- I say that because the developer’s latest game, Masquerade: The Baubles of Doom, is all about just that. It doesn’t even do the very basic elements of platforming right, so I suppose we can breathe a sigh of relief that the team didn’t attempt any of the more complex ideas found in today’s games. Biggest and Best Game Deals: Bow to Azuardo! The Best Horror Movies To Stream This Halloween. For some reason, water is deadly to the Jester, so you know…. The best way to describe the game would be to call it a 3D beat’ em-up with forgettable platforming elements. The Meg 2 Moves Forward With Ben Wheatley As Director. Speaking of bosses, each stage concludes with some sort of big bad, but they’re all essentially the same: Big health bars that need to be whittled down as you also deal with two to three grunts. I’m not too concerned about any of this really, and I did like the idea of Jesters vs Clowns, but Big Ant don’t realise this concept well at all. The platforming sections were almost as bad thanks to the camera with its own maniacal thought process. It’s not a patch on Crash and Spyro but to have a game akin to them, as this is, is wonderful enough especially as platformers of this ilk are becoming as rare as rocking horse poo. A clunky combat system, misdirected humour, and stale repetitive gameplay are just a few things that will likely diminish any amount of enjoyment that you may be able to draw from this sadly mediocre effort. Critic Review Developed and Published by Big Ant Studios With his sledge-hammer, you mash away at the enemies until they’re knocked out. Generally favorable reviews- based on 14 Ratings, The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. Over the centuries, many have tried to steal the orbs without luck but a bunch of clowns led by Big Nose reckon they they could be the ones to do so. Unlike Batman though, Masquerade: The Baubles of Doom isn’t polished enough to allow for fair encounters, and it makes things even more frustrating by forcing you to destroy one or two outhouses during some of its combat scenarios. Everyone wants to get their hands on the mythical Druid Orbs, a pair of balls that will grant the power to rule all. This is frustrating especially given the combo system, which rewards a better score on each stage (albeit arbitrarily and lumped in with several other factors), as any failure in dodging or keeping up hits on the enemy results in the combo resetting. All Reviews: The game includes a dodge-roll that is, quite possibly, the worst dodge-roll in the history of video games. With the ability to only save the game after completing each level and not able to load the game at a checkpoint during the middle of the level means players will be desperate to finish the level once started. As it upgrades, you can attack more enemies by charging the attack to the higher level. Entertain kids at parties, occasionally star in terrifying horror films and invade realms for unfathomable, unexplained power. Each time a clown is defeated, you get their red nose as a reward. Its platforming aspect becomes challenging enough at points whilst its combat increases in difficulty as you progress through the levels. It’s what they do. Masquerade is an action-adventure set in the fantasy world of The Realm, centered around a battle for the mythical Druid Orbs, the most powerful pair of balls in all the land. Just better. It plays out very nicely, with simple controls and fun combat. 3 Good. These moves are basic and once unlocked, all combat actions charge the meter. Masquerade is a bit like Leslie Nielsen’s comedy movies – silly and childish, but it’s hard to hold back laughter. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. For it was said that whomever possessed the Orbs, possessed the power to rule all. As such, the combat grows stale extremely fast. Your email address will not be published. With enough of a challenge, MASQUERADE: THE BAUBLES OF DOOM is one pleasant platformer worth checking out. Trailer Revealed For Pegg and Frost’s Supernatural Comedy TRUTH SEEKERS, Watch Real Life HITMAN Experience To Celebrate Upcoming Game Release, SUICIDE GUY: SLEEPIN’ DEEPLY [PC Game Review], Midnight City Announce AVALANCHE 2: SUPER AVALANCHE For Steam and BLOOD OF THE WEREWOLF for Xbox 360. Find reviews, trailers, release dates, news, screenshots, walkthroughs, and more for Masquerade: The Baubles of Doom here on GameSpot. After laying dormant for many years, and simply living on in vocalized tales of legend, the orbs’ wondrous powers catch up with their home island and its inhabitants. [07/2016, p.69]. Whether it’s killing, plundering or simply taking land by force, they’re fine with it all. Our video game review system has changed. A devil’s advocate argument could be “this would be a suitable game for kids”, but Ratchet & Clank exists. The poor girl doesn’t last too long, though, as she’s quickly kidnapped and it’s left up to her colourful boyfriend to save her hide. The problem is, there are only three levels and the red noses have literally no other use that I could see. Fix that damn camera and give Jaxx a wider variety of combos. By defeating enemies, you’ll earn red noses (actually a good idea for currency) that upgrade Jaxx to learning new special moves. Shows had good moments but used…, 18 Massive E3 Games 2019 We Can’t Wait For – [Expected…, Total Extreme Wrestling 2020 Interview – Grey Dog Software, GOTY Winner 2017: Did Zelda Deserve to Take The Game Awards…, The Game Awards 2017 Preview – Who will win GOTY (Video…, LA Noire Nintendo Switch Gameplay – Is This Classic For You?…, Can you enjoy Destiny 2 Solo? It's repetitive, tedious, frustrating, and completely lacking in the elements that make for a good action game, or for a good comedy game. The game’s performance is also hit and miss. Between its crushing lack of self-awareness and bland gameplay, it's one circus that's even unfit for the sideshow. MASQUERADE: THE BAUBLES OF DOOM is a terrific effort from Big Ant Studios. They're the most annoying section in the game, and that's really saying something. - The comedy is spot-on with some very funny moments of dialogue and I especially enjoyed the narrators input. That kind of invalidates the need. Again, the largest offenders in this game’s gameplay happen to be the counter system. Currently you have JavaScript disabled. The deeper you get into the game, the special ability is upgraded so that you can wipe out a group of heavies in one go. It’s a pity that the gameplay can’t keep up with the humor, exposing the developers’ tight budget and lack of experience. © 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Needless to say, it’s pretty basic, rather uninspired overall, and leaves a lot to be desired, all thanks to a wasted opportunity. Visit his Twitter @DavidGameGames if you want to follow and be updated on most of the My Games Lounge review content! He and his beautiful blonde girlfriend are the main stars of the opening cutscene, as they not only steal something important (that relates to the orbs), but also find that they must outrun and hide from the clowns who’ve landed on their shores and taken up residence in their city. – Let’s Play Destiny 2…, Assassin’s Creed Movie Trailer Looks Awesome… But For The Animus, Blade Dance of the Elementalers Complete Season 1 Review. based on This is our full Masquerade The Baubles of Doom Review. Find reviews, trailers, release dates, news, screenshots, walkthroughs, and more for Masquerade: The Baubles of Doom here on GameSpot. I thought the dialogue was well-written, if meaningless, and I just felt the charm it had was wasted on this game. The humor is goof ball, stupid humor, but it's funny and appreciated. Now Jaxx, in all of his blue glory, must save Comedia because she’s Comedia, and that’s what Jaxx has to do. Just letting you know if you decide to take the plunge…. I like Comedia’s laid-back vocals and how she doesn’t come across as a whiny damsel in distress. The timing of this release, even if it were a better game, couldn’t have been worse. We'll only use it for statistics. At close range only. For it was said that whomever possessed the Orbs, possessed the power to rule all. Unfortunately, the gameplay, itself, simply isn’t that good. Just awful. While it definitely takes a page from the Batman: Arkham games of the last two console generations, it's not quite as fluid in its execution. That explanation doesn’t make much sense right? Beast Game’s […]. While Masquarade the baubles of doom has a hint of charm and I didn’t exactly regret playing through the 3 hour story to get to the sequel baiting ending you wont be missing all too much if you decide to just forget about it I give Masquarade: The Baubles of Doom a 5.5/10 … Expand Nevertheless, it does exist. Game: Masquerade The Baubles of Doom Review Format: Playstation 4. I also liked the cartoon clown world in which you take control of a blue, muscle-bound Jester. All things considered, it's the least offensive part of the gameplay. Masquerade is an action-adventure game set in the fantasy world of The Realm, centered around a battle for the mythical Druid Orbs, the most powerful pair of balls in all the land. All of that changed when the game began in earnest, however. Mafia: Definitive Edition (duplicate) (PlayStation 4), Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology (Nintendo 3DS), Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth: Book Two (Xbox One), Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth: Book Two (PC), Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth: Book Two (PlayStation 4), Destiny 2 Expansion I: Curse of Osiris (PlayStation 4), DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods - Part One (PC), Umihara Kawase BaZooKa! Having that fourth wall breaking dialogue included near the end of the campaign was hilarious, and some of the best use of the tactic that I’ve seen in this industry. There's a fair amount of character backstory that's just frankly not worth exploring. Masquerade: The Baubles of Doom - Jaxx Prologue Trailer, I freaking LOVE this game, and there are a ton of reasons why. For it was said that whomever possessed the Orbs, possessed the power to rule all. Along with the frequent encounters, there are a few basic puzzles, and some incredibly ill-conceived platforming sections. Your character is a jester and while most of his combat is normal, he does have one part of his combo sometimes where he jumps into the air and slams the enemy in the face with his butt. The comic cut scenes with full, light hearted voice acting struck a pleasant chord with me, leading me to overlook the choppy frame rate at the beginning as they load in. When they try to attack you, a golden gauntlet pops above their heads and you have the chance to counter. ENDED – Win THE DEEPER YOU DIG on Blu-Ray In Our Competition! In a time of triple-A shooters and unfinished fighting games, one company comes through with the long forgotten classic 3D mascot platformer. Again, if the game were any good, I could forgive a pointless story. Think Battleborn or Gigantic but more cartoony. You’ll enjoy finding the hidden baubles (10 in each level), the hidden chest of red noses you won’t need in each level and the high score of 5/5 stars, a rating I’d be surprised to see this game ever get. Sign Up for Free Account Login. The platforming sections are reminiscent of a Playstation 2 game, except those games positioned their levels and camera a little better. Jaxx's jump is stiff and awkward, and the platforming sections feel like a way to simply break up the action with incredibly annoying timed jump challenges. there’s that. Straight up: the gameplay is terrible. The voice acting is actually really good in my opinion. It isn't funny, with its generically off-colour humour and a bad sense of comedic timing. There’s a ton of it, and it can get pretty annoying when you have multiple enemies attacking at once. The Top 20 Horror Movies Of 2019: Tethered Terrors (Part I). Jaxx the Jester is a Nathan Drake-like treasure hunter, searching for the legendary Druid Orbs.