Buddy Rush Review

There's a certain stigma attached to Facebook games. As fun as they may look, you just know that they are going to be hitting you up for money for some critical game element. The worst, to me, is Farmville. For the life of me I'll never understand why people enjoy building a farm only to basically wait for the crops to grow in real time. That is unless you shell out your life savings for Gro... or whatever they are calling it. Ok, I'll get off my soap box.

Buddy Rush, unlike the masses of other Facebook games out there, doesn't rely on in app purchases to make the game flow. The basic idea is that you are a Diablo-type hero that goes on all sorts of quests to help out the town. Like any RPG, you level up as you progress throughout the game and collect items from the enemies that you slay. The town you live in has all the staples of the genre, including a shop, a guy that will upgrade your skills, a place to sell your wares, a friend recruitment center, and a place to find your missions.

Once you get into the missions, the game resembles a super lite version of a Diablo clone. The graphics are very cartoony, the dialogue is all tongue in cheek, and the combat is relegated to putting your character in the vicinity of the enemy, as all the combat is automatic.

The real fun of the game, and what makes it undoubtedly Facebook linked, is your ability to add on other Facebook users to your party to fight as mercenaries. Fighting through maps alone is one thing, but having some valuable help makes for a very nice experience. Unfortunately you have to invite people along via Facebook, which sends along one of those incredibly annoying Facebook game invites, but if you like the game then the quick annoyance is worth it.

If you were wondering where the in app purchase was going to strike its ugly face, it is in the shop. Fortunately, the potato chips (the in-game currency) can only buy extra character classes and some potions. As far as I can tell, nothing in the shop is necessary for the game to be played, and for that I give the developers huge kudos. It may not be as good of a business model as the otherwise unplayable Farmville, but it does make for a much nicer gaming experience.

All in all, Buddy Rush is a surprisingly well crafted cross platform Facebook app for the iPhone and iPad. It's bright graphics, excellent sound, good sense of humor, and vast re-playability will keep fans of the genre happy for some time. As long as you go in knowing that Buddy Rush is targeted towards the casual gaming market rather than the D&D crazed RPG masses, you'll have a good time.