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It’s easy to be sceptical about The Con. From a quick glance it looks like just another clichéd urban fighting game that has arrived long after the genre has passed out of fashion, and far too late to challenge the big hitters like Tekken and Dead or Alive.
There is a certain degree of truth to those assumptions, and The Con is certainly overflowing with naff stereotypes and cringe inducing characters, but its sideways take on the beat-’em-up is an amicable and intriguing concept. Fighting for money is nothing new, but where previously games have just put a dollar sign in front of what is essentially just your score, The Con makes cash flow a core part of the game mechanic.
A paper thin plot, presented with some sporadically impressive cut scenes, sees you bailed out of jail to join an underground fighting league, where earning cash and respect are key to reaching the top of your bare-knuckled game.
As you approach each fight, you are invited to bet your money, but there is far more to it than just putting down some cash on your own fighter and blasting away the opposition. Setting a timer that dictates when your bet will hit the table means that you can manipulate the odds up to that point, by carefully deceiving the crowd.
For example, if you were to place a $100 bet on your own fighter winning, and that bet only came into play 30 seconds into the brawl, you could spend the first half-minute losing on purpose, tricking the crowd and upping the odds before swinging the fight to annihilate your adversary and take away the big money. You can even make a well-timed lean into your rival’s punches to further establish the notion that you are an amateurish fighter.
The gathered mob that cheer on the brutal combat are not stupid though, meaning you must throw the odd punch or dodge to maintain the illusion that you are trying. A simple tool in the form of a thumbs-up or thumbs-down symbol lets you know if the ringside fans are convinced by your performance, and the concept as a whole adds a depth and tension.
Of course, if you can hustle your way into winning bigger money, you can also throw a fight. In what must be a feature almost unique to this game, there is as much to be gained from betting on your opponent and loosing on purpose as winning, though again you have to provide the crowd with a convincing display.
The fighting itself, however, is a little basic, relying on a similar system to the Street Fighter button layout, and concentrating heavily on combos. The Fight Night Round 3 style camera angle, that bobs around the fighters and stays close, is a nice touch, but on the whole the battles can get a little repetitive and look fairly substandard.
A simple scheduling tool that lets you manage training, rest and hospital visits is sadly little more than a glorified menu system, and the idea of developing a team of fighters is slightly shallow, but The Con is still a novel take on the beat-’em-up that is accessible and engaging.
