PAX: LocoCycle is looking sufficiently loco

Freddy Rodriguez brings the funny

In addition to checking out a playable build of Ms. Splosion Man, I also had the chance to view a private hands-off demo of LocoCycle, showing off about ten minutes of gameplay.

To say that LocoCycle‘s theme is insane is pretty much an understatement. It was just revealed last week that actor Freddy Rodriguez would be playing the main character Pablo — an unwitting part of the duo that consists of him, and sentient motorcycle I.R.I.S.

Pablo is attached to I.R.I.S. by his leg, as he’s dragged by her throughout the game. The portion I was able to see was very early in the story, when Pablo was erratic, scared out of his mind boosting at incredible speeds.

As the desert-themed level progressed, Pablo started to get more involved in fighting foes, whipping out his wrench and slapping enemies around with it. One particular part involved Pablo using a contextual swipe to clear out some bikers.

Developer Mike Wilford described the gameplay as a mix of Spy Hunter and Bayonetta, which was obvious once he got into close combat and started doing some combos with I.R.I.S. It’s not nearly as in-depth, and mainly involves a two button system (X and Y) and a counter button (A), but in terms of raw style, I definitely saw it — all the way up to the combo counter.

When I started to note the similarities to Road Rash, he responded, “this is as close as you’re going to get for a while.”

There are QTEs occasionally, but in my mind, they fit a cartoony release like this, and they were pretty few and far between — not to mention simple. Wilford also promised that these portions will be entertaining throughout.

Wilford informed me that part of the setup is built upon the fact that Pablo speaks entirely in Spanish, and I.R.I.S. won’t be able to fully understand him since her translation module is a bit malfunctioned. As the game goes on, the duo will grow together, as they take on I.R.I.S.’ evil nemesis S.P.I.K.E.

I’m a big fan of Rodriguez’s work in Six Feet Under, so I’m confident he can bring the goods to the LocoCycle, and make it a more enjoyable experience. Although I wish that I was able to play the game myself and see how it controls, it’s looking pretty solid so far. When I asked about any multiplayer elements, Wilford said “we aren’t ready to talk about that now,” but more info will come at E3.