Parents' Guide to Battlepalooza: Battle Royale

This combat-centric game is visually distinctive, but the awkward combat makes it hard to pay attention to really enjoy the graphics or the gameplay. Battlepalooza: Battle Royale has an impressive look -- puffs of smoke erupt in attacks, coins glimmer, and street-side information kiosks glow a pulsating neon blue. As a neat added touch, Google Maps geospatial data was used to create levels for players to fight across, so you get a birds-eye view of real streets in cities like Las Vegas while playing. You collect weapons and skills as you make progress, and will both face off against and become a variety of characters, ranging from stylized human avatars to a giant teddy bear.

The gameplay aspect, though, can pose some challenges. players can pick up coins and get XP from payphone, vending machine, and other terminals as they walk around, but they may spend some time wandering before they come across anyone to fight. Until you stumble upon another person, there isn't much else to do. You can end up facing off against other players who are much more advanced with better abilities, so it doesn't always feel like a fair fight. The controls can also be a bit buggy. Players may find when they try to circle and swipe on the screen, they don't move as fast or smoothly as they'd like to. That can be particularly problematic due to the frequent cool downs players have to sit through, which delay attempts to shoot their gun or otherwise engage with the other players who are trying to kill them. Gamers can attempt to hide -- or, if they fail, hang around after they die and watch other players duke it out -- but neither option offers a particularly exciting game experience.