G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra Review

G.I. Joe: Wrath of Cobra

PC/PS/XBOX/SWITCH

9/26/24

Maple Powered Games/Indie.io

Written by Ole Gamer Joe

GI Joe has been around a long time, a REALLY long time. Originally launching in 1964 this American made series began as a toy line before its popularity exploded. There’s been GI Joe Comics, GI Joe Cartoons, posters, t-shirts, and you know where this is going, video games! While many of us have fond memories playing with our action figures and watching the cartoon series, the franchise's gaming history is a bit of a mixed bag.

The first GI Joe game that I am aware of appeared on the Atari 2600 and was called GI Joe Cobra Strike. The game was met with pretty negative reception. The first one I remember playing however was on the NES, titled, GI Joe: A Real American Hero. It was a run and gun shooter and honestly, a pretty damn good one with great visuals, for the time, and a rockin’ soundtrack. The game was followed by a Capcom published sequel called G.I. Joe: The Atlantis Factor, which played a bit more like the Bionic Commando games. I didn’t like this one quite as much, and critics seem to mostly agree with that sentiment. 

And then there was the awesome arcade rail shooter released in 1992 by Konami. The game was a blast, literally, but sadly we didn’t get much after it for a very long time. There was the dreadful G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra in 2009, some forgettable mobile games, and then 4 years back during the pandemic we had the third person shooter Operation Blackout which I never played myself but received poor reviews. So, I guess you could say we are due for a good GI Joe game again, right? Anyways, I bring you this history lesson today because we are reviewing the latest attempt at a GI Joe video game, Wrath of Cobra! But does GI Joe Wrath of Cobra have any bite? Or does it end up rolling Snake Eyes? Let’s find out in our full review!

GI Joe: Wrath of Cobra is an arcade brawler that calls back to the late 80s and early 90s. Cobra is once again up to no good, and humanity needs the brave Patriots Duke, Snake Eyes, Scarlett, and Roadblock to save the day! Credit this game for one thing, it has an awesome animated intro backed by a glorious 80s rock song! Now that’s enough to fire up any GI Joe fan! Sadly, any hopes of Wrath of Cobra’s gameplay experience matching its fleeting, but promising introduction are quickly diminished upon reaching the game’s menu which, much like many aspects of this game, feels slapped together. The simple act of going to the options screen led to my first of many bugs, an intrusive prompt dead center in the middle of my monitor, asking me to reset my progress. All the while, I could still, kind of, sort of, toggle the options in the background.

After narrowly escaping the options menu, I realized that much of the content in Wrath of Cobra is initially locked, thankfully earned through in-game discs that are produced after defeating enemies. Players will need to spend a great deal of time going through levels in story mode to earn enough discs to unlock the arcade mode. Other unlockable items include a few new characters, and unique ways to play the game including low gravity and restart on death. Give the game credit for incentivizing players to battle their way through its 12 levels multiple times, though doing so is such a chore that I wonder how many players will even bother to earn everything.

The game plays out much like any other classic brawler. Your goal is to bash enemies in the face to scroll your way forward through linear levels and get to an end boss. Defeat that boss to progress the story forward. Players have the ability to run, jump, and use light and heavy attacks against enemies. There are also a few different attacks to perform while running, as well as your usual airborne actions such as dropkicks. Advanced techniques, if you want to call them that, include blocking, parrying, and pivot dodging. In traditional beat em up fashion expect to find plenty of breakable crates that host a variety of different guns to use against enemies and healing items. Outside of that, enemies that are knocked down can be picked up and tossed, and each character can earn a special attack by dishing out enough damage.

Wrath of Cobra’s gameplay is serviceable, but never exceptional. The game is held back by some pretty poor AI and level design. Enemies just aren’t all that smart in this game. I often felt like I was in a boxing match against Boogie2988 with the way bosses would stand in one place allowing themselves to be pummeled into oblivion. Players may choose between 4 difficulty options, though I never found any of them particularly challenging regardless of which one I selected. This makes the action feel dull and monotonous even with the option of playing with 3 others. And because the levels themselves aren’t very interesting and don’t offer a ton of hazards, the experience wears thin rather quickly. 

Once you defeat everyone on the screen, Wrath of Cobra also fails to properly lead players to the next portion of the screen at times, which often meant having no idea what I was walking into. There’s a lack of polish that remains prevalent throughout the entire gameplay experience. Also, I think Wrath of Cobra wins the award for the most dramatic, drawn-out explosive death animations in gaming history, they take forever with no good reason. It’s a shame, because the bones of a decent brawler are here. I liked how every character had unique attributes, some of the weapons were cool, and the visual presentation of the game wasn't half bad. Unlockable items are also welcome, but earning the discs which are required to unlock everything in the game is a complete slog that requires playing through the boring levels over and over again.

Making matters worse, Wrath of Cobra is a glitchy mess. Animated cutscenes throughout the story mode sometimes didn’t appear at all. If that wasn’t bad enough, the final boss broke on me entirely, and another level of the game resulted in one of the weirdest, buggiest glitches I have ever encountered. My character felt like he was ice skating, his animations tweaked out constantly, and oh, EVERY ENEMY WAS SUDDENLY INVISIBLE. While I am sure much of this can be patched out, it’s pretty unacceptable even in a review build. 

At least composer Tee Lopes does his part, delivering another excellent hard-hitting soundtrack. Teaming up with the vocalist of Crush 40, Lopes delivers the rocking tunes we have come to expect from his games, that unfortunately are a bit lost amongst lackluster sound effects. Wrath of Cobra fails to deliver the crunchy sounds of classic arcade games and features very few in-game voices or sound effects of note at all.

In the end GI Joe Wrath of Cobra feels like a rushed product. While it successfully captures the look of a classic brawler, featuring solid pixel art and animations, it falters in most other areas. Sure, the soundtrack is great, but it's a small consolation prize when you consider how poorly put together every other aspect of the game is. GI Joe and brawler fans alike will be left to ask themselves, am I willing to put up with all of these shortcomings because I love the GI Joe franchise? Well, now you know and knowing is half the battle.

Rating - Mediocre