A few rich eccentrics formed an elite tournament known as The Club, pitting eight gunmen who are low on morals and high on desperation against one another. They aren't directly fighting each other, however – they're shooting for the highest score possible, taking out any gunmen who gets in their way while making a rush for the exit. If they take too long to accomplish these goals, they'll set off implanted explosives, killing themselves instantly.
Is this dude smiling? We can't tell...
As you go through The Club's levels, you receive points for each kill. Points vary, depending on what weapon your enemy has, where you hit them and how smart they were. As you rack up kills, you begin to put together a point multiplier. It counts down as you run through the level, so it's important that you get as many kills as possible. Along the way, you can also shoot Skull icons scattered throughout each level, adding to your score.
That's not all, however, as the game tosses various challenges your way. One level puts a time limit on your head, forcing you to pick up icons and shoot enemies to keep the clock from hitting zero. Another puts you in sprint mode, where you must shoot enemies while moving along for the fastest lap time. The trickiest ones, however, are the Survival levels, where you're limited in movement and shoot at whomever comes your way. On top of this, you practically have no cover, meaning you spend your entire session on the run-and-gun.
Locations play a big part in The Club. You'll battle your way through a bunch of gritty settings, such as a torn-apart prison, a cruise liner that's seen better days and a steel mill that hasn't been used in years. Bizarre even went as far as to give them clever movie rip-off names, such as Gondola In 60 Seconds. The eight characters available (six at the start, with two more unlockable over the course of the game) look terrific as well, although they vary slightly when it comes to in-game performance. Still, it's worth going through the game with all of them at least once.
"I said your membership fees are due!"
With that said, The Club has some minor issues. The sound needed more work, with less than impressive weapon effects and average background music. The effectiveness of some weapons is questionable too. You'll probably find yourself sticking to the basic machine guns rather than the more powerful rocket launcher, despite its guilty-pleasure factor. Melee attacks are also weak, with boring punches. Finally, multiplayer comes up short. You can play against others online or go at it in local split-screen action. However, each player takes so many hits to bring down that it never feels like a fair fight.
Despite the flaws, The Club is very enjoyable. Its non-stop arcade action and intricate gameplay system will have you racking up a ridiculous amount of points in no time. It may not be the deepest shooting experience on the market, but it's still a lot of fun. Don't decline this Club's invitation.
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