather than the ones you have selected from your own library.

The game feels a lot like the “harder” platformers that indie developers seem to be so fond of. Players can jump, cling to, and slide down walls, as well as collect two temporary power ups. These include the ability to double jump and run faster. About half the levels aren’t too hard, but others turn out to be fairly puzzling. Many levels involve finding keys to open doors, and sometimes these are hidden well off in the distance. Overall, the game should give you three to five hours of play through every level.

Also included in Rush Bros. are local and online multiplayer modes. Local is handled via split screen and has you racing through a level against the other player. It’s basically the same as the main game, except that you’ll be more driven to finish levels expediently. Unfortunately, the online multiplayer mode seems deserted so soon after launch. I tried to both host and join into games at multiple times during the day and routinely came up empty. The only way you’re likely to play a match online is to make sure a buddy has a copy, too. Once you’re in a game, however, it becomes just as fun as local co-op mode. Unfortunately, players can’t share custom music in this mode and will each hear their own respective track during play. This could lead to advantages/disadvantages for one player as each stage’s obstacles are synced with their specific music.

Rush Bros. is an interesting concept that is executed well, but without the level of polish that some may expect. After all, rhythm and music games have grown tremendously since their inception. If you don’t mind the simplistic art and spotty online multiplayer, then give it a go. There’s not much here beyond the 40 levels, but they are fun while they last. Just don’t depend on finding much else to do unless you adore working toward high scores on the leaderboards.