![]() It’s tough, but it’s a promising indication that these side activities aren’t repetitive copy and paste exercises.Īs for the main campaign, the Winter Palace area also showed a push towards increased variety. In it, you have to push forward through enemies to activate various wind machines, which blow bob-ombs down a criss-cross path towards a Darkmess tentacle positioned at the other side. It’s short and simple, but it climaxes with a battle that offers a fresh spin on the norm. The area inside is scattered with roaming enemies which trigger battle encounters, as you unlock shortcuts back to previous paths as you progress. By using a purple sound frequency attached to Beep-O, we were able to unlock pathways behind rocks marked with a specific symbol. We ventured into an optional area during a later section, roughly five hours in, where you’re invited to help a scientist fix his power outage problem in his igloo lab, which becomes a minor dungeon of sorts. There’s also Rabbid non-player characters to interact with, who often either lead you to side quests or spout a comical line that adds some extra personality to the world. We didn’t have time to explore as much as we’d like, but there seemed like a healthy amount of side activities to discover judging by the area map, which signposts various points of interest with icons. Along with the character-specific skill trees which return from the previous title, there’s much more team customisation to experiment with and consider in Sparks Of Hope. Two can be equipped to a character at once and each Spark can be levelled up by feeding them starbits you earn from battles, in one of many nods to Super Mario Galaxy. These act as buffs, which when activated in battle can boost attacks with elemental damage (fire, electricity, splash, etc.), bolster defence, or provide other perks. There’re also more options via the Sparks. Your character’s position is only locked into place when you attack with your main weapon or run out of action points, which are split across special abilities, dashes, and other moves – so you’re free to roam around and assess different points of cover or vantage spots between these decisions.Īt a base level, the gameplay actions are fundamentally the same as before, but it makes plotting your movements and executing level-spanning combos far more satisfying – especially, for example, when you’re directly stomping multiple enemies as Mario from the air via button prompts, after being launched from a team jump. One example you’re introduced to early on is Bob-ombs, that you can dash attack to start their bomb countdown before throwing them into groups of enemies.Īlong with these more active mechanics, the free movement allows for an easier read of your options on the battlefield. The switch makes Sparks Of Hope far more dynamic to play, especially coupled with some of the new battle mechanics. The grid system has been ditched and replaced with a system where you directly control characters within a set space. Outside of the presentation, the combat has been notably improved. To add to the production value, Beep-O is now fully voiced with snarky C-3PO energy, that fits the character surprisingly well. ![]() Some of the writing feels bogged by these various terms but, like the first game, the excellent slapstick animation keeps the cinematics consistently comical. ![]() The first chunk of gameplay we got to play spanned the opening hour, where you’re introduced to the new villain, a towering alien entity named Cursa, who is spreading dark matter called ‘Darkmess’ throughout the galaxy and hunting down Sparks: a fusion of Rabbids and Lumas. A renewed confidence runs through Sparks Of Hope, from the flashy, charming cinematics to the overhauled gameplay systems. Despite higher expectations, our main takeaway after playing for three hours is how widespread the improvements are. Without the element of surprise, sequel Sparks Of Hope has to work double time, in some ways, to strike the same magic. The fact a collaboration between Nintendo and Ubisoft was glued together by systems borrowed from XCOM, and that it was actually great, felt like a borderline gaming miracle. When it was leaked, showing Mario armed with blasters and partnered with Rayman’s screaming bunnies in Peach cosplay, the concept was mocked by many as too bizarre to ever possibly work. GameCentral goes hands-on with the sequel to Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, which shoots for the stars with help from Super Mario Galaxy.īack in 2017, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was a surprise in every regard. Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope – gaming’s oddest crossover looks better than ever (pic: Ubisoft)
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