Dusty Revenge uses the arcade-style gameplay as a foundation while bringing in a couple of modern brawler mechanics. Everything from juggling to combo attacks to frame-based attacks is packed into the combat system. You also have access to numerous short- and long-ranged attack types. Dusty can whip out a pair of dual pistols, or slice with a giant sickle. He also has a shotgun, swords… you name it.
The variety of options is good, though I personally found it a bit overwhelming. Rather than focusing on a limited number of attacks, combat seems to toss in just about anything and everything the designers could. It is particularly bothersome when certain weapons use similar button presses. For instance, tapping a button shoots Dusty’s pistols, while holding the button uses the shotgun. Because of the aforementioned delays, I would sometimes use one when I wanted to use the other. It’s a small gripe, but it did get in the way.
The downside to the reliance on well-timed attacks and defensive moves is the game itself doesn’t always feel as responsive as it probably should. For whatever reason, it always seemed like there was a slight delay between input and action. The holdup isn’t more than a few milliseconds, but it is enough. This could, however, be an illusion caused by animation since I noticed Dusty would slide a little before dropping into his walk animation.
Dusty can call in two friends, McCoy and Rondel, as backup support. Once you have enough power, you can call one into action. One launches grenades while the other puts you into a first-person sniper mode. The cool part about each special attack is Dusty is left out in the open while you use the attack, so you really have to think about when to use each and for how long.
Dusty Revenge comes in with a few technical issues, though I am a bit forgiving of these based on my personal experience with Torque 2D, the game's engine. I had fun with Dusty Revenge and think fans of side scrolling beat ‘em ups or modern action games like Devil May Cry will as well.
