RIP Strike Back is the bloody fun sequel to White Elephant’s most popular blast-fest. The game brings back the three anti-heroes for some non-stop gun-totting action. In more than 60 different levels players take one of three characters through the story mode battling enemies with power-ups, vehicles, and weapons.

The game sports two modes story mode and a run-and-gun option called “Rush Mode.� In Rush Mode players take one of the three characters, Halloween, Death, or Rock & Roll, and battle to the death with an endless horde of foes. The selected character can level-up whether in each mode, and each character has special abilities that can be exploited to the player’s advantage. Some of these power-ups include speed-ups, gaseous emissions that deal damage to nearby enemies, deadly sight that hurts anyone within the target reticule, defensive bonuses, extra-damage, etc., and can ultimately decide how well you fair in the fight against bad guys as well as dragons that fly-by and flame everything on screen, or nukes that blow up enemies within a specific area. There’s also a bullet-time feature so everything slows down to a near crawl in time, giving you an advantage to pick off targets with ease.

For those unfamiliar with the original RIP this game is a top-down shooter. Console gamers might be familiar with the likes of a similar game on the Playstation called Loaded, or its gory sequel Re-Loaded. The keys ‘W’, ‘A’, ‘S’, ‘D’, controls the characters movements while the mouse is used to aim and shoot with two different firing modes. The action is patently fast with enough enemies on the screen to keep your fingers busy every second of the way.

The gameplay, has been evened out with the reloading feature used as a strategic element. Mostly, the feature seems to prevent players from just running into the midst of a clutter and blasting everything in sight. The weapon balance comes in the form of the firing-rates and reload times; various weapons do more or less damage and can help or hinder you in various situations. The weapon selection itself ranges from laser blasters, phasers, shotguns, dual-wielding machine guns, rocket launchers and more.

RIP Strike Back also has various vehicles and stationary weaponry for players to use as well: Turret guns, tanks and helicopters are among the vehicles present in RIP. Each vehicle has its own stats and high-powered weaponry. The turret gun, while immobile, allows players to quickly dispatch of enemies within range. The tank is slow but extremely powerful, and the helicopter provides an even balance of mobility and firepower.

Graphics:
The top-down sprites look as good as they ought to. The bullet effects could have been slightly better; when the shell casings eject they fade pretty quick. Still, certain other weapon effects look really, really good; laser beams and fire effects look especially nice. The enemies are designed with decent quality and the stages don’t look half bad. This definitely isn’t the sort of game that could be recommended for its visuals alone. However, it isn’t the sort of game that has visual effects that impair any part of the gameplay.

Sound:
Not all the music in this game matches a lot of what’s happening on-screen. However, I liked the selected tunes nonetheless, and they all sounded pretty cool. The sound effects, on the other hand, work perfectly for RIP Strike Back. The various weapons all sound devastating and match their visual effects.

Gameplay:
RIP Strike Back doesn’t compromise the difficulty of its nature. This game is for die-hard shooting fans who can react faster than they can blink. Dispatching enemies can be easy, but deciding which one to shoot first will sometimes decide whether you live or die. Especially when you’re taking on hordes of the evil dead. The boss battles aren’t very difficult but some sub-bosses require a lot of strategy and will definitely give players a hearty fight for their life. The weapon selection is solid and the vehicles add an extra hint of replay value.

Concept:
A simple looking design with a lot of fun, equals tons of replayability. The only thing this game was missing was a multiplayer feature. However, the single player mode holds it own with the action being solid enough to keep the most attention-deficient gamer interested. Even though this game is strikingly similar to Loaded, and some levels are a bit repetitive, it doesn’t embark players on a quest nearly as dark or overly-violent. RIP Strike Back is a good mix of action with a hint of RPG elements; definitely a recipe that can’t go wrong.

Value:
$19.95 is an adequate price for a game of this kind. The speed and pace reminds me a bit of Take no Prisoners by Raven Games, except you won’t be doing any aimless wandering in this game. Developers, White Elephant, did a good job of keeping things paced so players won’t get bored anytime soon. A multiplayer mode would have made this game solid all the way through, but for what it’s worth...this game kicks butt.

Recommendation:
If you liked Loaded, Alien Shooter, Take no Prisoners, or the original RIP, than this is a no-brainer decision: Buy it. If you honestly are reserved about this title, there’s no harm in trying it out. Still, though, my first suggestion is my primary suggestion: Anyone looking for non-stop action, vehicular super weapons, and upgradeable special abilities, you’ll find a gem in RIP Strike Back.