Review: Mega Coin Squad

Battle it out with up to four players in this manic 2D multiplayer game (local only) from Big Pixel Studios and Adult Swim Games. Rob your friends of victory — and their coins — in four different multiplayer modes. In between matches, tackle 16 levels in the solo quest for the Mega Coins!

Pros:

• Pixel graphics done with a modern feel to it all. The animations are slick and wouldn’t look out of place in its cartoon series.
• Full 360 pad support.
• Controls are simple on both the pad and the keyboard. Minimal buttons for maximum fun.
• Video options allow you to change the resolution,sound and even add a CRT monitor effect.
• Full Steam integration with cards and achievements supported.
• Gameplay is a fast paced collect the coins and kill bad guys adventure. The level layout changes randomly throughout, destroy blocks to create coins, collect P blocks to drop a random weapon, Shoot jump on or smash enemies. You never play the same level layout twice! Collected coins need to be banked into a huge piggy bank, When you get hit you drop your coins and have to start over. You can bank whenever and how many coins you like.
• Earn diamonds by completing the three side missions available on each level. Use the diamond at the end of the level, You hit a block displaying random upgrades, hit the block and get what is displayed. Think of it as a violent fruit machine. Each diamond grants one smash at the block.
• Five characters to pick from, All with unique stats.
• Two modes single player and multiplayer. Single player is laid out in a world map hub, Each area has 4 levels which have you getting x amount of coins and earning diamonds, The fifth level is where you earn the mega coin and unlock the next world. Multiplayer is 4 player offline co op where you pick a map and score limit and off you go.
• Multiplayer is the best part about the game, Despite being couch co op only, The game mode is excellent fun with friends and family. You still get AI enemies and the level layout still changes, Best part is you can still earn diamonds and upgrade in between rounds. Games are typically first to three.
• Multiplayer has straight up one off fighting or a tournament mode.
• You can stick/slide on walls as well as unlock double jump and do moves like upper cuts and fireballs.
• Game over will allow you to retry the area from the start, A bit harsh but you do get 3 lives.

Cons:

• Video settings are very minimal with settings like AA and v-sync absent.
• Timer goes down as your banking coins, Thats fine once you know but you usually forget and land up missing the bonus.
• You cant go back and replay previous levels to mop up diamonds.
• SP progression is tied to each individual character, This is a blessing for some but an annoyance for others.
• No online mp is a bit of a blow as it would be excellent online.
• You cannot do anything when looking at the map except for look around it and enter the level. So things like exitting the game or checking options is a no no.
• Using the pad is the best way but sometimes the stick for aiming attacks is too sensitive and right at the wrong time you will do the wrong attack.

In Summary, The game is a lot of fun in multiplayers. I found the single player to be alright and used it more for practice for mp than a single standalone reason to play it. Single player just got to the point where it would annoy you more than entertain you after a while. Multiplayer on the other hand only got better the more you played it. The game is worth a look if only because it shows you how Mario must see the world if he was on acid and everything around him became coins. Worth it for the multiplayer alone!