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The Masterplan

Score: 75%
ESRB: Not Rated
Publisher: Shark Punch
Developer: Shark Punch
Media: Download/1
Players: 1
Genre: Strategy/ Action

Graphics & Sound:

Even as far back as the Atari 2600, crime games have been a "go to" genre. Though most modern crime games have pushed for visual fidelity matching the portrayed million dollar payoffs, The Masterplan takes a massive step back. Here, the planning and successful completion of heists is more important than how great they look. In a way, visuals are a great metaphor for what you get with The Masterplan -- solid gameplay with distracting technical issues.

The Masterplan goes for a more cartoon-like approach somewhere between the GTA 3’s prequels and a Flash game. The viewpoint, as well as the unusually large size of the characters, works overall. It is easy to see what is happening in a room and plan your movements without needing to pixel-hunt for objects. Nor do you have to fiddle around with wonky camera controls or attempt to guess at the spread of light source or other headaches that come with 3D crime sprees. Even though The Masterplan looks like a Flash game, there is a clear thought process behind the way things look.

The larger characters do, however, introduce other issues. The lack of pixel-hunting is great, but I wouldn’t be upset if the characters and environments were a little smaller. It isn’t a big deal when rooms are small, but the need to scroll around larger rooms can get in the way of a successful heist, particularly when some of the control issues rear their head.

The soundtrack is just sleazy enough to work without going overboard. While it lacks an earworm, or really anything you’ll find yourself humming hours later, it absolutely works within the context of the game.


Gameplay:

The Masterplan presents a mix of strategy and action as you attempt to lead a small group of thugs to successful heists. Although the game boasts a story, it seemed more like window-dressing rather than something integral to enjoyment. I wouldn’t call it a failure – a deep story isn’t important to your enjoyment – it is a letdown considering the developers felt it was worth a mention.

Prior to heists, you’re given time to prep for your next mission in your hideout. In most cases, this boils down to purchasing new weapons, but there’s a wide variety of things to do while hanging out in your home base. Heists start out as small-time jobs, such as convenient stores or arcades, eventually leading to larger prizes like banks. Locations are small-scale open environments, leaving just enough space to come up with numerous solutions without feeling completely overwhelmed by choices. Some feature dynamic elements such as NPCs with some piece of information about the place, such as a key to a safe. Getting the information out of victims can alter your plans, opening new venues or larger payoffs.

There’s no "one way" to complete missions. A well-crafted, non-violent plan is just as valid as one where you go in guns blazing. However, there are drawbacks to each. "Peaceful" robberies don’t come with the associated clean-up fee (a monetary penalty for leaving destruction in your wake), though it always seems like more can go wrong when attempting to reduce collateral damage. Escaping the scene without some damage is, at least in my experience, nearly impossible thanks to the controls and other technical hiccups.


Difficulty:

The Masterplan is tough, but not in the way you’d want. The number of ways to handle each heist is impressive and encourages replay to see if you can master your plan. Each successive play isn’t always fun and usually involves a lot of trial-and-error to make sure everything works just right. Even perfect plans will still fall victim to control issues or weird in-game quirks. The smallest of things can keep a door from closing and guards don’t stay knocked out for very long. By themselves, these are minor issues. Taken with the rest of the game, they are unnecessarily frustrating. Even the smallest of heists are multi-step processes; if one little thing goes wrong, you either need to play through it or restart. The lack of in-mission saving is fine, but perma-death is a bit harsh, especially when you lose someone because of something the game did.

Funny enough, without these technical issues, this section would likely be completely different. Sans the control and other issues, The Masterplan might be too easy. NPC routines are easy to figure out and limited to a handful of actions, so you can figure out what they’ll do easily.


Game Mechanics:

The Masterplan presents a lot of hurdles to clear before you can actually expect to pull off a decently well-executed plan. Controls are completely mouse-based and try to cram every action possible between two buttons and a wheel. Other than selecting characters with the Left button, nearly every action is mapped to the Right button. The setup is counter-intuitive and led to numerous problems. I eventually got used to it, but still found myself pressing the wrong button from time-to-time.

Controls are particularly frustrating when you need to order other characters around. Performing simultaneous actions is seemingly impossible, especially when one is performing an action that requires use of the right button. It isn’t uncommon to perform one action when you intend to execute another. I can’t tell you the number of times I accidently shot someone when I really just wanted to hold them up or pick up something they dropped. There is a pause function, offering the option to queue actions, though your gang will mostly likely get bunched up and botch your commands.

At its core, The Masterplan is a cool concept and a fun game. Planning and executing those plans is a great challenge. At the same time, there are lots of little mechanical issues blemishing the overall experience. Thankfully, it looks like Shark Punch is working to correct these issues and add more content, so at the very least, The Masterplan is something to keep an eye on if you find the concept intriguing.


-Starscream, GameVortex Communications
AKA Ricky Tucker

Minimum System Requirements:



OS: Windows Vista or later; Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo or faster; Memory: 4 GB RAM; Graphics: 256 MB OpenGL 2.0 Compatible Video Card; Hard Drive: 300 MB available space; Additional Notes: Recommend a two-button mouse + mouse wheel
 

Test System:



OS: Windows 8.1; Processor: Intel Core i7 2.2Ghz; Memory: 8GB; DirectX: 11; Hard Drive: 500 GB

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