Advertised as a simple 2D beat ’em up, Furious Jack may have sold itself short on its current Kickstarter campaign. Forgingames is seeking $67,047 to bring their interactive comic to life and just from the art alone it looks like it will be worth every penny.
Okay, can we just gush over the hand-drawn graphics and how smooth the animation is for a second? For me Furious Jack would be a competent project just on these elements. Rather than leaving well enough alone, Forgingames decided to up the ante by making what could have been a pretty, but basic brawler, into a branching narrative with clever platformer elements.
The game follows the story of Jack (the one who will become furious), a professional boxer on the wrong side of the mafia. With his life in shambles and his girlfriend abducted, Jack has to carve a bloody and brutal path through his enemies. This is accomplished either through the use of fists or various other lethal weapons at Jack’s disposal. Jack’s motivation to rescue his girlfriend is trite, beyond reason. Still, I’m willing to excuse the weak plot because sound effects are spelled out during fight scenes. This delights me every time I see it.
In all seriousness, Furious Jack’s well executed platformer aspects really set it apart from typical brawlers. Instead of just side-scrolling from one bloody encounter to the next, the player has to put a little thought into how they will proceed through the levels. The platforming doesn’t feel tacked on either. The shift between fighting and jumping around obstacles flows just as fluidly as the rest of the animation.
https://youtu.be/k2UN9RA6HAw
Forgingames is planning to release a beta build sometime next summer. They hope to follow with the final release by fall of 2017. The campaign has over 30 days remaining. Kickstarter should hit this with a “Project We Love” tag before too long because, damn it looks good.
(Ed. We’ve added the very promising Furious Jack to our Kickstarter Curator page, check it out at Kickstarter.com/cliqist.)
The sound effect thing seriously never gets old. POW!