The gameplay of Vendetta is similar to other beat' em ups. However, what distinguishes Vendetta from the rest is that simply pressing the attack button faster than the enemy won't always save you (and it seldom does) instead, it encourages you to approach a situation logically by factoring different variables during fights while offering you a myriad of ways to dispatch enemies.
The controls in Vendetta are simple. All attacks are assigned to two buttons: "Punch", and "Kick". Consecutive presses will produce a combo when striking an enemy, which can be interchanged midway, if you choose to switch from punching to kicking, or contrariwise. Pressing both "Punch" and "Kick" simultaneously, will execute a special attack unique to your character, and changes depending if you're stationary, or moving when pressing both buttons. Pressing "Kick" and "Backwards" on the controls will cause your character to perform a kick designed to intercept enemies behind you. Timing is essential in this action. Master it, and you can obviate plenty of hardship when outnumbered. Holding enemies stationary is another possible action. There, you can either punch, kick, throw them or perform a combination thereof, when they're immobilized. This is achieved by walking within adjacency to an enemy, and pressing the "Forward" and either the "Punch" or "Kick" button, concurrently. Throwing enemies immediately, is another option by pressing "Up" and "Punch" when adjacent, too. Lastly, if an enemy grabs you from behind, you can punch / kick until they unhand you, or throw them forward by pressing the "Punch" and "Kick" buttons together.
Vendetta embraces the thought of weapons by offering an impressive repertoire, and it's always advantageous to utilize them due to superior damage inflicted in comparison to unarmed combat. Knifes, chains, whips, spiked bats, beer bottles, molotov cocktails, and eight more items comprise all the available weapons possible to wield, including throwing enemies into each other.
Whether you decide to fight alone, or are accompanied by up to three other players, Vendetta adjusts its difficulty accordingly, and it's easy to get killed if you aren't cautious. Every hit sustained will add up in the end, and mistakes will come back to haunt you later in the game. Thankfully, there's also items which will replenish health, such as: energy drinks, hot dogs and chicken. Each will restore health by a certain percentage.
Pictures below.
The title screen, illustrated in appearance as stylish graffiti; very germane for Vendetta's gritty ambiance.
The prologue. The Dead End Gang's agenda for aggrandizing their power precipitates a gang war between them and the Cobras.
All four protagonists in Vendetta are loosely based on a celebrity in reality as either a tribute, or parody of their stardom.
Blood loosely resembles Mike Tyson. Additionally, I think Blood is a spoof of the Blood gang in reality, but that might only be sheer coincidence.
Hawk loosely resembles Hulk Hogan.
Boomer loosely resembles Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Sledge loosely resembles Mr. T.
Not a playable protagonist, but personally, I believe Kate's appearance is based on Barbra Streisand.
The amity between the Cobras' members, themselves, wasn't disturbed, until...
Yep. It's an act of provocation, and intended as an ambush. I'm cocksure; confident the Cobras aren't ones to trust law enforcement because of their own reputation as well. Hence, why this misadventure involves a gangster quartet of antiheroes fighting other, rival gangsters.
You have the option of selecting what character you wish to control. Each Cobra member has individual strengths, and weaknesses, thus making one better or worse in certain scenarios, than others.
A message from the Dead End Gang, also displaying all the bosses you'll face venturing through Dead End territory.
Vendetta's plot isn't a strong highlight of the game; it's the typical damsel-in-distress, but then again, strong plots haven't ever been the staple of the beat'em up genre to begin with.
Practically everything that's not part of the background itself can be used as a weapon in Vendetta.
Outside a warehouse, hurling a garbage can at one gangster to keep my distance, due to that menacing knife he's wielding, but another aims to requite me in the same manner, via a crate.
Entering the warehouse, only to be greeted by more gangsters.
One distinct advantage these miscreants have over you (besides virtually all beat' em up games) is numerical superiority. Be ever vigilant of your position relative to theirs, for if even one manages to sneak up on you, the consequences to suffer may be immense.
The climactic finale of the first stage culminates in a confrontation aboard a speeding flatbed truck with the boss, Buzzsaw Bravado, who clearly has maleficent intentions, and isn't hesitant about summoning extra manpower to combat me.
Dusk at a construction site.
Those fires were created thanks in part to Molotov cocktails both thrown by gangsters on the ground, and one standing above on the scaffold. One gangster has already been lit aflame, so why not throw another in the flames to make it two?
Environmental hazards will either help or hinder you. Learn to exploit them appropriately to your advantage, and you can facilitate fights considerably.
Situated on a higher floor, treated to a view of the cityscape's skyline, but this is no time to watch the sunset!
I give myself temporary relief of this gangster trio, by blinding one with a bucket while a bundle of girders collapse on another, to concentrate on the one poised behind me.
Back on the ground level, prepared to stop this gangster's charge with a 12 ounce liter of alcohol to his skull. Cheers!
Going on an evening jaunt through a business district, and perhaps a red light one, moreover.
It's a showdown; knife vs. chain! Which will win?! A couple bystanders, and a coquette spectate the scuffle occurring before them, additionally.
A lawless stretch of an alleyway, according to the graffiti text, and a second prostitute along with a showgirl this time, both curious to view the brawl.
Unfortunately, I got kicked in the crotch in this picture, and as hilarious as it appears, it's subsequently rendered me vulnerable to the bludgeoning of a spiked bat. The sight makes me cringe.
Further along the alleyway, outside a clandestine casino with yet a third prostitute soliciting herself for clientele.
To rephrase the adage, "killing two birds with one stone," if you're patient and lucky enough, you can injure three reprobates with one flaming barrel.
Departing the downtown nightlife for a daytime waterfront.
Of all the henchmen you'll face in Vendetta, two of the most troublesome are the pit bull, and the gunman, for cogent reasons evidenced above.
On a concrete jetty, euthanizing a currently dazed pit bull with a shotgun blast. Begone, accursed canine!
Approaching a barque ship docked at the end of the concrete jetty.
The shotgun is the best weapon in the Vendetta possible to wield. Against henchmen, only a paucity of them can withstand more than one round of buckshot. It's rather impotent against bosses, though, because then it would be a practically effortless, and anticlimactic fight.
The dilapidated city slums is truly a very inhospitable area to be.
Whenever auspicious, you can inflict further abuse on the majority of downed opponents without risk of retaliation. Don't get complacent, though, otherwise your strikes may soon start to be answered.
Within a heavily decrypt building on the precipice of collapse.
Apropos, remember when I mentioned how troublesome the gunman could be? Here's another plausible reason. This will not end well.
Yep. They finally got me. Despite how long I've been playing Vendetta, I still die at least once per level, due to the game's difficulty.
