Game Face! Volume 2 Part 1

This week I played a little gem known as Abomination.

On its surface, it may seem like just another tactical squad-based game you've seen a million times before (X-Com, the Swat Series, Barbie Horse Adventure: Las Vegas) but what sets Abomination apart from the herd is its story.

SPOILER ALERT! The main character's moustache is fully customizable and can be upgraded with cool gadgets, like a rocket launcher and a bird call!

Set in the post apocalyptic days after "The Great Infection" Abomination has you take on the role of Detonate, cop by day, ex-marine/lover/cyber enforcer by night.

SPOILER ALERT! Detonate is only a nickname, the character's full name is Marian Detonatii.

As Detonate, it is your job to rid what's left of the festering country of the infected bastards that spew blood and generally make a shitty mess out of everything around them. You do this with a variety of weapons and tools, designed by your Vietnamese side-kick "Dr. Huang".

SPOILER ALERT! Some of these "objective" things are a real bitch!

Also assisting "Det" are a squad of rag-tag vagabonds that the player chooses. Each one having their own strengths (Vladimir can hurl a tire-iron nearly 30 yards) and weaknesses (Beep-Beep the robot is killed by rain). My personal favorite, though, is how the characters you pick will interact dynamically with each other!

SPOILER ALERT! one of my favorite exchanges was between Blue 92 (the gruff, ex-cop/pimp who's one day away from retirement, and our hero Detonate-

Blue: Nice Shooting, Det, try to save some for the rest of us...

Detonate: FUCK YOU! I WILL FUCKING RAPE YOUR PARENTS TO DEATH! YOU SMARMY PIECE OF BEAR SHIT!

Of course, it's not all sunshine and blowjobs, this game has its problems as well. Take for instance the completely unintuitive map system. i mean, LOOK at this bullshit:

This is supposed to be the outskirts of Montreal, but I don't see a single fountain OR golf course. It totally wrecks my sense of immersion. Why is Montreal red!? Everybody knows it's a lovely shade of light peach.

SPOILER ALERT! Montreal is a great place, especially if you love moustaches!

Overall, I'd say that I enjoyed this game. The characters were all memorable (SPOILER ALERT! Bob dies.) and the soundtrack is great. Simon and Garfunkel really set the mood for this post-apocalyptic thriller! Definitely a B+!

SPOILER ALERT: The "infection" is a pretty thinly veiled reference to Communism. This game is basically just killing communists.