When it comes to videogames, you can never have too much [i]polish[/i]. This is an underappreciated element of videogames, and let me tell you why: Most developers simply don't have the time. No matter the era, developers are constantly faced with impossible deadlines. Basically, not every "i" is going to be dotted, nor will every "t" will be crossed. However, if developers had the time to make even the slightest adjustments, they could turn a good game into something even better.
Since this is a review, you already understand where I'm going with this. Zheros is a nice beatemup. It has a solid foundation, some good ideas, and it can be pretty entertaining. However, this is a game that deserves a good polishing. The problems with Zheros could be measured in fractions and decimals. These issues are so slight, so miniscule, that people are liable not to notice them, but they'll still realize that something's wrong when they're playing the game. They'll say things like "What?" and "That doesn't make sense." or maybe just "Bullcrap!"
Jack and Dorian are a couple of Zheros out to stop Dr. Vendetta from doing evil things. Dr. Vendetta? I guess Captain I'mABadGuy and AdmiralBoneToPick weren't available. Anyway, the two playable characters team up to deliver fists of justice to a massive number of aliens and robots, over the course of 18 levels. Despite being a beatemup, this game is fairly long. Many of the levels can take more than 10 minutes to beat, some even as much as 30! In the time it takes to beat one level, you could probably play through the entirety of [i]Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles[/i], or some other classic arcade brawler. Needless to say, it's greatly appreciated that progress is saved, after the completion of every level.
With the beatemup genre, we can expect at least some level of repetitiveness. Thankfully, Zheros does its best to keep things interesting with a large variety of enemies to battle. Jack and Dorian also have a wealth of combos they can perform. To add to this, the good guys can deflect both bullets and blows with a well-timed block. The brawling itself is serviceable, and it's fun just pounding baddies by the dozens. However, as you progress through the game, you're also liable to notice all of the little problems. At first they feel like nitpicks, but these complaints add up and start tearing away at the game. Allow me to share with you some of the issues that I've run into.
A lot of the enemies have melee attacks that are hard to read. The most common enemy is a small robot. Aside from firing their laser rifle, they also kick and swing their gun at the player. In the heat of the fight, it's never really clear what they're doing, and their range is so short you'll hardly be able to tell they're doing anything. Other, even smaller robots on wheels are harder to focus on. They rear back and do a lunging attack, but the lack of movement doesn't help them stand out. It's also annoying that the heroes drop everything, just to kick the bombs that these "dog-bots" drop. Kicked bombs don't suddenly explode and damage enemies, they're just moved to a different spot.
What you're more likely to notice is all of the damage you'll take while on your back. Certain larger enemies are capable of doing knock-down attacks. When they gang up on you, they can knock you to the ground, then continue hitting you. There's nothing you can do about this. It's a rare occurence, but if their attacks are timed at the right moment, they can deplete your health fairly quickly. While you can also knock the enemy down and continue hitting them, the larger foes can block your attacks at random. I've had my attacks completely deflected, even when the foe was lying down! Some other enemies will repeatedly dodge your moves, which is also annoying.
When enemies aren't randomly blocking your attacks, they can do a fantastic job at countering you. While the game would probably be too easy if your attacks had all of the priority, I'm of the camp that believes in "some is better than none". Your combos will get stuffed by enemy attacks at a constant rate. When foes group together, you'll find that it's extremely hard to get some moves in to spread everyone out. On the other hand, I think this aspect of the game adds a little depth. Beatemups are really enjoyable, when you have to work for those openings in the enemy's onslaught. Although, I also think that the heroes should yell "OUCH!" or "OOF!" when they take damage. Even when they're getting pummeled, Jack & Dorian don't utter the slightest grunt.
In level 1-8 "The Shelter", there is a section where you have to hit a button. This button causes a shutter to close, which keeps intense heat from sapping your health. However, this shutter re-opens in just a few seconds, which isn't enough time to get more than a couple punches on a huge cyborg bullman. This is one of those moments where two seconds, yes, two additional seconds of closed-shutter time, would have made that section far more manageable. Instead, you're going to be constantly distracted by the shutter, and trying to babysit it while also not being obliterated by one of the toughest enemies in the game.
Then there are the bosses. I didn't really enjoy fighting these clowns. Most of your attacks just don't do much damage. I had the most success with the Y, X, X, X, X, X, etc combo. Oddly enough, I had the least amount of trouble with the final boss, and that's because his attacks are the only ones that can be shut down by the block. The other two bosses require liberal use of the dodge button, and even that isn't guaranteed. On the brightside, there are plenty of health items, and the bosses don't do an excessive amount of damage.
What's telling about most of these complaints, is that all of them could be fixed via minor adjustments. Let's say that some attacks give the player 1 or 2 frames of invulnerability, or allow them a half-second to recover after being knocked down. The second boss would ever-so-slightly pause before their double axe-handle, allowing the player enough time (if they're paying attention) to get out of the way. The player should be allowed a distinct audible cue when their hero is getting hurt. These are all little things, the ones that are most likely to be overlooked, but they have a sizable impact on the game.
Despite my many complaints, Zheros is a perfectly serviceable way to spend a weekend or two. If you have a friend to play co-op with, then it's all the better. If you're flying solo and are prone to aggravation; consider sticking to the easy difficulty. This game's polish deficiency will cause you to repeat some headache-inducing sections, and there's no way to change difficulties, without restarting the entire game. That said, if you do decide to tough it out and play on normal or hard, you could eventually become accustomed to the wonkier aspects of this game. It might take longer than it should, but this game will "click" for you, if you allow it to.
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