For nearly a decade, Newgrounds.com has provided us with a variety of popular characters, ranging from original gangstas like Pico and Samurai Asshole, to the more modern hit, Alien Hominid.

Two years ago a group of long-time Newgrounds contributers (Mindchamber, NegativeOne & Luis) were sanctioned to bring this motley crew of characters into a single game where they could live togethet in harmony. And by harmony, of course I mean brutal destruction.

Newgrounds Rumble is a side-view arena rumble game in the same vein as the Smash Bros series, with all the action and mayhem one would expect from the ever-popular genre.

Artistically, this game is a beast. With a cast of 10 characters, all hand-drawn, and each having their own special level, it’s very apparent that the near 2-year production time was not wasted. The attacks and combos are all rendered beautifully, and the backgrounds could give any modern console game a run for their money.

The sound is amazingly impressive as well, especially when you consider it’s all backed into 8mb. Every character has distinct effects, and even some minor voice-work that makes it really feel like a classic arcade game. The music keeps the pace up and never gets annoying. It’s like chicken soup for the ears.

The gameplay is what really makes this game stand above the rest. Every character has a very unique fighting style, and the strategy changes dramatically based on which character you play. Each opponent has a certain vulnerability… and even the levels themselves change the way you will play. The way you can mix regular, fierce, ariel and crouch attacks lets you really feel like you are doing more than just mashing buttons over and over.

While this game has so many triumphs, it also has a few shortcomings as well. Some are petty nuances, like the letters on P-bot being backwards when facing left, some effect the actual gameplay.
The AI, while challenging, is pretty predictable. If you camp out at a powerup spawn point, they will pretty much keep coming right into whatever attack you have waiting for them, and you will horde all the powerups.

The combo chaining gets a bit annoying at times as well. There is a noticeable delay after each attack where it waits to see if you are going to keep the combo going. Typically this isn’t a big deal unless you find yourself needing to turn around because your opponent has jumped over you or something.

The junk yard level is kind of lame as well… you don’t have to throw a single punch… just stand as bait beside the crusher and it will beat all your opponents for you.

Take the good with the bad though, because in spite these small shortcomings, the game is damn fun. Everything from earning ‘grounds gold’ to unlock characters and levels, to the fact that every single character has an enjoyable story mode, and you have an extremely impressive title here.

I would love to see a sequel to this with even more characters, more power-ups and some of the minor flaws removed and possibly some online play. It could definitely roll with the big dogs of the console world.

[ Let's get ready to RUMBBBLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEE ]