The world of Streets of Rage - My kick ass thoughts

The world of Streets of Rage, Write a review they said. I'll do Streets of Rage I said. I used to enjoy playing it, it will be fun and easy I said! Wow! How I underestimated that. Streets of rage 2 has to be one of my most favourite games EVER! So I do apologise to folks reading this if some biasing comes along during this article.

Target Renegade (101% +7DG +Pic) - Beat em up classic cracked for the C64

Here's a great Christmas gift for all you C64 owners, as Hokuto Force has cracked Target Renegade; a side scrolling beat em up classic from the 1980's. Originally released by Ocean Software on their "Imagine" label this was probably one of the best beat em ups of it's time and is also noted by it's brilliant sound track. Thanks to Hokuto you can watch the cool intro, play with very smooth precise controls and cheat to your hearts content with the trainer!

Fighting Street Hack Boss - SEEP's latest free beat 'em up!

"SEEP" who are no stranger to creating their own versions of excellent beat em up's such as Golden Axe Genesis have now turned their attention to an alternative version of Fighting Street. Using the OpenBOR engine and a strong hint of Street Fighter, here you can play as all the bosses of Street Fighter 1 plus exclusive features such as 10 characters (Sagat,Adon,Geki,Retsu,Gren+), a new arcade mode, new stages, new bosses (Ryu,Ken,Gouken,Guile,Nash+), new survival mode, secret special moves per character and an extreme juggle system, Certainly a cool fan made game and a great pass time through Christmas.

Golden Axe Genesis - An awesome take on the arcade classic!

Good morning gamers have we got a treat for you this morning. It's "Golden Axe : Genesis " version 3.01; SEEPS latest PC imagining of the Arcade hit beat em up Golden Axe series of games. The developers are calling it the hypothetical sequel as if it was actually developed for the Mega Drive. Using OpenBOR with a great list of features such as 13 characters,  secret characters, 3 game modes, story mode with different branches, mutilation killings, thieves, hostages, wild beasts, own moves per characters and an original soundtrack this is another awesome SEEP game that deserves be downloaded and played.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III : The Manhattan Project - A hit beat 'em up on the NES!

If you could choose one Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles video game to play for the rest of your life, what would you choose? If you said TMNT IV: Turtles in Time you may need to go back and play TMNT III: The Manhattan Project, perhaps the best beat ‘em up on the NES and I’ll wager the best TMNT video game.

Power Rangers: Beats of Power - Top quality free beat 'em up!

GO GO POWER RANGERS! Ah those where the days, I can't remember how many times I watched the show on TV and of cause the big movie. But then I grew up and now think it's a right load of, well you get the idea. So it was great to see today that Merso X and collaborations has developed Power Rangers: Beats of Power, which is a brand new beat 'em up based on the retrotastic Power Rangers and fused it with Beats of Rage.

Super Tank Wars - 90's retro inspired tank action mash up!

We don't get many two player games on Indie Retro News, so it was nice to hear from HOT 'n SPICY Games about their new PC, Linux title Super Tank Wars, that's due for Desura Alpha-Funding starting in early August 2014. What looks to be a Beat 'em up mashed with a Shoot 'em up but with tanks, features fast paced retro inspired arcade action from the 90's in a top down view as you shoot and blast each other into tiny pieces.

Marvel First Alliance 2 - The latest kick ass free beat 'em up!

Sometime last year we featured possibly one of the better OpenBor beat 'em ups to hit your PC and that was Marvel First Alliance by Brazilian Developer Zvitor. Well today we have a new release that further improves upon the original with far more ass kicking than you can possibly take. Marvel First Alliance 2 is inspired by the greats such as Streets of Rage and Double Dragon and a game that not just fighting purists will enjoy but those that enjoy the Marvel characters!

Rampage Knights : A Medieval Coop Beatemup gets an Indiegogo and Steam Greenlight campaign

Rampage Knights game by RakeInGrass games is about a group of knights who are robbed of their loot by an evil wizard. The game is a multiplayer beat-em-up which involves you attempting to get to the castle of the evil wizard from basecamp. You will want to grab a gamepad and some friends for the best experience. It's always great to see another game with a focus on local coop.

Fist of Awesome - Bear based beat em up now available on Steam!

Here's a game we've been following for some time ever since the Geek 2012 event, and today, Nicoll Hunt of I Fight Bears (that nice fellow with a beard) has let us know that Fist of Awesome is now available on Steam. You play as a Lumberjack who is out to smack the local wildlife through time into submission with just his fighting ability and let me tell you it's awesome, fist of awesome! A game that has high attention to pixelated detail, lots of beat em up fun and now available on both PC and Mac through Steam. This is a game that's worthy of a fist up buy!

Simpsons Treehouse of horror - Excellent free Beat em up based on a hit classic!

Originally released in 1991, The Simpsons Arcade game which was based on the original cartoon series featured non stop beat em up action with all your favourite characters. It was such a great game that many hours were spent throwing away the coins oblivious to the ticking clock behind you. Each character had set moves and personalities fitting perfectly with the cartoon. Bart had his skateboard and Marge had her hoover, you could even combine the two characters together all in the aim to get Maggie back from Mr Burns. It wasn't an easy game and having up four players really helped, especially with the amount of bad guys that you needed to beat up. Well fast forward to now and we have a special treat to show you in the form of Simpsons Treehouse of horror, which is a brand new game using the OpenBor engine that you just have to play!

Fists Of Awesome FINALLY officially launches!

Nicoll Hunt, proudly bearded founder of independent games developer I Fight Bears confirms for us all that his much-loved premiere title, Fists Of Awesome, has officially launched, and for its first week of availability, at half price too!

Super Daryl Deluxe - 2D slapstick action-RPG gets a Kickstarter

Prepare for the latest in smack down action with Super Daryl Deluxe, which is a new action beat em up RPG from Dan & Gary Games. You play as Daryl Whitelaw, a kick ass fighter (that looks just like a hippy), who is on a mission to uncover the evil goings on in his local high school. Fight many strange enemies and big bad bosses, while customizing your combat style in the best way possible. The developers are hoping for a $7,000 goal success through Kickstarter but that is down to you!

Radical Heroes Crimson City Crisis - Mad Unicorn Games kicks plenty of arse in this full alpha

During today I had the pleasure of playing Radical Heroes Crimson City Crisis, a kick ass brawling beat em up from Mad Unicorn Games. Although the game is in Full Alpha and available to buy from Desura, it still packs plenty of fist worthy fun in the time that I had played. You'll be admiring the retro style graphics, taking in the detail, looking at the gameboy style map, visiting the shops and then smacking the living bleep out of all that stand in your way, even the citizens walking past! But that's not all, as can you pick up items to fight with, or empower yourself with new moves to create record breaking combos and perks to pump your hero up for extra punching power. If your button mashing finger needs a rest, grab an animal and ride it around the map! The only critique I could give this early build from my short play through, was the music was very repetitve and there needed to be far more variety in the enemies. But I'm sure all this will be sorted during development! So the question is, is it worth buying? Yes, especially for the price of £3.99 you can't go wrong.

Ryuko No Ken Nekketsu Lite - Beat em up dedicated to the Art of Fighting!

Game Genre : Action, Arcade, Beat em up
Developer : SEEP
Game Info : Ryuko No Ken Nekketsu Lite is the PC version of Ryuko No Ken Nekketsu WII (2009) game. Ryuko No Ken Nekketsu Lite also has many exclusives over the original Ryuko No Ken Nekketsu and offers a new Story Mode fully-dedicated to the first Art of Fighting (classic fighting game made SNK). This game also features - Great graphics inspired from River City Ransom, two playable characters: Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia, with new sprites and paletes, Story and Battle Mode, 10 Levels with 40 stages, 8 bosses., New weapons (axe, whip and trash barrel) and great action sections: beat em up, action, platform and racing.
Release : Now, Free
Systems : PC

Radical Heroes - Homage to the classic beat'em ups of the past! (Steam Greenlight+Demo)

Game Genre : Beat'em up
Developer : Mad Unicorn Games
Game Quote : Radical Heroes pays homage to the classic beat'em ups of the past with its simple pick up and play style, while giving you the experience you crave. Plow through endless hordes of enemies while you try and stop Eyeclopse from taking over Crimson City. Over 40+ action figures to unlock and play as. Awesomely created retro 8-bit city to venture through with dense city, forests, and even a haunted grave yard to conquer! Explore the shops Crimson City has to offer and buy everything from heart containers and pizza to chainsaws and UFO's! Tons of objects, weapons and moves to beat your enemies with.
Release : TBA ( Coming to Desura and possibly Steam )
Systems : PC

Axe Princess - Fantasy, action, beat'em-up game with rather large boobs (Kickstarter)

Game Genre : Action, Beat em up, Platformer
Kickstarter Goal : $20,000
Developer/Project By : Axe Princess Team
Game Info Quote : In Axe Princess you play as a bounty hunter named Remy who visits dangerous exotic lands in order to capture (dead/or alive) some of the most treacherous and illusive wanted criminals. Axe Princess is a 2d beat em up that takes place in a bright and colorful fantasy world. The art style is cartoony, and manga in nature, and features cute, expressive, hand drawn sprites! Axe Princess is inspired by beatem up games from the 90's including Final Fight, TMNT, Xmen, Simpsons, Dungeons and Dragons and many more. The gameplay is fast and violent and gives the player various fun ways to kill enemies.
Release : Jan 2015
Systems : PC

Treachery in Beatdown City - Retro inspired brawler aims for a successful Kickstarter

Game Type : Beat em up, RPG

Developer : Shawn Alexander Allen

Kickstarter Goal : $50,000

Game Info : Going back to the days of old, the days of the retro style side scrolling brawler in this kick ass fighting game from Shawn. This is Beatdown City, in which you fight hoods, punks, thugs and ninjas all to save the president. Using a combination of Fight Points (FP) and a combo meter, players of all skill types can choose up to 3 moves out of dozens of moves that will be learned over the course of the adventure to create any number of unique combinations of attacks. Combine strikes with grapples, or do multiple grapple moves in a row. It's your choice! This game will also contain multiple levels with plenty of enemies to deal with, so put on your boxing gloves, it's time to fight!

Release : Feb 2015
Systems : PC, Mac,Other(?)

Compilation World Software Anthology - Free Amiga games for your PC

Game Type : Beat em up, Platformer
Amiga Launcher Developer : The Company.pl
Game Info : Not much to say about these games, as they were not really that popular in the days of the Amiga. Reviews don't exactly hype it up either, but hey, at least it's a beat em up to the pass the time at work ,or at home, and of cause it's free. If you enjoy kicking the **** out of bad guys, especially grannies with a bit of gore, then have a go of the Compilation World Street Anthology. Just to note, if fighting isn't your thing, try Draggy And Croco which is a Platformer. Thanks to The Company.pl the Amiga version has been released/updated to version 2.6 so you can now play this on your PC with higher graphical filters
Release : Available now, Free
Systems : PC

To The Death - A mash up of a Beat em up and Shoot em up with plenty of eye candy (Kickstarter)

Game Genre : Action, Beat em up, Shoot em up
Kickstarter Goal : $400,000

Developer : Scary Mostro and Section Studios
Game Info Quote : Explore the world of the Crawl alternating between both warriors, conquering and discovering new levels, dynamically zooming in to fight and zooming out to shoot wave after wave of enemies that change each time you play. To The Death fuses the beat'em up and shoot'em up genres into something new and refreshing, offering a host of fun, innovative gameplay mechanics all at 60 frames per second! You switch between playing as two great warriors who have killed each other but have a vendetta so deep, it continues after death.
Release : Steam - May 2015

Systems : PC, Mac, Linux