Customer Reviews

The Club

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Last year's bumper crop of shooters, such as "BioShock", "Halo 3" and "Call of Duty 4", were notable for coupling bone-jarring realism with finely crafted epic stories. "The Club" promises something a little different.

There's no saving humanity, no detailed world to explore, no need to bone up on military strategy or tactics. Instead, "The Club" boils down simply to this: how many people can you shoot, and how fast can you do it?

Sure, the game is thinly wrapped in a pulpy "Running Man"-style story casting you as one of eight characters, such as an extreme-sports thrill-seeker or a burly Russian hunter, drawn into an underground blood sport for the amusement of rich fans.

That's an excuse, if one was needed, for blasting your way through a variety of mostly industrial settings or fending off waves of attackers as you try to stay alive for a set period of time.

The twist in "The Club" is that you rack up points for each kill, and by stringing kills close together, you earn bonuses that multiply your points. Extra points are awarded for stylish moves like head shots, or breaking through a door and taking out opponents on the other side.

The graphics are decent but not spectacular given where we are in the Xbox 360's lifespan. Sound production is bordering on great, with the various weapons producing a variety of satisfyingly realistic blasts.

The best design element of the game is perhaps the control scheme, which is intuitive and simple, and is notable for the wonderful inclusion of a "quick spin" button that whirls you around 180 degrees in an instant. That's a useful trick when you are beset by foes on all sides, and hopefully will be something that makes its way into other games.

There are eight levels, eight characters with different attributes to choose from, a nice array of weapons, and good variety of game modes. I am guessing it will take an average player an hour to finish each level, though experienced players can probably whip through them in half that.

That's okay, though, because there's plenty of replay value as you'll want to rerun a level to see if you can beat your last score, or that of your buddy's. A "gunplay" mode lets you design your own challenges and play through them with friends. An online competitive mode should also provide extra play value, though I haven't tried that out yet.

The game was developed by UK-based Bizarre Creations, which lifted the core game element from its well-regarded "Project Gotham Racing" driving series that rewards stylish moves like power slides, drafting and catching air. Criterion Games did something similar with 2005's "Black", which wallowed in gun-enabled destruction the same way its popular "Burnout" racing series did with spectacular car crashes.

"Black" didn't revolutionize the genre but got generally positive reviews, a precedent that looks to be repeated for "The Club". It may not be in the same league as recent acclaimed shooters, but the fast-paced action and wide selection of solo and multiplayer challenges makes up for the shallow story.

Sega's The Club feels like an old-school, arcade shooter with a next-gen gloss, and it certainly is by any stretch of the imagination. You run and race through a closed course, taking down as many enemies as you can in the process in some trigger happy, flashy ways. Once you pop in The Club, you'll be hooked by its run and gun style of play, that proves to be insanely fun at first. However, you'll find that it doesn't take you too long to get through the game, and while there are five total modes of play in The Club, many of them are very similar to each other. No matter what mode of play you are in, you have the same objective: obliterate everything in sight. The only real replay value that The Club offers is if you want to beat your own score, which will be enough reason for some gamers to go back through the game, but others will play it and be done with it. Still though, The Club looks and sounds good enough, and provides some great fun for a while, but once you finish it, which won't take too long or be too difficult, there isn't really anything left. All in all, The Club is definitely worth a look for those craving an old school, run and gun action game, but there isn't enough here to hold your interest for long.

This is a different game from the ordinary, but there just isn't enough to seperate it from the crowd of games. The game is funner than in it is good though. The game is really easy to pick up and isn't all that hard to play. The leaderboards are neat and so is the scoring system. The only big strike to the game is that you can beat it in under 3 hours, maybe even 2 hours. The game is fun and is worth picking up for about 20 dollars, but much more than that is a bad deal. All in all if you like competitive scoring based games, in which I do, than you will like this new spin on third person action.

Overall 7.5-8.0

This game gets old quick, pretty much running over and over 3 different types of missions: Beat the clock, hold your ground, and fight to the exit. For the first couple of hours you will be amused and having fun. But this soon wears off as you realize even switching characters and weapons doesn't really help liven things up. The combos can be cool, but the 'head shots' are a little liberal(just shoot near the head...). Reminded me a little of the 'Total Overdose' combo idea(a game I loved, by the way!), just not executed nearly as well. The controls are decent enough(esp the sprint button...), as are most of the graphics. I really loved the concept but just wished there was a little more depth and variation to the gameplay. I was entertained for an afternoon, but couldn't imagine wanting to play this for more than one sitting. Newer gamers might find more in this than I, but after 10 years of console gaming(I'm not trying to brag...really!), this game is nothing new to a genre that has better to offer. Cool idea, though.

Honestly- this is one of the generations sleepers. Overlooked and very fun- this game oozes good presentation and straight fun. The graphics are still very good for what the game needs. The control scheme is how Resident Evil 5 *should* have handled (more or less). I did not like some of the rigid memorization needed (skill shots, skull shots- I'm looking at you guys) but the core game is alot of fun. Rent or buy this guy used (I would say $15 is a great price for this one)- and you'll be glad you did.

The Club. I got this for $10 brand new from Amazon and I love it. I beat it in 3 days playing sparingly but its online play and multiplayer is awesome. For $60, no no no no no. For the low price, yes yes yes yes!

The Club is basically an arcade style third person shooter. The storyline is like that of "Twisted Metal". In that I mean the story is different for each character. Some are there for the thrill, others for paying debts or to obtain certain needs, and some are blackmailed into it.

The goal of the game is to reach the end of the level with highest possible score. In order to do this you must chain together combos, for instance shooting someone in the head with a bullet you ricocheted off a wall after having rolled across the floor will earn more points than just shooting your enemies in the head. Each kill adds more time to your kill bar, which acts as a multiplier. The higher the kill bar, the more points you earn for a kill.

The levels are short, but there can be a lot of action in each level. It all depends on how well you play, and how many cool combos you can string together. With short levels comes a short game. There's maybe 6 hours, if that of gameplay. But if you like to hunt for achievements than you'll a bit more time especially if you try to get them without help.

All in all, this game is worth picking up if you find for a good price. I paid about $16 or so, not bad...would rather have paid less but it's not worth griping about. And there's never anyone playing online, although I found about 6 people who were on it on day...but you need 8 in order to start a match.

Oh and the leaderboards are filled with cheaters. On most of the boards you'll see the #1 guy with 2-4 million points, which is normal and than 2nd place with 200,000-300,000 and 3rd place will have 1-2 million points! Obviously the guy in 2nd cheated. Plus that guy in 2nd place will have the same score on multiple boards for that tournament.

I was able to purchase The Club out of the bargain bin on Black Friday and found this game to be pleasantly suprising.

First off the game is short, with only 8 levels and each taking a half hour to 40 minutes to finish. There is no real substantive plot to speak other than the opening sequence once you pop the game into the console. It revolves "apparently" around an underground club that leverages contenstants into playing a kill or be killed gaunlet of events. At first I was dissappointed because I love a great story to go with my action but I found that the game grew on me.

While the levels are short and tend to be repetitive I found that I couldn't put the controller down. I greatly enjoyed running my character through each level gunning down the hired help that was sent to stop me. There is a scoring system on each level that can become addictive. You earn points based on how many, how quickly and how accurately you kill your opponents.

The game also has a multiplayer component via split screen and xbox live but I have found the match making lobbies empty the handful of times I have wanted to test myself against live enemies. This is a dissapointment because it seems as though this game could provide some extra replay-ability on Live.

Overall, don't go in expecting a Godfather-esque story (or even Death Race) but do expect to caught up in the relentless action.

The Club on the Xbox 360 is an old style shooter that is not worth the price of admission. The main campaign can be completed in about 5 hours and the multiplayer rooms are empty. Where The Club does shine is in its simple game play. It fells, plays, looks, and sounds like an old shooter.

This game does not look or sound good. The sound effects are of very low quality and the guns sound powerless. I even stopped playing this game with my surround sound within an hour. Playing a custom sound track is a much better option. The graphics look like they can be rendered on a PS2. The only thing this game has going for it is that the game's gunplay is sometimes fun.

Since the average mission last less than 5 minutes the game is best consumed in small chunks. Don't expect the story to grab you to the end because there rally is none. The only thing that kept me playing was the achievements. I got 610/1000 in less than 6 hours. I would have gotten more online but no one was playing. At one point I even got up to make sure my internet was working. Sadly it was.

Graphics- 6
Sound- 6
Single player- 7
Multiplayer- 3
Value- 5
Overall (not an average)- 6.5

Superb Arcade Shooter!

Fans of Sega unite, and support them. We need more arcade games.

I have had a blast with this game. I cannot recommend it enough. I like shooters, but have difficulty aiming... HOWEVER, The Club makes you feel like a wizard at aiming..... REALLY FUN!

Plus, don't forget about Gamerscore Achievements. They are present as well.

GO SEGA!

Ps fans need to unite and support SEGA. They are a treasure, and deserve our support and devotion.