You might not expect The Podge's to make a TruTV reality show-esque action-y game like Go Repo, but, well, there you go. You're put in charge of a three person repo crew that has to gather and repossess a certain cash amount of items on each level within a certain amount of time, while dealing with angry homeowners who really don't approve of the way you're smashing windows, carrying off their cupboards, and dropping knees into their abdomens. Your three different characters each have special abilities. Stompy can knock down anyone in her way (other characters have to throw items at people), 'Fro Fred can jump higher, and Meathead is the only one who can carry big items like cars or heavy furniture. You can swap between them when you're standing near their van with "/" or by clicking on their portraits.
Use [WASD] or the [arrow] keys to move, [N] to pick up and throw items into the van at any distance (as long as the way is clear and you're on the same level), and [M] to drop items out of open windows to be retrieved later. As you might expect, people object to you carting off their stuff, and if you're still around when they get home, they'll try to stop you by temporarily knocking you out, which costs you time, and if you're knocked down too many times you won't be able to use that character again for the rest of the level. Each character has a special move you can activate when their meter is full, or you can use Stompy or toss an item to temporarily knock them down, but doing so costs you money, so it's best to move fast and work around them whenever possible and keep, ahem, interactions to a minimum.
Go Repo is a neat idea, but its biggest flaw might be that some of the level restrictions feel a little tight. Not so much time as money, since if you accidentally destroy an item or two and accidentally knock down a homeowner when you don't mean to, you won't have enough to finish a level and might as well restart. The same applies to accidentally getting a character you need to reach important items or places KO'd. Of course, this difficulty is intentional, it just means the game might be a bit too fiddly for some, though if you fail a level three times you'll at least be offered the option of skipping it. What's interesting is that levels feel more like puzzles than a timed grab-n-go. Since delivering certain objects to the game gives you a time bonus, figuring out the best way to navigate levels with a minimal of hassle and what items are worth prioritizing, and the level design is fairly tight in this regard. Throw in some useful items like conveyor belts and some quirky, colourful design and you have a weird but fun little game once you get the hang of it.
Meh. I enjoyed the game for a bit, but lost interest on about the third level when the choice was
A) repo as much as possible without breaking windows, leading to you running out of time before you get everything and not meeting your $5000 goal
B) Repo as fast as possible (breaking windows and destroying items on keeping the farmer knocked out) then not meet the target because of all the broken items and compensation for the windows
Perhaps the difficulty curve was too steep for me.
Like Catherine, I enjoyed up until the third level for the same reasons. Perhaps I'd have had more time to repo the entire $5000 if I didn't have to (slowly) walk back and forth to the truck to switch characters.
If it helps, you can throw the objects into the van from ANY distance, so there isn't really a reason to walk back to the van unless you want to switch characters, which you honestly shouldn't do that much.
For the 3rd level, for example, I used the jumper to clear out the house, then switched to the heavy guy for the remaining stuff inside and behind the house�only had to knock the farmer out once, and I easily got to the 5000 mark with time to spare. No windows broken either, just go to the ground floor and chuck stuff in the direction of the van�it'll get there.
Walkthrough for Levels 1-9:
Level 1:
This is the tutorial, so familiarize yourself with the controls, and when you're ready, switch to Fro to grab the surfboard and end the level.
Level 2:
Start as Meathead, clear out the bottom floor, then grab the keys on the second floor, unlock the first floor door, repo the car and you should be good.
Level 3:
Start as Fro, clear out everything you can on the bottom floor except the 3 cupboards in the air (make sure to grab the moose head). Jump up to the top floor and grab the keys, then head back down and unlock the back door (you can unlock doors by throwing keys at them to save time). Head back to the van and switch to Meathead, then clear out the heavy items on the bottom floor of the house. Head up to the second floor and use the cardboard box to knock out the window on the right. Grab the two hay bales and the bed from this floor. When this is done, head back to the ground floor, grab one of the cabinets and chuck it towards the farmer on the right. This should knock him dizzy and you can then walk over and K.O. him. Clear out the back yard and you should have enough points to complete the level.
Level 4:
You can complete the entire level as Meathead. Begin clearing the ground floor until your special move meter fills. When this happens, head to the right and throw a chair or something at the girl on the bottom floor, then K.O. her. Clear the remainder of the bottom floor (all the chairs and balls give you +3 seconds) then the 3 kegs (you can throw them from the top stair to save time) and finally grab the key. If you notice the girl go from K.O'd to merely dizzy while you are clearing the 3 kegs, then throw the last one at her and K.O. her again before grabbing the key. Once you have the key, unlock the door on the second floor, grab the ATM machine and the two cars (save time by dropping them all to the ground floor before repo'ing) and that should be enough to clear the level.
Level 5:
Start as Stompy, jump up the first ladder and knock dizzy the guy guarding the key. Grab the key, drop to the ground floor and throw it towards the door on the right. Walk right, pick up the key and throw it at the further door on the right, then head back to the van and switch to Meathead. Clear out everything on the ground floor, knocking dizzy and K.O. the blonde girl as needed. Clearing out everything on the ground floor of the level should be enough to clear the stage, I didn't need anything from the upper floors, but depending on what you use to knock out the blonde, YMMV.
Level 6:
Despite what this level suggests, you don't need to enter the kitchen to be successful. Start as Fro, head up to the second floor and smash out the window on the right with the bonsai on the table in front of it. Hop out the window, grab the key and unlock the door in front of you, then head left, up the second set of stairs, and unlock the door to the jade statue. Grab this and head down to the van. Switch to Meathead, then clear out everything on the ground floor, and also the three kegs in the basement. If you run into an employee, use the bag of rice in the basement to KO them. After clearing the ground floor, the couch and chair from the second floor should be enough to finish the level, no need to enter the kitchen on the 3rd floor.
Level 7:
Start as Stompy. Head down the stairs and grab the key, then unlock only the front door. Knock dizzy the girl and head up to the second floor, unlocking both doors to get to the second key. Grab the second key and unlock the back door on the ground floor, then head downstairs and use the red button to open the garage. If you can, K.O. the girl at this point, it will make Meathead's job easier.
Head to the van and switch to Meathead. Repo the two cars in the basement (forget about the tires and parts) and everything on the ground floor. Head to the second floor and grab one of the small square chairs in the first room to smash out the window to the left, then drop the vases an all electronics and the table out the window to the left. Jump down and repo the pile and you should have enough to clear the level without unlocking the 3rd floor.
Level 8:
This level is much easier than it looks. Start as Fro and head into the house, up both stairs to the 3rd floor and jump across the roofs until you reach the key. Grab the key and jump back on the first roof, then drop down between the roofs to the basement to hit the red button and unlock the garage. Head back up to the 3rd floor and unlock the door there, then grab the chair to smash out the window and jump out, heading back to the van. Switch to Meathead, clear out the 3 machines in the garage (leave the oil cans) then head up to the 3rd floor (avoid or KO the guy on the 2nd floor) and drop the safe and all the electronics out the window, then jump down and repo. This should be enough to clear the level without going into the weird smasher room area or dealing with the old man at all.
Level 9:
The first level you really have to use all 3 characters on. Start as Stompy and start clearing out the electronics on the first floor (leave the white boxes, you may need those for K.O.s later). The point right now is to wait for your special move meter to fill so you can KO the girl on the first floor. Good things to do while you wait is clear the electronics from the first floor, but also, grab the two expensive 3 screen consoles just up the stairs on the second floor, and the taller slightly less expensive tower console right next to them. Make sure you don't get hit while you're carrying them or you'll drop them, and you want that cash. You should be able to get all three just in time to have your meter fill up. At this point, KO the girl and head back to the van and switch to Fro. Head up to the 3rd floor and grab anything to knock dizzy the guy up here, then jump across the roofs and drop down to the window blocking the key. Smash the window with something and grab the key to unlock the door, then unlock the door on the second floor on the right. Either KO or avoid the guy up here to hit the button to open the garage. Head back to the van and switch to Meathead, then head to the garage and repo everything you find there. Should be enough to clear the level, if you managed to get all three consoles out of the second floor without breaking them.
Hnnn, I expected it to play out a bit more like The Lost Vikings; sadly, not so much so. Or maybe I've just lost that edge in passing years?? A great concept; it just failed to cross the finish line for me.
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