When I first saw that CMON was making a game based upon the Kick-Ass IP, I wasn’t too impressed to be honest. I thought the first movie was “meh” at best, and we didn’t even bother to watch the sequel. I’m very happy to say that all of that changed after spending a few minutes with Renato Sasdelli, its producer, at Gen Con 2017. Honestly, he was so enthusiastic about the game that I wanted to start playing Kick-Ass right there. Here’s the low-down:
First, as I’m sure many of you are wondering, this game is based on the comic books and not the movies. So much so in fact, that the rulebook is presented in comic book style and original artwork is used generously throughout. If you’re a fan of the comic, you will feel right at home in this game.
Second, this isn’t your run-of-the-mill super hero game. Most of those tend to focus on what it’s like to already be an established super hero with side-kicks, gadgets, and villains. In Kick-Ass, the focus is centered on the much more interesting struggle one goes through when trying to become a hero. Life is anything but easy, and you can’t just “quit your day job” so to speak.
Set in New York City, each day of the game takes place in 3 phases: morning, afternoon, and night. You’ll need to decide what heroes are going to do during each phase, giving this game an almost euro-type worker placement feel. As you try to maintain the delicate balance of normal life vs hero life, there will be tough decisions to make. No hero can be everywhere or do everything, and the decisions you make (or don’t make) will have consequences.
In short, players will need to help each other out. The bills won’t pay themselves, someone needs to go to work and earn money. Wasn’t your team in a clip on the evening news the other night? Maybe one of you can use their technical prowess boost your team’s social media presence and inspire a neighborhood watch group to lend a hand. Of course, don’t forget to pencil in some time for rest and relaxation too, crime-fighting takes a lot of work.
Finally, as your group’s team of heroes progresses, you can of course schedule time to fight the “big bad”. Each of the main villains comes with their own unique deck of tricks to control them and push your team to their limits.
Now, on to the boring stuff… Kick-Ass is a 2-4 player cooperative game designed to take about an hour to play, maybe 90 minutes at the maximum. Currently, there are 8 heroes and 5 main villains to choose from, and there *may potentially* even be a single player mode. Of course, these details are subject to change as the game is finalized, but you can start keeping an eye out for it at your favorite retailer sometime in mid-2018.
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