The Club (video Game)
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''The Club'' is a
third-person shooter Third-person shooter (TPS) is a subgenre of 3D shooter games in which the gameplay consists primarily of shooting. It is closely related to first-person shooters, but with the player character visible on-screen during play. While 2D shoot 'em ...
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
developed by
Bizarre Creations Bizarre Creations Limited was a British video game development studio based in Liverpool, best known for their racing video game, racing titles ''Metropolis Street Racer'' (Dreamcast) and the follow-up Project Gotham Racing, ''Project Gotham Rac ...
and published by
Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
. It was released for
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...
,
Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
, and
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...
in February 2008. The story of the game centers on The Club, an underground blood sport controlled by a wealthy elite who place their bets on who will survive the gladiatorial-style combat. The game utilizes both racing and run-and-gun elements, where players must either complete a level quickly or defend a location from numerous enemy attacks for a set amount of time, all while accumulating their score through various kills with a bonus multiplier. It also includes eight multiplayer modes, featuring four-player local split screen or up to seven online. ''The Club'' received favorable reviews upon release.


Plot

The player chooses from a roster of characters who are forced to compete in The Club, a modern form of gladiatorial combat. They are under the watchful eye of a middle-aged man known as The Secretary. There are 8 characters to choose from; each with its own attributes and ending: * Dragov: A Russian convict who is rescued by The Club after attempting an escape across the Siberian tundra. He is the strongest of the competitors, but also the slowest. The game ends with Dragov escaping The Club compound through a helicopter, killing the guards in the process. * Renwick: A former New York detective, who lost his job after repeated attempts to locate The Club, and continued the search on his own. He is fairly well balanced, with particular attention to speed. The ending shows Renwick waking up in a derelict building - dazed and confused. He then receives a phone call from The Secretary saying he is released from The Club unharmed but is now a fugitive to law enforcement, a small price to pay for meddling with The Club's affairs. * Finn: A gambler whose debts landed him in trouble with the mob, and resulted in his Club membership. He is also well balanced, but with a little extra emphasis on stamina. After completing The Club, he sends the money he owes to the mob with a bomb inside the briefcase, killing them in the process. * Seager: A Canadian extreme sports junkie, who joins The Club in search of that next high. He sacrifices strength for above average speed and stamina. The Secretary thanks him for his participation and gives him his cash reward, to which he declines and simply says, "I want to play." * Kuro: A Japanese double agent posing as a Triad Society assassin. Kuro is among the fastest competitors in The Club. He is last seen being interrogated by law enforcement, who are actually The Club members in disguise, suggesting that they intend to recruit Kuro again. * Killen: An Australian man who survived through The Club once, only to be forced back when his daughter's life is threatened. Killen is well balanced, with an extra bump to strength. As promised, his daughter is released from custody and Killen is seen exiting the Club compound on a motorcycle. * Adjo: An African giant who seeks to redeem his violent past, but is ultimately forced to participate in the tournament. Adjo is also one of the strongest competitors in The Club. He rudely refuses his reward money in the end, saying he wants his village to be left in peace and marches out of The Club. * Nemo: A psychopathic Englishman who only lives to kill. Nemo is extremely fast and quite strong, but has very low stamina. It is revealed that Nemo is The Secretary's son, but when asked by the guard his true identity, The Secretary replies he is "no one."


Gameplay

''The Club'' is played from a third-person perspective. The player must make their way through a level as quickly as possible, or defend one location and survive attacks from respawning enemies for a set amount of time. Gameplay is centered on a
score SCORE may refer to: *SCORE (software), a music scorewriter program * SCORE (television), a weekend sports service of the defunct Financial News Network *SCORE! Educational Centers *SCORE International, an offroad racing organization *Sarawak Corrido ...
mechanic where each kill acts as a bonus multiplier. Various kill methods, such as ricochets, head shots, and long range shots earn extra points. After each kill, the player has several seconds to get another kill before the bonus multiplier starts to reduce. This interval also reduces the higher the multiplier gets. Icons are scattered throughout each level, offering bonuses. Weapons, ammunition and health are present but the player is not rewarded for picking them up. ''The Club'' incorporates elements from
racing video game Racing games are a video game genre in which the player participates in a racing competition. They may be based on anything from real-world racing leagues to fantastical settings. They are distributed along a spectrum between more realistic raci ...
s, including
time attack In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team se ...
events.


Multiplayer

The game includes eight multiplayer modes, with online leaderboards to compare scores. Online games can feature up to seven opponents on-line, or four-player local
split screen Split screen may refer to: * Split screen (computing), dividing graphics into adjacent parts * Split screen (video production), the visible division of the screen * ''Split Screen'' (TV series), 1997–2001 * Split screen, a focusing screen in a ...
.


Development

The lead designer of the game was Matt Cavanagh who described the title as "a racing game with guns". At first the game was literally a shooting gallery with limited AI. After 6 months of development a new prototype was created with an emphasis on scoring rather than narrative. The gameplay was designed before any setting and back story was created. Many publishers declined to take on the title before
Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
chose to back it. The title was released globally in 2008. Composer Richard Jacques wrote the score for the single player levels, Chris Chudley from Audioantics wrote the score for the multiplayer levels, while
Jesper Kyd Jesper Kyd Jakobson (; ; born 3 February 1972) is a Danish composer and sound designer who has worked on various video game, television, and film projects. He has composed soundtracks for the ''Hitman (franchise), Hitman'' series, ''Assassin's ...
scored the main theme.


Reception

The Xbox 360 version received "generally favorable reviews", while the PC and PlayStation 3 versions received "average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
. ''
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...
''s Tom Bramwell complimented the Xbox 360 version as "a shooter that turns tired genre conventions around with a bullet to the shoulder", but stated that it would be "divisive" due to its run and gun mentality, which went against the contemporary trend towards
tactical shooter A tactical shooter is a Video game genre, sub-genre of First-person shooter, first- and third-person shooters, associated with using strategy, planning, and Military tactics, tactics in gameplay, as well as the realistic simulations of ballisti ...
s. Bramwell pointed out that the game "does for the third-person shooter what no one else has even bothered trying to do: moving it closer to the 2D shoot-'em-ups of old in a manner that appeals anew." Andrew Reiner, writing for ''
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...
'', mentioned Bizarre Creations' background and its influence on ''The Club'', saying: "The speed-first mentality of the racing genre is cleverly infused into the framework of a run-and-gun shooter...And to truly capture the racing atmosphere, some of the levels have players running laps in specific environments...It may sound odd, but the racing shooter formula works amazingly well." Reiner called it "a nice change of pace, and hopefully the beginning of a new genre." ''
GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...
'' reviewer Cameron Lewis wrote of the Xbox 360 version: "What might be most impressive about ''The Club'' is that despite the many disparate elements that it cherry-picks from genres as diverse as racing, skateboarding, and first-person shooters, the whole never bears the disjointed feel of a Frankenstein creation." ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
UK''s reviewer Alec Meer stated that the scoring system "will prove an immediate turn-off for some" and went on to blame the "fairly dismal" graphics for putting potential players off, saying that "it's about how it plays, not how it looks. But if it looked better, more people would want to play it." He praised the gameplay as "it does the job it sets out to do very well", but said the game only had "specialist appeal". ''
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
'' gave it seven out of ten, calling it "a heavily structured and well-considered score-attack game."


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Club, The 2008 video games Bizarre Creations games Games for Windows Multiplayer and single-player video games PlayStation 3 games Sega video games Split-screen multiplayer games Third-person shooters Video games about death games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games scored by Jesper Kyd Video games scored by Richard Jacques Windows games Xbox 360 games