R.I.C.O. (Nintendo Switch)

Product Information

High Calibre. The three magazines of 9mm you brought with you were never going to get you past the first floor. Chop and change from your ever-expanding arsenal to suit the task at hand as you defeat enemies along the way. Also, rescuing hostages – something that pops up during the game a few times – can often be an exercise in frustration. Freeing them from the grip of an enemy is simple enough, but several times they then blithely ran into the middle of the gunfight and got shot, or worse, got taken out by an enemy grenade with nothing you can do to save them. Speaking of minimal brainpower, this is a shooter where two heads are – mostly – better than one. Having an extra partner on the beat changes up the formula more than I was expecting – instead of powering through alone, there’s a violent dance involved with taking turns to breach and covering each other through reloads. That dance has too many left feet though, as doubling the breachers means there’s going to be a couple of butted heads and awkward shots along the way until an agreeable rhythm is settled upon. I’d say that glitches have been the source of most of my enjoyment when playing RICO London, actually. Some enemies appear to breakdance after they’ve died, flinging themselves around the room in an entertaining fashion until they simply disappear. Others nod their hands or swing their arms rhythmically, as if they’re grooving on their way to the bright light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve even seen some miscreants get flexible and do the splits. Procedurally-generated cases mean no two games are ever the same - you'll never know what's waiting for you.

I’ve always believed that a game should theoretically be completable on the first attempt even if highly unlikely. I can’t say if this is possible in this game but I find rogue-lites usually aren’t and I never complete the few I bought as I got bored of the repetitiveness before I levelled up enough to be able to. Two cops, one case and only 24 hours to take them down... can you score the bust of a lifetime? Take the role of a loose cannon police detective and face off against criminal gangs in an exciting procedurally-generated action movie FPS. Join forces with a friend, online or locally, and take down those crooks in true buddy-cop style! Thrilling as it is in short doses, the standard game formula does begin to wear thin after a while. This is where the extra novelty of split-screen play should earn RICO a space in your collection. It's co-op only, you'll need two full controllers and it only works when hitched to a TV but it's glorious entertainment for all that. It may sound reductive, but that’s a formula that absolutely works for me – those first seconds of slow-mo slaughter in each room are a hell of a drug. There’s a satisfying arcade feel to dodging bullets and dropping gaggles of gangsters with carefully placed headshots, especially when each cold and efficient kill comes with a colourful splash of point multipliers. Mercenary Kings: Reloaded Edition - Superb. Like Contra but you can explore the huge levels independently.

The Verdict

Tough choices for a tough game. It's a steep curve for new players but a choice of difficult levels widens the appeal. And as you gain experience you'll see how you can make tactical decisions to improve your play.

Steredenn: Binary Stars - Crazy shootemup action but maybe a shame you share the same pool of lives.

Did we miss something on diversity?

And to be sure, Rico: London is a pretty easy game. I spent a fair bit of time in both the campaign and the roguelike mode, and the only particularly difficult part is the very last room in the game. Players will likely be divided over whether the relaxed difficulty suits this game, but I felt much more badass clearing a building full of criminals without restarting every ten seconds. That very late spike in difficulty is disgusting – the last room is a real bastard – but for the overwhelming majority of the game, I kind of preferred not having a huge challenge.