Anarchy Reigns

An interesting idea – a 3D brawler focused on multiplayer. The combat system seems simple but offers quite a bit of depth. Unfortunately it is hard to find people to play with over the Internet and the single player mode is dull as hell. [CD-Action 03/2013, p.64]

Anarchy Reigns is the last act of the relationship between Sega and Platinum Games. The final seal is not a masterpiece like Bayonetta, but quite a brawler game that transports the world of Mad World in multiplayer arenas.

A tighter focus on multiplayer modes would have helped with the online population. It's definitely worth the budget price, though. [March 2013, p.81]

A very singular game, coupling a good multiplayer with a forgettable and short single player campaign and, especially, a disappointing technical production if compared to Platinum Games standards. Thanks to its budget price and uniqueness could however be worth a buy if you’re looking for a different and furious brawler to pass some time with.

While the single-player has several issues, the multiplayer makes up for it. The $30 price tag helps as well. I wouldn’t recommend this to every fan of beat-em-ups, but if you can handle the unique Platinum flavor, then it’s worth trying out.

Arena brawlers are underrepresented within the fighting genre, and Anarchy Reigns is a welcome nostalgic trip back to simpler days.

Make no mistake, this is a game for gamers: furious button mashing, intense competition, and destruction on a scale that only Platinum Games seems to understand.

Chunky, satisfying online scrapper - but a dreadful single-player. Proceed with caution. [Feb 2013, p.84]

Anarchy Reigns may be the first retail release of 2013 but it's a strong contender for dumbest fun of the year.

Anarchy Reigns does exactly what the title explains. It brings players to a world of chaos and adds a very thin storyline. The game is all about beating enemies up end allows you to doe this against the computer offline and versus players online. It's a pretty decent game with a dent in it here and there.

The story is as confusing as the characters are interesting. But then, who needs a story, when you can have well executed old-school brawling fun? The multiplayer keeps things interesting, but be warned: Your frustration threshold will be put to the test before you start to enjoy the hectic, sometimes chaotic but always entertaining mayhem.

Anarchy Reigns is a dream come true for some, and a mediocre game for others. At first glance, the game hides its potential well - the single player campaign is short and simple, and multiplayer is complex, demanding and hard to master. The game is uneven in the graphical department as well - maps are impressively big, there are some great monster and character designs, but terrible textures and a faulty physics and destruction system can put you off. But Anarchy Reigns is good at what it needs to be good at - being a great multiplayer beat'em up. Underneath some sloppiness there's a well designed game that is worth buying now, when people are playing it.

Though single-player is a weird mishmash of bland environments and repeated ideas, the combat system is fun even in those straightforward scenarios. The multiplayer modes struggle with crowd control, but the strong mechanics overpower those issues.

Anarchy Reigns ultimately feels like a game that probably didn't quite feel right midway through development, which didn't have the same effort and attention lavished upon it as the developer's previous games. Still, when your very worst game ends up being this decent, you're clearly doing something right.

The characters are well-designed and the story well-performed, but actually playing through the campaign is a chore. The multiplayer can be great, especially in the team or Death Ball modes, but the limited combat is bound to wear thin before too long, and matchmaking troubles are irritating.

Anarchy Reigns is a violent beat'em all, and an elitist one. Barely accessible, it could have been a superb brawler, but it suffers from a clear lack of polish, its mandatory solo mode is full of lengthy annoying and dull story elements you can't bypass, and once online, you will be spanked a lot before you can achieve anything. It's the last game Platinum Games did for Sega, and it shows.

Fast paced combat, a great roster and plenty of multiplayer modes makes anarchy reigns one of the most fun fighting brawler game around. Platinum Games hits the mark, again.

Anarchy Reigns simply doesn't live up to its hype. It's not the big multiplayer brawler that finally brings action games into the online world, but it is a pretty solid action game nonetheless.

Greater than the sum of its parts, and something no fan of the genre should miss.

Anarchy Reigns is an attractive, bombastic entry that retails for half the price of a normal title while delivering a fantastic level of quality. If you ask me, smaller-budget titles that try to do something different should be supported and celebrated-definitely give this one a shot, but keep an eye out for double chainsaws approaching from the rear.

Anarchy Reigns throws a lot of blows, and while it's sometimes recklessly off target, this is a talented and capable fighter at its core.

Online matches can be irritating for those who haven't taken the time to learn the ins and outs of their characters, certainly, but the novelty of slaughtering each other in football arenas or fighting over flags makes the multiplayer a worthwhile use of time.

It's every bit as stupid, chaotic, flawed and brilliant as it sounds.

Anarchy Reigns is pure awesomeness, the true core of an entertaining gameplay and the God of multiplayer. Sadly, SEGA and Platinum Games will not earn much money from this great project. As usual.

Anarchy Reigns is good, clean fun while the appeal lasts, and demonstrates that online fighting games needn't be restricted to just versus fare. There's clearly room for something a little more... anarchic.

Anarchy Reigns tries to be many things, but what kills it is that it is too often the one thing it never should be: boring.

Overall Anarchy Reigns is definitely worth a look. There's a substantial amount of content present for the asking price, and the overall feel of the game is pretty polished. The combat aspect that drives the single and online play feels really solid, with easy to pick up and understand movesets for characters that don't feel like cookie cutter copy and paste jobs, featuring strong art direction and a fantastic soundtrack to wrap it all up.

It's true that the plot is a mess and a few odd quirks keep Anarchy Reigns from being a polished AAA release, but despite that, there are tons of freaks to beat up, plenty of online combatants to choose from, and balanced gameplay that doesn't take itself too seriously.

One of those games you'll either love or hate. Some folks will be able to look past the gameplay flaws and appreciate the Platinum-y goodness, but more serious fighting fans will probably wish for a more defined, discernible battlefield. I tend to side more with the latter, but I managed to have some occasional fun despite my frustrations.

It's ridiculous, it's fun, and it's packed with enough content to last you a long while, so long as you don't get tired of beating dudes up over and over. The budget pricing of $29.99 makes this decision even easier.

Anarchy Reigns has simple but effective gameplay and combo mechanics. Great online beat'em up full of online modes. Frantic and fun, but has a repetitive and too-short single-player campaign.

Anarchy Reigns' multiplayer scratches an itch I didn't know I had, but its camera faults and near-identical character move sets hold it back from scratching hard enough. However, online matchmaking is quick and easy, and the network fidelity held strong through every round I played.

The single-player mode offers some spectacular boss battles, but pads out the experience with long-winded slogs against disposable drones. Without humans to fight, the relative rigidity of combat is exposed, though Platinum could never make hitting something anything less than satisfying. Anarchy Reigns is a brash, scrappy runt in a litter of spectacular action games, but in making online brawling just about work it still offers something of its own.

Anarchy Reigns may be a case of style over substance, but if quick-and-dirty brawling is what you're in the mood for, it's guaranteed to scratch your savage itch. It's a shame that the multiplayer, which could've prolonged the game's frenetic fun, will serve as an amusing distraction. But when you just want to turn your brain off and pummel waves of baddies, it doesn't get much more gratifying or outrageously stylish than this.

When $30 nets you this much online-multiplayer insanity, it's easy to forgive many of Anarchy Reigns' missteps. Heck, at that price, you can ignore the grueling solo campaign entirely and the game's still a decent value.

It's too easy to see where Anarchy Reigns could have been better. Games are made within a budget and Anarchy Reigns' surely wasn't much, but you have to admire the purity of its intentions. In a perfect world it would have a Call of Duty 2-like impact and birthed refined successors, but as it stands Anarchy Reigns is an enjoyable oddity pleading for an elegant sequel.