Like most kids, when I was in middle school and high school I would get bored in class. I would pass the time drawing on my notebooks, imagining new games, and really wishing that I had the skill to make my sketches pop to life. Sometimes You and Lapovich have done just that with State of Anarchy : Master of Mayhem. They have made a game that looks like it has sprung right off of the page from someone’s sketch book.
Something is just not right with the world – people are rioting, and aliens are invading. It is up to you to take out the unruly mobs, defeat bosses that are taking over banks, and take the fight straight to the alien home planet. Armed with ever changing weapons, will you be able to stop all threats planetary and interstellar to bring peace back to the planet?
State of Anarchy is a top down twin stick shooter that has you running or driving around killing tons of enemies, all while trying to save the earth from an alien invasion. There are 48 different stages to complete on 2 difficulties. But really there are only 6 different level designs that get repeated multiple times. You will have to fight your way to a bank, kill a bank boss, chase a UFO on earth, fight on an alien planet, fight an alien boss, and fly in space and kill alien ships. This rinse and repeat series of events gets very repetitive after a few times – even though the further you get in the story the harder the enemies get. The difficulty you choose doesn’t seem to make much difference as I was able to complete the harder one with only 2 or 3 deaths.
As you play through the game, you will earn experience and money. For every other level you character goes up you will earn Talent Points. These points are used to increase your health, speed, fire rate, health regeneration and the ability to damage enemies just by touching them. You will use your cash for weapons upgrades – damage, critical hit chance, range and rage. These upgrades cover any weapon that you use in the game, and in many cases, you have little choice in that. For every bank boss and alien boss you beat you will receive a new primary or secondary weapon that automatically takes the place of your current weapon.
As I mentioned earlier, the graphics look like they were lifted straight from a middle school notebook. This is not to say they are bad, they have a very distinct style. There is a variety of enemies to fight, and 5 different types of environments to play in. The music is another story. Each area has an interesting soundtrack and jumping into a car will start up a track that reminds me of old movie car chases.
State of Anarchy : Master of Mayhem is available now on most platforms. You can add it to your collection for between $6 and $8 USD. It’s a fun game in short bursts, but the repeating levels can be monotonous during long gaming sessions. With the low price, if you are a fan of twin stick shooters, this should be on your radar.
