Foul Play

Foul Play is a side-scrolling brawler dressed up as a stage performance, and that theatrical frame is the thing that makes it memorable. By our assessment, it works best when the combat and the backstage-style scene changes keep the pace lively and varied. The limit is that it still lives inside the brawler format, so the appeal depends on whether repeated fights and combo timing are your kind of thing. In practice it plays like a punchy arcade action game with a lot of costume and curtain-switching around it, which keeps the flow from feeling flat. Compared with other beat-’em-ups, it has more personality than most, even if the underlying structure is familiar. Foul Play is a smart choice for players who want action with a comic stage gimmick, and less so for anyone who wants deep systems or a long tactical build-up.