Dollar Dash (PSN): "A Money Grubbing Multiplayer Experience"

Many of you have likely already read reviews on the "XBLA" version of "Dollar Dash", but I'm here to offer the PS3 gamers a review since the game was just released on the Playstation Network. Dollar Dash in essence is a collaborative creation between Kalypso Media, and Candygun Games. You'll likely be familiar with Kalypso's work, because of my previous review. Candygun Games on the other hand might not ring a bell. A couple of years ago, early into my gaming journalism career I reviewed a game called "Dead Block". As you can guess it was 'Candygun Games' who created that interesting zombie survival game. It seems that this developer has once again returned to the gaming scene with their signature animation style, and fun filled gameplay designs. Their latest creation (Dollar Dash) was a bit of a risk taker though. The developer opted to go solely multiplayer with the game, and included no story mode or campaign. I think they had a lot of confidence in their product, but whether or not that payed off is yet to be seen. Regardless of this I'm here to give you the lowdown on this madcap money maker, and intend on being honest with my review. Without further adieu let us get this show on the road!

Dollar Dash is a supposedly fast paced, and frantic multiplayer experience that centers it's focus on theft, and four player arcade style gameplay. When you first start up the game you'll notice an intro movie play out giving you somewhat of a background plot to the game's gameplay. It shows a a burly cop strolling by a bank just as two thugs burst out of it chasing each other down the street. One of the thugs takes down his bailing adversary, and snatches up his lost cash before escaping into a nearby alleyway. The dazed, and left behind thug then comes to the realization that the cop who witnessed the deed had closed in on his location. Whistling, and beating his baton against his hands the cop walks up casually to bust the would be robber. This in a nutshell describes what "Dollar Dash" is all about.

As one of four color coded characters you must outwit, outmaneuver, and out-steal your other three thieving opponents. This can be done in a wide variety of ways, and with a wide variety of weapons. Before I get too far ahead of myself though let me explain what the game has to offer. Within Dollar Dash's menu system you will find the usual "Quick Match", "Custom Match", "Local Match", and "Create A Match" options. In these online multiplayer match making menus you will find three modes of gameplay to choose from. There's the signature mode called "Dollar Dash" which is obviously named after the game's title. This mode is the most popular of the three available modes, and reflects what the intro video depicted. As one of four possible players it is your goal to collect as much cash as you can, and deliver that said cash to a delivery truck that appears every so often at random places on a map. The person who reaches the cash quota first is the winner. Of course all players do get to keep their earnings, and anything they've unlocked during the match.

The second match type, "Hit' N Run" seems to be either a less played, or simply bot based mode. I actually found no one at all playing this mode during my playthrough, but was able to get into a match with three other bots. In "Hit' In Run" your goal is to beat the bejeezus out of the other players/bots using your gathered weapons, and power-ups in order to rack up the most amount of dough (earn the cash). As with the previously mentioned mode the first person/bot to reach the designated cash amount will be the victor. The final available mode of play is titled "Save the Safe". In this particular mode you must capture the safe which is initially located at the middle of the map, and must hold onto it for as long as you can to earn cash. The carrier always becomes the target of the opposing players until that player loses the safe. Once the safe carrier has been beat down by offensive, or defensive weapons another player can pick it up, and begin scoring some cash for themselves. In the end the player to score the most cash, and reach the designated cash amount wins the number one spot.

There is a vast selection of maps to choose from in the "Dollar Dash" game setups. You'll find maps such as "Museum", "L.A. River", and "Skyskraper" among these. In total there are eleven maps. Each map has it's own hazards, power-up spawns, weapon spawns, and random item spawns. Some maps even have security guards who will clobber you all the way back to the start of the map if they catch up with you. There are even some security guards who will fire guns at you. This will definitely keep you on your toes since you not only have other goons trying to beat you out of your hard earned money.

To offset the threat of thievery by thieves Candygun Games has included a unique weapon, and power-up system. In the game you can pick up, and use both offensive, and defensive weapons. The offensive weapons are the type that you can shoot, throw, or launch towards your competitors. These include things like chloroform, a nuke, a tazer, a boulder, or even a snowball. There are ten offensive weapons in total, and each of them vary in range (close, medium, long). In order to use your offensive weapons you will need to pick them up as they appear on the map. This can be done by simply running into them (Left Thumbstick). To use the currently active offensive weapon you will need to press the (R2) shoulder button. Each weapon in the game whether it is offensive, or defensive has multiple uses. However you can only carry one weapon at a time per each weapon type. Once you've used it up you can pick up another, and keep going.

Defensive weapons are as they sound, and offer shielding, and distancing items that can keep your opponents from knocking the loot out of you. There are a total of seven defensive weapons that each have their own unique effects. Among these deadly distractions are Beer Keg which cause your opponent to become intoxicated to the point that it messes up their controller functions, the Magpie which steals weapons, and power-ups from your foes, and the Boom Box which bounces players away from the area with sound waves. Others I did not mention include the Bear Trap, Bomb, Fire Trap, and Oil Slick. Like the Offensive weapons you can only use one type at a time until you have used it up. In order to activate/use a defensive weapon you will simply need to press the (Circle) button on your PS3 controller.

Aside from weapons thieves in the game can also pick up, and use "Power-Up" items. These unique multiple use boosters include things like enhanced speed, invisibility, and a Jello shield. There are only about 6 of these power-ups, but like the weapons they can be collected, and used multiple times within a match. The only catch is that you have to use up the one you currently have before picking up another. To activate a power-up in the game you will simply need to press the (square) button. The in-game HUD/display keeps track of all of the weapons, and power-ups you currently have. It's good to keep an eye on this while trying to achieve your goals.

Now onto the goodies!!! ...

Dollar Dash is filled with extra goodies that can be bought via the "Shop" menu. The cash you earn in each online/local match will accumulate in your make-believe bank, and in turn you can use that loot to secure items. These items include things like Hats (i.e., cowboy hat, knight's helmet, mohawk ...) & Faces (i.e., beard, sunglasses ...), Upgrades (items that grant immunity, and enhancements to used weapons), Taunts (i.e., "Booty Shake" & "Bring it On"), Perks (i.e., "XXL Bag" = Carry more $$$), Icons (pictures to go along with your earned title/rank), and Dances (victory dances for when you win 1st place). Once you purchase any of these items from the shop you can use them in any of your online matches, and can switch between them via the "Shop" menu. Keep in mind though that you can only use one perk, and one upgrade per match.

Last but not least is the leaderboard. Kalypso Media, and Candygun Games decided to include a simple yet effective leaderboard for online rankings. As you play online/local matches, and win you will gain collective star points that in turn act as your rank placement. Along with this collective score comes a title that is placed before you in-game PSN ID. My current title, which I'll use as an example is "Street Thug OtakuDante1134". Of course there are other titles related to thievery that you can earn as you rank up your overall score.

Now for the verdict ...

Dollar Dash for the PSN is a game with quite a few flaws. The most significant of these flaws are the horrible match making issues, online lag, and the sloppy match joining setup. Often times when I tried to join an online match the game would immediately boot me back to the game's start menu with some sort of network error message. When I did manage to get into a match I was usually dropped right into the middle of it after a glitching loading screen. The lag was definitely there at times as well, but wasn't the worst of the game's online issues. As far as good things go there weren't that many positive things I found about "Dollar Dash". The game honestly seemed a little dull to me. It was advertised as a frantically wild game, but the character's speed accompanied by the small maps just didn't work in the game's favor. Even the extra items available in the shop seemed a bit lacking. I'd have to say the best thing about this game was it's graphics. As you probably know though graphics do not make a game great. I'm going to have to say pass on this version of "Dollar Dash". It's just not worth it.