Lucha Fury First Look

According to developer Punchers Impact, masked Lucha Libre wrestlers suffer from a terrible curse: energy drink addiction. It's no wonder then that a sudden shortage of their favorite beverage makes them a little more ticked off and eager to track down the mysterious evildoer behind it. This leads the wrestlers on a whistle-stop tour of the world, where they begin to uncover a worldwide conspiracy that somehow involves chickens. It's a ludicrous setup, yet given the over-the-top nature of Lucha Libre, it's a highly appropriate one.

All of that travelling also gives the wrestlers the opportunity to indulge in their second favorite thing after energy drinks: kicking butt. It's your job to take control of one of the wrestlers, guide him around beating up locals, and discover what's happened to the world's energy drink supply. Gameplay is standard 2D brawler fare, similar to the classic Streets of Rage series. You move toward the right of the screen, beating up anyone who stands in your way. Up to four players can play cooperatively locally or online.

There are three main areas to fight through: Asia, Mexico, and New York, and each has a nighttime mode. The visuals are highly stylized, with bright colors and a cel-shaded look that could have come straight from a Saturday morning cartoon. Enemies share the same cartoon look, with masked wrestlers, possessed locals, and giant pinatas all making appearances along the way. Fighting is a simple affair, with three buttons for jumping, kicking, and punching. Repeatedly punching or kicking an enemy executes different moves, and you can combine the commands to pull off simple combos.

Of course, because you're playing as a wrestler, you have a host of over-the-top wrestling moves at your disposal as well. These moves are slightly trickier to pull off than the standard ones, requiring use of the triggers and the help of another player. They're pretty funny to watch, though, particularly when accompanied by the screams of the raging wrestlers. In addition to melee moves, you can pick up objects, such as trash cans, and throw them at enemies. There are also the standard red exploding barrels, which can be hurled at enemies to set them on fire.

To keep things interesting, short platforming sections and boss battles break up the brawler action. One area we were shown required the wrestlers to leap over exploding barrels being hurled down a hill. Once at the top of the hill, they had to battle a muscular barrel thrower by using the barrel thrower's own projectiles against him. Other sections had wrestlers battling endless waves of enemies while trying to knock down a wall and fighting against a giant pinata. Aside from the enjoyment of wrestling, fighting your way through each level nets you a number of rewards. You can unlock new characters and bonus areas, as well as new costumes that you can show off online.

Though Lucha Fury is based on a well-established genre, the numerous comic touches sprinkled throughout make it stand out from the competition. The unique visuals are also worthy of note, with the cartoonlike art style and chicken-infused violence all adding to its charm. Though it's early days for Punchers Impact's first game, from what we've seen so far, it's looking to be a unique addition to the brawler genre. Look out for it when it hits Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network, and PC in early 2011.