POSTED 21/4/13


GUACAMELEE!

DrinkBox Studios
Vita/PSN + PS3/PSN

This week on My Cocina Rules, we aim to create nachos perfection...

We’ve got corn chips, salsa, spicy jalapenos and cheese coming out of our ears (which hurts). But we’re missing something. Oh yes, Guacamelee!

Just like a seriously yummytastical platter bulging with nachosey goodness, this retro-smoochin’, meme-infused, Castlevetroid-styled platformer is corny, saucy, spicy and wonderfully cheesy. Set in a gorgeously-rendered Mexican world that looks akin to a photo album of Samurai Jack’s south of the border holiday, you become farmer bloke Juan. You’re getting all preparational for Day of the Dead fiestas when some mean bean (shit, we forgot the beans!) named Carlose Calaca, who has a full-time gig as ruler of the dead, done steals your love interest. But you’ll save her- oh bugger, he killed you!

Don’t fret, Guacamelee! isn’t the world’s shortest game, for it doesn’t end there. Juan stumbles across a mystical luchador’s mask in the world of the dead which transforms him into a musclebound wrestlemaniac hunk who’s done gonna get the girl and kill the baddies.

Yep, it’s time for some serious poncho puncho as you get to grapples with an increasing arsenal of wrestletastical moves. Defeat the odd goat bloke and you’ll get more, bring down skeletal armies and you’ll score cash for lifetastical bolsterfication, delve far enough and you’ll be able to flip between the lands of the living or dead with a mere button stab. Or you can turn into a chicken. ¿Dónde está la pollo? La pollo es usted!

Cloud saving allows play flippity-floppity between Vita and PS3, and it works with less seams than something seemingly seamless. Our only whingipoo is that some move combinations require astonishingly acrobatic levels of dexterity.
 
It'll make you madder than a mescaline margarita at times, but ultimately Guacamelee! is a tortillally luchadorable romp.

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