Blue Estate The Game

What would YOU think if a game met you with a disclaimer about how people portrayed in this game are not good people and should probably go to jail? And THEN the said game would proceed to a main menu with a stripper dancing in it? Well, personally, I immediately thought to myself that this was the start of something awesome.  

Story:

You're playing as two characters, one of whom is Tony Luciano - he is the one and only son of Don Luciano, the boss of the West Coast Cosa Nostra, located in Los Angeles. Tony is a whiny, pampered man-baby who is nothing more than a violent psychopath who is absolutely incapable of making rational decisions and responsibilities. His ego is bigger than a football field, and nothing has ever been his fault. His main weapon is an engraved golden Desert Eagle (compensating, aren't we?)

One day, Tony's best stripper (and his girlfriend), Cherry Popz, goes missing, so he has to get her back, killing one of the Chinese triad bosses (who looks like a certain North Korean dictator; he also has an affinity to wearing women undergarments) and starting a gang war in the process.

Who's gonna clean all this mess? Clarence. Who is a dishonorably discharged ex-navy seal on the verge of bankruptcy, with the gravelly voice of a chain-smoker, currently in the contract-killing business who isn’t happy about his job, but it beats “bagger at Walmart.” His main weapon is a silenced Glock (ooh, professional).

Due to his shaky financial situation, Clarence has no choice but to accept the jobs that come straight from the Don himself and need to be handled with extreme secrecy. In the end, Clarence earns the complete trust of Don Luciano and becomes his top killer. This sure fixes Clarence’s cash flow problem but only gets him deeper into a world he was trying to avoid.

The story is presented in this funny pseudo-neo-noir manner with a dorky "private investigator" narrating the whole affair, making nerdy references to Star Wars and Game of Thrones.

I've never read the original comic series, but I liked the story for what it is. Besides, it's just a set dressing for the chaos happening on the screen.

Graphics:

Exaggerated is the word I would use to describe graphics and art style. Blue Estate has a bold, comic book-style art style, which, I think, is a great representation of the source material. Exaggerated colors mixed with dark tones and these paintbrush stroke effects here and there. Exaggerated, almost caricature character designs. All the enemies are kinda ugly; all the girls are overly sexy. The character models have cartoonish proportions, making them stand out in the chaotic gunfights. Everything has a slightly sleazy, grimy look that absolutely fits the game's violent and absurd tone.

Audio:

It's fine. The voice acting is great; gun sounds are punchy as hell.
It's always funny to listen to these characters. Their stupid, crude jokes and unhinged commentary fill the quiet between fights perfectly.

Gameplay:

With this being an on-rail shooter, there's not much to talk about in terms of mechanics and raw gameplay, but there are some things to discuss.

First of all, let's talk about modes, of which there are two: Story and Arcade.

Story mode is as simple as shooting enemies and watching funny cutscenes.

Arcade is a bit more interesting. You have 5 seconds, and when time reaches zero - you die. Every time you take damage, it subtracts a bit of this time. With every kill, you get that time back, every ten or so kills, your weapon gets upgraded from your signature pistol up to the golden Kalashnikov with a scrotum-shaped magazine. No, I'm not kidding.

In terms of core gameplay, you move from screen to screen, killing waves of dudes and avoiding getting shot either by taking cover with a press of a button or being a quick shot. Headshots or nutshots are a one-shot kill and award the most points. Later in the story, enemies start wearing armor vests (or even full-body armor with an armored mask), which can take more than one magazine to destroy. So, headshots are your best chance.

Don't worry though, you'll have enough time to choose your targets, as enemies have these bright yellow circle marks which get bigger the sooner they are to damaging you. It's a nice way of making sure you know which target to prioritize. 

Sometimes, you're gonna need to "swipe" to perform an action. Either by swiping your mouse or pressing the arrow keys. What "actions" I hear you asking? Well, sometimes you need to pick up a health or ammo. Sometimes, you need to punch a machete-wielding enemy. Sometimes you need to remove the chihuahua humping your leg... Please, don't ask. There's also Tony's pompadour constantly losing its integral structure and covering Tony's eyes. Don't forget a bunch of projectiles thrown by enemies flying into your face, so you have to either shoot them or punch away. 

There's enough variety in required swipe actions to test your reaction.

There's also a bunch of collectibles to shoot (yes, TO SHOOT).

This game is right up my alley. I am an old-school gamer; I am a fan of crude humor and sexualization. Yes, it's short, 2-3 hours to spend on the story mode, then by the 5th or 6th hour, you'll probably get your last achievement. If you have a spare buck, there are definitely worse ways to spend your money on Steam.