While many games use epic storytelling or complex mechanics to keep players engaged, some take a different approach and rely entirely on simple and satisfying gameplay. Bust-N-Rush by Techtonic Studios is definitely in the latter category.
Bust-N-Rush stars Kovo, a colossal man who has sworn vengeance on the evil Satellite of Wub. What did the Satellite of Wub do to earn such hatred, you ask? Why, it crushed Kovo’s best friend, Paco the pink plastic flamingo!
Bust-N-Rush is made up of 3 progressively generated ‘worlds’ and 3 different modes. Quest mode has objectives and is all about the score, while survival mode emphasises (you guessed it!) survival. There is also a multiplayer mode that lets you play with friends. Regardless of what mode you choose, the core gameplay is basically identical. You control Kovo as he runs along an endless path. You can scoot to the left or right and jump. As you crash into blue-tinted obstacles you earn points and your speed increases. Hitting red obstacles will damage you and reset your score combo.
The action can be best described as frantic. As you whip along getting faster and faster it naturally becomes more difficult to react in time to avoid upcoming dangers. You can slow down if you want, but running at break-neck speed and weaving between obstacles is pretty exhilarating. The game eggs you on with increasingly large score combos as the level gets more and more treacherous. Trying to beat your previous score is justification enough to keep playing for a while, even if the harder difficulties are downright brutal.
Items are placed along the path, and collecting them increases your score or adds temporary abilities to Kovo that let him cheat death a little longer. In Quest mode, the objectives you receive usually involve smashing or collecting a set number or objects or performing difficult feats. It’s quite a lot of fun.
Unfortunately, the excitement wanes quickly. The mindless gameplay and repetitive level design cause the experience to become fatiguing after only a short time. The different worlds are largely identical, save a few different obstacles and power-ups, so once you’re bored of the current world you’ll most probably be bored with the other ones.
Bust-N-Rush is best played in short bursts between other games. I’ve found it works well as a way of winding down from the stresses of a particularly brain-frying match of Starcraft 2. That said, considering how it doesn’t stand up at all well to extended play, Windows and Mac OS X seem like an odd choice of platform for it. Techtonic’s decision may be based on the sheer number of similar titles already available on iOS and Android, but a smartphone or tablet would be a much better fit.
Still, Bust-N-Rush’s affordability ($10 on EA’s Origin service) and fastpaced gameplay make it worth getting if you are a fan of no nonsense score-based action games or want to burn a couple of hours without having to think too hard.
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