Relax! Shakedown: Hawaii is one of the chillest games you’ll play and there’s nothing you can really do wrong to meaningfully screw yourself over. Secret? Hold L+R to change characters…I never noticed. More detailed info on the official site General Tips.Bug fixes (nearly all reported bugs have been fixed).Faster property and multipliers purchasing.Character upgrades can now be unequipped.Weapon Pawning (earn cash and clear out inventory).Car Repossession (earn extra cash for your Subprime Auto locations).More Shakedown Scenarios (even more variety!).More guidance to finish main story to get money early on.: The first content/bugfix patch released today! Features: Look for a little more fleshing out over the next few days.Īs always, if you have questions or anything to say at all, please drop a comment at the bottom of the page I read every one! Updates Shakedown: Hawaii launched this week on Nintendo Switch, PC, and Playstation! I really enjoy the game so I thought I’d publish a little mini-guide to how to get the most out of the game. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here. The game was reviewed on Nintendo Switch using a final “retail” download code provided by Vblank Entertainment. Shakedown: Hawaii was released May 7 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, and Windows PC for $19.99. Shakedown: Hawaii presents itself as a unique real estate-centric twist on open-world action, but it seems satisfied to stick with a cheap rental. It also mercifully avoids the extreme difficulty of its predecessor.ĭespite that, I’m left with a sense of unfulfilled ambition. But the actual gameplay offers a nice mix of driving, shooting, and surprisingly capable platforming sequences. The tone of these missions is cynical takes on disgusting business practices (rebranding “gamer” energy soda or scamming people with cheap printer cartridges), and they lose their charm after the first few dozen. In that light, it’s easy to while away a commute with its responsive, RC car driving controls and minutelong micro-missions. Vblank EntertainmentĪs much as I applaud the ambition of the property ownership systems in Shakedown: Hawaii, the best way to play is to ignore much of that and treat it as straight-up mindless arcade action. Rather than feeling like I’m in command of this city, it feels like I’m watching meaningless numbers increase in menu screens. Buying the airport, for example, doesn’t unlock access to new vehicles like helicopters. Buying more gun shops does unlock new weapons, but the vast majority of purchases simply boost my daily income. It’s also disappointing that most of these properties don’t amount to much. When I’m asked to steal a coffee truck to add $100 to that tally, it begins to feel petty. At present, I’m making $21 million in just a few in-game minutes. By the time I was halfway through the game, I was making millions a day. While some of the properties are gated to the story, most are not. Part of the issue may lie in the way I’ve played: Instead of focusing on the main story, I wanted to buy up as much of the city as quickly possible. Vblank Entertainment via Polygonīuying up the town, neighborhood by neighborhood, is satisfying (if unquestionably evil), but it also results in a game so front-loaded that the latter half has nowhere to go. Now, with every story mission I complete, even more plots are up for grabs, increasing my cash flow and control over the city.īuying up real estate in Shakedown: Hawaii. Blue icons filled the map indicating everything for sale. I was astonished when I first started playing. I’m talking about hundreds of buildings, ranging from convenience stores to chop shops to salons to airports. The most impressive feature: I can own every piece of real estate in the game. But where Retro City opted for NES-era graphics, Shakedown looks more like an unreleased Genesis game.ĭespite the old-school visuals, there are some truly modern sensibilities in Shakedown: Hawaii. They’re both open-world games in the style of the original Grand Theft Auto. Shakedown: Hawaii is the quasi-sequel to Retro City Rampage. By the end of the game, you literally own the whole city. But in Shakedown: Hawaii, there’s no “essentially” about it. You’ve been here before: You start an open-world game as a petty gangster, slowly working you way up the criminal ladder until you essentially own the whole city.
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