Asterix and Obelix “Slap them All” Review
Summary: Overall Asterix and Obelix Slap them all is at its core a 90’s beat 'em up and with that comes the usual trappings of the genre for better or worse. Though not as difficult as some of its fellow games in the genre the 50 levels of the game certainly make it a slog to get through. This can very much be someone's first game of the genre as it is easy and intuitive enough for players of all skill levels.
4.3
Easy Brawler
A Brief History
The Adventures of Asterix first appeared in the Franco-Belgian comic Pilote in 1959, since then many adaptations have been made be it comics, films or video games.
Set during a stylised version of the Roman Gallic wars, Starring the main characters of Asterix the Gaul, his slightly dim but muscled friend Obelix, the potion master Getafix and the array of Roman military figures including my personal favourite Gluteus Maximus (The “BUTT” of all jokes in Rome).
Slap them all or Beat em all?
Now to the main feature of this article the new Beat em Up, Asterix and Obelix Slap them all, whilst Beat em ups are on a decline as a genre in recent years. Asterix and Obelix are looking to buck that trend.
In my opinion Asterix and Obelix are perfect examples of a license where making a beat em up would be a logical choice as in the books and tv shows you see both these characters continually punching and in Obelix’s case bouncing Romans of his stomach which of course is the essence of the genre.
Story
Set in 50 B.C in the last pocket of Gaulish resistance Asterix and Obelix set out on their daily hunt for food on their way they are attacked by Romans, luckily thanks to the Getafix’s potion they are able to defeat this small ambush and make it back to the village.
Once there they are met by a Briton who is seeking help with defeating the Roman invasions of Briton. Asterix and Obelix agree to go along with a barrel of the magic potion; on their way they have to battle a Roman Galley where their ship is damaged and the barrel lost, now it is up to Asterix and Obelix to save the Britons and other tribes around the Empire.
Gameplay
The gameplay in Asterix and Obelix follows the same pattern of all successful 90’s beat em ups even down to the distinct enemy classes, whilst of course there is not a lot of room for individualism in this sort of game seeing the lack of overall variety in look of the enemies was disappointing but again this was offset by the wonderful hand drawn graphics which made it feel like I was watching the original cartoon.
To help along your way you will find barrels which can be thrown at enemies as a weapon and when they break you will also find food to replenish health and coins which will boost your score and mean you can get one ups a lot quicker.
There are some small mini games that are also available but whilst they are ok as palate cleansers I would have preferred other modes as levels rather than just a straight beat ’em up as this game suffers severely from repetition.
Aesthetics
The area where this game really stands out is in the aesthetics both visually and sound wise, the developer was really able to pin down the essence of the comics and cartoons and meld it well into the game without it becoming an issue with looks over gameplay.
All of the scenes are wonderfully drawn and detailed along with each character though they are given only a small amount of animations that keeps it in line with the original animation adding to the overall theme of the game.
Verdict
Overall Asterix and Obelix Slap them all is at its core a 90’s beat ’em up and with that comes the usual trappings of the genre for better or worse. Though not as difficult as some of its fellow games in the genre the 50 levels of the game certainly make it a slog to get through.
This can very much be someone’s first game of the genre as it is easy and intuitive enough for players of all skill levels.
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