Preview/Second Hand: Frankie’s Revenge (PC)

When aliens invade the earth and build an unstoppable army of robots, the only reasonable way to fight back is to use better robots; it is better to use disco head and stick with nails. This is the route that human beings have taken from “Ricardo’s Second Hand: Frankie’s Revenge”; this is the initial access title just released to Steam. This is a cartoon four person cooperative action fighter, which allows all players to squeeze out perfect combat machines and seize the earth from the threat of alien robots.

The biggest problem to be solved first is customization options, which can be divided into five main areas: head, main weapon, non portable weapon, body, wheel, etc. Each device is equipped with several unlocked skins to fine tune Frankie’s appearance. He can use black people or disco balls on his head instead of disco heads. You can also customize items based on other appearances, which are used as a central area for selecting levels and loads. As far as I know, the only purpose of this basic customization is to let your friends cooperate with the Internet locally.

This skin is a bolt that the enemy often drops, or after upgrading Frankie, you can open the compensation toolbox and unlock it by purchasing currency in the game. The toolbox is a booty box in terms of function. Whether it is a basic customized box or a random part of Frankie’s false accusation, one skin is encouraged. It is reported that there is no way to use gold and silver to unlock the skin or plunder the box, and there is no malicious gambling in second-hand games.

although customization is the main selling point of the game, I’m still a little disappointed with the options provided. From this game, Frankie has 4 different heads, 5 main weapons, 5 portable weapons, 3 body types and 3 leg types. The legs will change with Frankie’s walking speed, and the body will adjust the balance of HP and energy reserve to deal with special attacks. The main weapons are swords, electric saws for melee, water guns for slowing down the enemy and curing allies. The second hand weapon can have a greater range or knock out the enemy. The special attack depends on the headdress Frankie wears. The first decoration is a disco ball, which can knock out enemies in the range.

There seem to be many options on the paper, but several functions are very similar. Because the device unlocks at a steady speed, I can quickly taste all the devices. It is worth noting that after each level is completed, I can get new equipment, and there are several blank parts in the game. This means that only part of the build can be previewed, so you can’t be too strict with the content currently provided. I hope there are more choices. So far, there are enough chessmen to form a round team consisting of melee players, remote soldiers and therapists.  

In this preview build, I saw 12 levels in two different battles and the BOSS battle in the first battle. These levels usually follow a similar pattern. When repelling randomly generated enemy robots, they basically pass through a linear path. Some levels require Frankie to escort the player with a payload that must be refueled intermittently. Some levels require Frankie to destroy the production machine of the enemy robot. Although what is the most important goal of this level, most of the time in the “used car”, use your favorite loader to blow up robots.

Robot blasting is very interesting! More importantly, your friends will support you. Frankie’s movements are very smooth. He has a double stick shooting style and a useful sprint function. He can narrow the space when a group of robot kites are easy to fly or the enemy appears empty, and then leave before they retaliate. There are many types of enemies, and every battle is interesting. Their design is also the same as Frankie’s cartoon style, and this kind of fight is also visually attractive. One of the most interesting parts of the game is to summon evacuees at the end of each level, and then the jet fighter will drag you out of the map, allowing groups of enemies to circle around you. This is a kind of busy fun, making every level a challenge from beginning to end.

There are different partners or teams from used cars. Rely on yourself, the second-hand car can bypass the target, kill the robot, and obtain monotony; rinse and repeat. But once a team is formed, there is more freedom to try other things. You can make your colleagues recover. If other colleagues are pushing the payload, you can keep the enemy’s robot away from their tail. Once the team is involved, the choice of game will be really open. This is what I want to see. More development can be achieved. Maybe more Frankie parts can be introduced as support tools to further develop strategies.

Second Hand: Frankie’s Revenge is still a noisy and interesting battle movie at the initial stage, but when the game enters the initial stage, there are many exciting places to enjoy. The content available for the first time was a little superficial, but I found that when I finished this part of the game, it was better than it was worse. I really want more at one moment. Fortunately, Rikodu is working hard to add more parts and patterns in the coming weeks, because Second Hand will complete the first step of the initial visit. As now, games are a popular way of comics. You and some friends can consume several hours or even more robots.

This preview is based on an earlier version of the game from the publisher.