Written by Anthony L. Cuaycong
Title: RICO
Developer: Ground Shatter
Publisher: Rising Star Games
Genre: FPS, Action
Price: $19.99
Also Available On: PS4, Steam, XB1
Just to be clear from the outset: RICO stands on solid ground. As the acronym for “Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations,” it speaks to the procedurally generated action it offers, requiring the disposal of armed enemies with literal do-or-die persuasions. Gamers take on the role of a member of a special operations force charged with dismantling extremely entrenched criminal groups. Random missions need to be completed in the process, but the overriding objective in invariably involves getting any and all lowlife scums to meet their maker one room at a time.
If RICO sounds like John Wick on steroids, that’s because it is. The pace is frantic, giving gamers the impression that barreling through is best. No small measure of strategy is required, however. Even as weapons abound, for instance, the right choice at a given time determines the degree by which the body count keeps rising. The triggering of bullet time for a handful of seconds after gamers kick in a door provides the ideal opportunity to take down enemies, but accuracy, range, and frequency of fire are dependent on the type of munitions used. Needless to say, fire is taken as well. Death renders the rest of the mission unplayable, thus resulting in a veritable forfeit of the opportunity to earn more valuable Merits.
RICO provides an alternative: Turning back to the door first opened effectively ends the level. Parenthetically, the prospect of more rewards and unlocks via the elimination of more enemies needs to be weighed against the potential depletion of the health meter; sometimes, taking a step back now is better, if only to later on move two steps ahead. Be forewarned, though: The game is very, very hard, even on the lowest difficulty setting. And, akin to roguelike offerings, dying means starting over. Which makes help crucial, if not critical — leading to an important point on how it is best appreciated.
RICO touts itself as a game for “up to two players.” Because it’s extremely difficult to beat alone, however, an extra pair of hands isn’t just recommended, but necessary. And here’s the good news: It thrives on cooperative play. When the Switch is docked, the screen is split by a horizontal bar to show the partners’ progress separately. When undocked and online, gameplay takes the entire visual real estate. Unfortunately, it hits a couple of snags in this regard. First, finding a fellow player out in the wild isn’t easy due to evident region restrictions. Second, the absence of a voice chat option makes the coordination of actions, crucial to proper planning and implementation, a chore at best.
RICO is far from perfect technically; load times to generate levels border on irritating. Even the so-called randomness they’re supposed to produce reaches a limit; after a while, gamers would be lucky not to get a “been there, done that” vibe. Frame rates are all over the place, and can be jarring to the senses; they’re especially bothersome to the point of affecting the interface when there’s a lot going on. The same goes for the inconsistent distance rendering, which makes the search for objects unfairly difficult. And, yes, it could have benefited from ambient music.
All the same, RICO manages to earn its keep by compelling gamers to strike the right balance between going all in and proceeding with caution. Because each mission has a 24-hour limit, there is a temptation to barrel through rooms with guns blazing in an effort to save time. The flipside, however, comes by way of increased susceptibility to injury and proximity to death. In other words, they’re given the power of choice, and, ideally, with backup from start to finish.
THE GOOD
- Frenetic action
- Strategy required
- Outstanding implementation of bullet time
- Cooperative gameplay raises replay value
THE BAD
- Just about impossible to beat in single-player mode
- Technical issues, including frame drops and long load times
- Online play a chore to set up
RATING: 7.5/10
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