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Shakedown: Hawaii

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Shakedown: Hawaii
Developer(s)Vblank Entertainment
Publisher(s)Vblank Entertainment
Designer(s)Brian Provinciano
Composer(s)Matthew Creamer
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo Switch
PlayStation 4
PlayStation Vita
Wii
Wii U
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
  • WW: May 7, 2019
Nintendo 3DS
  • NA: September 19, 2019
  • PAL: September 26, 2019
Wii
  • EU: July 9, 2020
Wii U
  • WW: August 2020
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Shakedown: Hawaii is an open world action-adventure video game developed by Canadian studio Vblank Entertainment. Like its predecessor Retro City Rampage, it is a parody of multiple subjects, including retro games, 1980s pop culture, manipulative business practices, and Grand Theft Auto and similar games. It was released in 2019 on Microsoft Windows, along with various Nintendo and Sony platforms.

Story

Decades after founding Hawaii-based conglomerate Feeble Multinational and writing a best-selling business advice book, the aging and out-of-touch CEO of Feeble learns that his company is on the verge of bankruptcy, with online shopping, video streaming, and vehicle for hire mobile apps sapping Feeble's profits from its retail stores, VHS rentals, and taxi services. The CEO, together with his unemployed adult son Scooter and a henchman known only as "The Consultant", band together to rebuild Feeble into a corporate empire. Their arsenal of unscrupulous tactics includes violating consumer protection standards, razing buildings to make way for redevelopment, competing on a dangerous game show, destroying package delivery trucks, raiding a drug cartel, and shaking down other businesses. A subplot centers around the CEO's son Scooter as he joins a gang and performs tasks for the gang's leader, Tad.[1][2]

Gameplay

Shakedown: Hawaii features an open world island with 16-bit style graphics, a top-down perspective, over 200 accessible buildings, and a destructible environment. In addition to a story mode following the three main characters, the player can break away from missions to free-roam the map and extort local businesses, use a variety of weapons to cause chaos, attempt arcade-like challenges and mini-games, purchase real-estate in a market that fluctuates in response, steal cars, or purchase clothing from stores. Combat is similar to Retro City Rampage, and involves using a wide variety of weapons to destroy enemies, vehicles, and property.[2][3]

Release

Shakedown: Hawaii was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita on May 7, 2019, and also for the Nintendo 3DS on September 19, 2019 in North America, and September 26, 2019 in Europe and Australia.[4] Less than a year later, on June 26, 2020, VBlank announced plans to port Shakedown: Hawaii to the Switch's two discontinued predecessors: the Wii and the Wii U. Both versions will include all major content updates and will allow the player to play the game with a sideways Wii Remote or a Classic Controller, with the former also supporting the GameCube controller and the latter supporting native Wii U controllers. The Wii version was released on July 9 exclusively in PAL territories with only a limited run of 3,000 copies, due to the system's obsolescence and Nintendo of America's refusal to authorize a North American release, while the Wii U version will be available worldwide the following month.[5][6] According to Vice, designer Brian Provinciano was informed that Nintendo of America was unable to approve a release because a few of its departments no longer had the ability to retrieve equipment that is necessary to distribute the game physically in North America.[7]

Reception

Shakedown: Hawaii has received reviews ranging from "generally favorable" to "mixed or average" depending on platform according to Metacritic.

Destructoid scored the game an 8/10. Reviewer Chris Carter praised the gameplay, visuals, soundtrack, and "relaxed emphasis on doing whatever you want", calling the game a worthy follow-up to Retro City Rampage that improved on many of its aspects. However, Carter noted there were some minor mission-interrupting glitches, and criticized the story's presentation: "I don't think the tritagonist focus (you play as the CEO's son and the company's main Winston Wolf fixer) really serves the narrative, nor does it make a meaningful statement against, say, GTA V's usage of the same conceit. […] I mostly just found myself playing as the CEO as he is the crux of the tale."[12]

Game Informer's Jeff Cork also gave the game an 8/10, highlighting the abundance of content and humorous tone, but describing the economy as unbalanced because it was possible to earn enough money to trivialize the acquisition of late-game purchases. In his summation, Cork stated, "The economy might be a little wonky, but Shakedown: Hawaii delivers a nice blast of classic arcade action and some solid laughs."[13]

References

  1. ^ "A Deep Dive into Shakedown: Hawaii". Vblank Entertainment Inc. October 19, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Santa Maria, Alex (March 15, 2019). "Shakedown: Hawaii is like getting first class tickets to paradise". GameRevolution. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  3. ^ Franzese, Thomas (October 19, 2018). "Retro City Rampage Successor Shakedown: Hawaii Channels its GTA Inspiration in Overview Trailer". DualShockers. Retrieved May 3, 2019.
  4. ^ Doolan, Liam (September 13, 2019). "Shakedown: Hawaii Launches On 3DS eShop This Month, Includes The "Full Tank" Update". Nintendo Life. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  5. ^ McFerran, Damien (June 26, 2020). "No, Seriously, The Wii And Wii U Are Getting Physical Versions Of Shakedown: Hawaii This Year". Nintendo Life. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  6. ^ "Shakedown Hawaii: It's Coming to Wii and Wii U!". VBlank Entertainment. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  7. ^ Klepek, Patrick (10 July 2020). "Why This Developer Is Releasing a New Wii Game in 2020". Vice. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Shakedown: Hawaii Switch". Metacritic.
  9. ^ "Shakedown: Hawaii PC". Metacritic.
  10. ^ "Shakedown: Hawaii PlayStation 4". Metacritic.
  11. ^ "Shakedown: Hawaii PlayStation Vita". Metacritic.
  12. ^ a b Carter, Chris (6 May 2019). "Review: Shakedown: Hawaii". Destructoid. Destructoid. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  13. ^ a b Cork, Jeff (10 May 2019). "Review: Shakedown: Hawaii". Game Informer. Game Informer. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  14. ^ Workman, Robert (8 May 2019). "Shakedown Hawaii Review - (Good) Trouble in paradise". Game Revolution. Game Revolution. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  15. ^ White, Lewis (8 May 2019). "Shakedown: Hawaii Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Nintendo Life. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
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