Overview:
Megabyte Punch is a brawler with mechanics derived from Smash Bros. What makes Megabyte Punch different is that it gives the player the ability to customize his/her fighter's parts.
Recommendation:
While Megabyte Punch initially feels derivative, and in no way can it be a beat Smash's versus mode, it has a superior adventure mode and the customization can be fun. In particular, Megabyte Punch can sometimes feel less fluid than Smash. Overall, Megabyte Punch can be fun, but it's rough around the edges, so enter with low expectations.
As a side note, if playing with multiple players, a large monitor or television screen is recommended.
20141226:
I played Megabyte Punch for about an hour today and I would definitely praise the equipment system.
As you play through the levels and collect parts, you can exchange the parts and customize your fighter (Megac).
Of course, since you have a finite number of body parts, there are a finite number of possibilities.
Since some parts give special abilities, it's also important to assign certain abilities to certain directions (up, down, left/right, or neutral).
Interestingly, some combinations absolutely work better than others. There are also some combinations which do well in certain situations.
As for Megabyte Punch's fighting mechanic, that is mostly derived from Smash Bros.:
1) the regular attacks are executed with Z.
2) special attacks depend on parts equipped, but are activated by X and a direction (up, down, left/right, or neutral).
3) fighters (Megacs) accumulate damage and higher damage means higher knock back.
In particular, the level one boss battle played out exactly like a stock match in Smash Bros.
20141228:
Today my friend came over and so I busted out the USB controllers and we played a little of Megabyte Punch.
At first we went into versus mode and I had him check out some of the parts, had him put together a Megac, and we fought with three stocks each on the first available level.
After he beat me, we went into adventure mode and I thought that was a bit more fun. In versus mode, there was a lot of kiting and the fighting felt boring compared to Smash Bros. In contrast, having multiple players in adventure mode resulted in strategic splitting in order to explore divergent paths and cooperation in order to defeat enemies.
Note that the versus mode uses a single screen like Smash Bros. while adventure mode uses a split screen.
20141229:
Today Chris, Michael, and I played level three and four of Megabyte Punch. Unfortunately we were playing on my laptop screen and so the split screen was a half screen for player 1, a fourth screen for player 2, and a fourth screen for player 3. Adjusting parts, as with two players, is private but switching out parts takes up the entire screen. Note that individual players can still attempt to navigate their "Y" screens when a single player is on the full screen menu.
In any case, the small screen was definitely a drawback. However, if we had access to a big screen television, then that wouldn't be a problem.
The life system (bits and disks) being individual instead of shared was also problematic. This meant that if a player died, he/she would have to wait until all the other players died. And in Megabyte Punch, the wait can be long. Note that an easy fix is to reduce the time that a player must wait before returning to the game. For example, in Smash Bros., the wait time between matches is generally minimal.
Other games which suffer from this flaw (a long wait for those eliminated) include Bang! the Bullet!, Risk of Rain (PC) (2013), and Monopoly.
Another thing we encountered was lag. While the frame rate was normal outside of battle, when enough enemies and/or attacks were being used, the graphics would jump and/or slow down.
After finishing level four, we fought once in versus mode. With my crab, I managed to win. Though honestly, I would say the crab won.
For a change of pace, we switched over to playing Legend of Dungeon.
20141230:
Today Josh, Michael, Chris, and I played this game on the big screen. We switched to it after playing some Fist Puncher (PC) (2013).
Playing on a big screen television, there was plenty of screen space for four players. Unfortunately, the boss battle had too much going on. Together we completed level five and we tried once to play through level six but failed.
After trying to play level six, I thought it would be fun to play Five Nights at Freddy's.
20150104:
I tried to play level six today, but I kept dying.
After a couple of tries, it seems that wearing the head piece that grants immunity to red virus clouds is essential and damage reduction probably helps. A drill will also make many situations easier as well.
However, my hypothesis about the head piece was wrong! There is a solution that doesn't require it. However, the drill is still useful.
Eventually I defeated the three stages but barely lost to the boss. Fortunately, beating the three stages unlocks a door that leads straight to the boss. Unfortunately, it means I only get three lives instead of the four I had after the three stages. As such, it took me many variations versus the boss before finding one that works.
Megabyte Punch (PC) (2013)
Relevant Links:
Megabyte Punch Website
Megabyte Punch (Steam Store Page)
Megabyte Punch (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Megabyte Punch is a brawler with mechanics derived from Smash Bros. What makes Megabyte Punch different is that it gives the player the ability to customize his/her fighter's parts.
Recommendation:
While Megabyte Punch initially feels derivative, and in no way can it be a beat Smash's versus mode, it has a superior adventure mode and the customization can be fun. In particular, Megabyte Punch can sometimes feel less fluid than Smash. Overall, Megabyte Punch can be fun, but it's rough around the edges, so enter with low expectations.
As a side note, if playing with multiple players, a large monitor or television screen is recommended.
20141226:
I played Megabyte Punch for about an hour today and I would definitely praise the equipment system.
As you play through the levels and collect parts, you can exchange the parts and customize your fighter (Megac).
 |
| Part of the Tutorial: Wall Jump |
Of course, since you have a finite number of body parts, there are a finite number of possibilities.
Since some parts give special abilities, it's also important to assign certain abilities to certain directions (up, down, left/right, or neutral).
Interestingly, some combinations absolutely work better than others. There are also some combinations which do well in certain situations.
As for Megabyte Punch's fighting mechanic, that is mostly derived from Smash Bros.:
1) the regular attacks are executed with Z.
2) special attacks depend on parts equipped, but are activated by X and a direction (up, down, left/right, or neutral).
3) fighters (Megacs) accumulate damage and higher damage means higher knock back.
 |
| Select Different Parts for Different Abilities |
In particular, the level one boss battle played out exactly like a stock match in Smash Bros.
20141228:
Today my friend came over and so I busted out the USB controllers and we played a little of Megabyte Punch.
At first we went into versus mode and I had him check out some of the parts, had him put together a Megac, and we fought with three stocks each on the first available level.
After he beat me, we went into adventure mode and I thought that was a bit more fun. In versus mode, there was a lot of kiting and the fighting felt boring compared to Smash Bros. In contrast, having multiple players in adventure mode resulted in strategic splitting in order to explore divergent paths and cooperation in order to defeat enemies.
 |
| Two-Player Splitscreen |
Note that the versus mode uses a single screen like Smash Bros. while adventure mode uses a split screen.
20141229:
Today Chris, Michael, and I played level three and four of Megabyte Punch. Unfortunately we were playing on my laptop screen and so the split screen was a half screen for player 1, a fourth screen for player 2, and a fourth screen for player 3. Adjusting parts, as with two players, is private but switching out parts takes up the entire screen. Note that individual players can still attempt to navigate their "Y" screens when a single player is on the full screen menu.
In any case, the small screen was definitely a drawback. However, if we had access to a big screen television, then that wouldn't be a problem.
The life system (bits and disks) being individual instead of shared was also problematic. This meant that if a player died, he/she would have to wait until all the other players died. And in Megabyte Punch, the wait can be long. Note that an easy fix is to reduce the time that a player must wait before returning to the game. For example, in Smash Bros., the wait time between matches is generally minimal.
Other games which suffer from this flaw (a long wait for those eliminated) include Bang! the Bullet!, Risk of Rain (PC) (2013), and Monopoly.
Another thing we encountered was lag. While the frame rate was normal outside of battle, when enough enemies and/or attacks were being used, the graphics would jump and/or slow down.
After finishing level four, we fought once in versus mode. With my crab, I managed to win. Though honestly, I would say the crab won.
 |
| Two-Player Splitscreen |
For a change of pace, we switched over to playing Legend of Dungeon.
20141230:
Today Josh, Michael, Chris, and I played this game on the big screen. We switched to it after playing some Fist Puncher (PC) (2013).
Playing on a big screen television, there was plenty of screen space for four players. Unfortunately, the boss battle had too much going on. Together we completed level five and we tried once to play through level six but failed.
After trying to play level six, I thought it would be fun to play Five Nights at Freddy's.
20150104:
I tried to play level six today, but I kept dying.
After a couple of tries, it seems that wearing the head piece that grants immunity to red virus clouds is essential and damage reduction probably helps. A drill will also make many situations easier as well.
However, my hypothesis about the head piece was wrong! There is a solution that doesn't require it. However, the drill is still useful.
Eventually I defeated the three stages but barely lost to the boss. Fortunately, beating the three stages unlocks a door that leads straight to the boss. Unfortunately, it means I only get three lives instead of the four I had after the three stages. As such, it took me many variations versus the boss before finding one that works.
Megabyte Punch (PC) (2013)
Relevant Links:
Megabyte Punch Website
Megabyte Punch (Steam Store Page)
Megabyte Punch (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
No comments :