Lugaru

It's Rabbit Season.

I like when fighting games try to be more than two characters on a 2D plane until one runs out of HP. Powerstone, One Must Fall: Battlegrounds and of course Super Smash Bros. all spring to mind as good examples, but there's a little-known game which I believe really demonstrates the unique challenges and fun of non-conventional fighting.

It's called Lugaru.

Gameplay:

Well, it's a fighting game, so obviously the main objective in each level is to balance spoons on your nose. But seriously, you have to kill/knock out all the enemies without them doing so to you. You've got a variety of kicks, punches and tackles as well as a few weapons to assist you in your quest for vengeance (or just a high score).

As you may have noticed from the screenshots, the characters are anthropomorphic animals, which surprisingly, is more than just a cosmetic wrapper. You can get down on all fours to run like an animal for extra speed or use the powerful jumping muscles of a rabbit for a devastating "Leg Cannon" attack.

The key to winning in Lugaru is to use your environment well. Unlike many other games, this doesn't simply just translate into tossing opponents into pits or spikes, it's the location and properties of the surrounding terrain. For example, a roundhouse kick in the middle of a snowy field will deal little damage and only incapacitate them until they can get back on their feet. However, the same move in a stone corridor will cause them to smack into the solid wall, causing increased damage and briefly dazing them once they clamber up to their feet. The power of your blows will vary depending on where they land, and there is significant distinction between blunt damage and wounds caused by knives, swords and claws.

The attention to detail goes MUCH deeper than dynamic damage calculation. Wolfire games put a lot of thought into mechanics that would be nothing more than eye candy in other games. For example, wind direction does not only affect which way the trees lean. Approaching a wolf from upwind will result in him getting your scent early, especially if you've got open wounds or are carrying a bloodied knife (unless you jab the blade into the ground to clean it.) A wooden staff will break after a while, but the number of hits depends on how hard and what surfaces you've been beating it on.

All of these things add up to a MUCH fuller game experience than mere "Hadouken for 25 point of damage"

Flips and dives allow you to dodge incoming attacks.

Graphics:
The graphics, are where Lugaru starts to fall down. (Well, that and when you misjudge a mid-air flip)
The character models and textures lack detail and the levels suffer from lack of complexity, usually not much more than rocks, trees and large seemingly purposeless cubes in a desert, grassy or snowy field.

It's not without its nice touches though. Teeth fly when you land a solid punch to the jaw and if you knock an opponent flying at a high speed into a wall it will large cracks will appear and the screen will shake at the moment of impact. (Making it hugely satisfying and my favourite finisher) And let's not forget, it's a low-budget indie game made several years ago, so it's certainly tolerable.

Sound:
The sound is where Lugaru starts to be pummelled to death with a bo staff. (Well, that and when you get pummelled to death with a bo staff)

The sound effects cover basic occurances like thuds, slashes and footsteps, but there are only a couple of vocal components for wolves and rabbits. Though I must admit, I love it when a rabbit's chittering occurs during the post-kill slow motion causing it to sound like a drunken bogan giggling.

As for music, there are a two relatively short tracks.
Just leave your media player of choice running.

The combat is surprisingly deep. Some enemies can survive having knives hurled into them, but ripping it back out will result in an instakill.

Interaction:
The controls are very natural and take little time to get used to. WSAD movement, mouse camera, and one button each for attack, jump and crouch/block. What does take a little getting used to is the timing required to ensure your blows hit and to roll with the punches. There aren't any long button combos to memorise which is a nice change.

There are also a large number of movement options open to the player. Although not on-par with something like Prince of Persia, there are rolls, flips, wall-jumps and rabbity super jumps to help you get around. It's a bit of a shame that many of these go without much use in the challenges and default campaign, but fortunately there are quite a few fan-made campaigns which feature more platformey levels.

Verdict:

Probably the best game about lagomorph martial arts you'll play.
(Well, until the sequal is released!)

I highly suggest you head over
to the site and grab the demo!
http://www.wolfire.com/lugaru