Beat 'em up

“Beat them all” (sometimes also “brawlers”) ^{[1] [2]} - this is an action game in which the player must fight a large number of enemies in hand-to-hand combat, or being armed with melee weapons . ^{[3] [4] [5]} The player must go through a level , usually divided into sections, and in order to proceed to the next section, it is necessary to destroy a group of enemies. At the end of each level, the player usually must fight the boss . ^[6] However, it is usually much more difficult to achieve success in versions of arcade games, which forces the player to spend more on the game. ^[7]

The “beat them all” genre is associated (but does not mix) with the fighting game genre, which is based on the martial arts of players, and not on moving around the level and many opponents. ^[8] However, commentators generally do not take into account this terminological difference ^[8] , mixing genres. ^[9] At one time, the terms and definitions of these genres were mutually influenced, so they were equally well understood by fans of both genres. ^[8] Moreover, sometimes both types of gameplay can be presented in one game. ^[ten]

In the early 1980s in the UK, computer games magazines such as Mean Machines or Computer & Video Games described all fighting games with the term beat 'em up, including fighting games. ^[11] However, even in this press, the distinction was emphasized through an additional word, so games like Double Dragon or Final Fight were called “beat 'em up c scrolling” ( English scrolling beat' em ups ), ^[12] and games in the spirit of Street Fighter II or Mortal Kombat was described as “ one on one beat 'em up beat” .

The plot of the games is often based on the themes of the fight against crime and revenge, while the action takes place on the streets of cities, ^[13] although there are historical or fantasy stories. ^{[14] [15]} The player must get from one end of the game to the other, ^[16] which is referred to as horizontal level scrolling. ^[2] Some later games abandoned two-dimensional scrollable levels, offering players large-scale three-dimensional spaces, while preserving the simplicity of gameplay and control. ^{[17] [18]} Moving up the level, the player can find weapons or objects that restore health . ^[2]

Moving along the level, the player will come across groups of enemies that must be neutralized so that the player can continue to move. ^[19] When all enemies are neutralized, the level ends. Each level consists of repeating groups of enemies, ^{[16] [20]} which opens up a wide field for criticism for repeatability. ^{[16] [21]} In the “beat them all” games, the player often battles bosses , who are much stronger rivals, at the end of each level. ^{[2] [22]}

Often the games of this genre offer several main characters to choose from, which differ in strengths and weaknesses, as well as a set of movements. ^{[2] [15] [17] [23]} Among the attacks, there may be quick combinations of regular hits ( combos ), jumps and hold. ^{[2] [23]} As a rule, each character has a unique over-attack , which implies different tactics of the game depending on the character chosen by the player. ^[24] Character management training is very easy, since games usually use no more than two buttons. Using combinations of these two buttons, the player makes combos, jump attacks and hold. ^{[2] [23]} After the release of Double Dragon in many games, a two-player cooperative mode also appeared - the main element of the appeal of the games of the genre. ^{[2] [13] [15] [23] [25] The} likelihood of a cooperative regime in games of the “beat them all” genre is more than in any other. ^[26]

Appearance

The first game in the fighting genre, apparently, is a game for arcade machines Heavyweight Champ ( 1976 ) from Sega , ^[8] in which the player watched events from the side like later fighting games. ^[27] However, attention to games made in the subject of martial arts was only able to attract the game Karate Champ ( 1984 ) from Data East . ^[8] In the same year, Irem released the Kung-Fu Master game (known in Japan as Spartan X), created under the influence of the films of the Hong Kong film industry, which established such features of the “beat them all” genre as scrolling levels, ease of gameplay and many enemies. ^{[8] [28]} In the same 1984, the Bruce Lee game was released, in which the battles between many players and enemies were combined with the traditional gameplay of platformer, collecting and puzzles. ^{[29] [30]} At the end of that year, Karateka combined Karate Champ-style martial arts and freedom of movement from Kung-Fu Master, as well as a successful experiment to add a plot to the combat gameplay. It was also one of the first games in the “beat them all” genre, ported to many game consoles and home computers . ^[8] In the 1986 Renegade game (Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun in Japan), the plot shifted from the theme of martial arts of the first games to street fights. In the American edition of this game, a plot based on revenge on the underworld was added, which caused a much greater response from players than ordinary sports fights by strict rules. ^[13] Also in Renegade, the game character could move down and up, which became the standard for subsequent games. ^[31] Also in the game were combo attacks . Unlike earlier games, in Renegade and Double Dragon the enemies could be much more tenacious, to neutralize them it was necessary to deliver a successful strike, while the first strike was immobilized, as a result of which the enemy lost the ability to defend against a successful strike. ^[32]

The Golden Age

After the release of the Double Dragon game in 1987, the so-called “golden age” of the “beat them all” genre began, lasting about five years. The game was developed by Technos Japan Corporation as the spiritual successor of Renegade, ^[13] but it managed to raise the quality of the genre to a new height not only by preserving a set of punches from martial arts, but also by adding an outstanding cooperative game mode at that time. ^{[13] [33]} The success of Double Dragon led to the emergence of a huge number of games of this genre in the late 1980s, ^[33] at the same time there were such series as Golden Ax and Final Fight (both came out in 1989 ), the name of which speaks for yourself. ^[13] Capcom's Final Fight was supposed to be a sequel to the 1987 Street Fighter game (whose working name was Street Fighter '89), ^[34] however the company still decided to give the game a different name. ^[35] Unlike Renegade and Double Dragon with their simple combo attacks, in Final Fight the combos were much more dynamic, and their sprites were much larger. Proclaimed the best game in the genre, ^{[2] [36]} Final Fight received two sequels and was ported to other systems. This game brought fame to Capcom and became one of the reasons for the bankruptcy of Technos Japan. ^[35] Golden Ax was noted for its intuitive hack and slash gameplay and cooperative mode, and influenced the genre by making it a choice of several main characters suggesting different styles of play. ^[15] This series has become one of the strongest among the other “beat them all” games due to its fantasy atmosphere, which sharply sets the series apart from their other ones performed in urban settings . ^[16] In the game Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja was added platforming elements, and in POW: Prisoners of War , attention was paid to weapons, so the character could pick him up. Another game in the genre - River City Ransom (1989), also known as Street Gangs in Europe - brought elements of role-playing games to the gameplay, so the character could become stronger with money “knocked out” of enemies. ^{[37] [38]}

Gained a lot of positive feedback, the Streets of Rage series, released in early 1990 , had a lot of borrowings from Final Fight. ^[39] The sequel to this game, Streets of Rage 2 for Sega Mega Drive / Genesis, is noted for being one of the first games that critics ranked at the same level as arcade games . ^[13] The design of the levels of this game was highly appreciated for the fact that the traditional setting was rethought in a new manner. The success of the game was such that the game as a result was ported to an arcade machine. ^[13] As with Final Fight, Streets of Rage 2 was called the best beat-up scroller game of its time. ^[37] Also, the genre became desirable for adaptations of television series and films after the unexpected success of the arcade game in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe, ^[13] due to which a whole series of games based on its characters soon appeared. ^[40] However, the “golden age” of the genre ended with the release of Capcom Street Fighter II in 1991, which attracted the attention of players to martial arts games, while at the same time the introduction of three-dimensional graphics technology into computer games generally reduced the popularity of classic two-dimensional games about fights. ^{[13] [33]} By the mid-1990s, the genre was in crisis due to a lack of new ideas. ^[41]

Age 32 bits and after

Around the 1997 Fighting Force game from Core Design, there was great excitement, as the game was supposed to set new standards for the genre in a new 32-bit three-dimensional environment. However, after the release of the game, a rather indifferent reception was expected. ^[17] The Dynasty Warriors series, starting with the second part (2000), offered players the traditional gameplay “beat them all”, a game transferred to a three-dimensional environment, while crowds of enemies were simultaneously displayed on the screen. ^{[18] [42]} In the series, there are 14 games (including add-ons) that look the same for the western player, while the creators of the game claim that their large Japanese audience finds significant differences between them. ^{[14] [43]} Critics who praised Dynasty Warriors 2 for innovation and technical excellence put mixed ratings on the games that followed. ^{[14] [18]} These games were rated positively for the simple and addictive gameplay, but were also criticized for their extreme simplicity and repeatability. ^{[14] [44]} Yakuza , another well-selling series of Japanese games, ^[45] combined a good storyline, elaborated interactive environment, and action in the form of street fights. ^[46] Despite the release of these games, many reviewers of computer games began to express the opinion that the “beat them all” genre had died. ^[16] So, until 2002, almost no new games in the genre were released on arcade machines. ^[47]

Capcom's Viewtiful Joe ( 2003 ) game, using graphic sal-shading technology, has brought new features (such as the special powers of the protagonist) to “give new energy” to their traditional two-dimensional “beat them all” games. ^[48] The Behemoth Castle Crashers ( 2008 ) is also built around “ cartoony ” graphics, a kind of humor and a highly acclaimed cooperative mode. ^[49] Rockstar Games's The Warriors (based on the 1979 film of the same name ), released in 2005 , presents massive fights in a three-dimensional environment, diluted with other actions such as chasing. ^[50] The game itself also has a more traditional “beat them all” game, Armies of the Night, which is offered as a bonus. As well as the main game, it gathered a lot of positive reviews and was later published separately on the PlayStation Portable . ^{[50] [51]} Games such as God Hand ( 2006 ) and MadWorld ( 2009 ) were greeted as a parody of the brutality of popular culture, making the games positively noted for not trying to seem as serious as the early games of the genre. ^{[21] [52]} Many classic games have been reprinted in services like Virtual Console . Critics again reiterated their interest for part of the audience, ^{[2] [15] [37]} while the interest of the rest of the audience was supposed to be biased towards other games. ^[23] Thus, although the genre is now not as widely represented as in the late 1980s, the release of games such as Viewtiful Joe and God Hand allow us to talk about continued activity, that is, the genre remains “alive”. ^[53]

In recent years, the “beat them all” genre has been gaining popularity again with such three-dimensional hack and slash games as the Devil May Cry series (since 2001 ), Ninja Gaiden (since the restart in 2004 ), God of War (since 2005 ), Heavenly Sword ( 2007 ), Afro Samurai ( 2009 ), ^[54] and Bayonetta ( 2009 ). ^[55] Also in recent years several classic two-dimensional “beat them all” games have been published, for example, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game ( 2010 ) ^[56] and Mother Russia Bleeds (2016) .