Rag Doll Kung Fu: Fists of Plastic

I found out today that My Name Is Earl is definitely, officially, completely dead. That's too bad.

I remember when the original Rag Doll Kung Fu was released on Steam a few years ago, and it seemed like a neat physics experiment if not much of a game. The version put on the Playstation Network seems to use the same system with simplified controls, and it apparently has done so poorly that it ended up being more profitable to let users download it for free in a promotion sponsored by Sprint, which is how I got to play it. I screwed around with it for a couple hours, not cursing the time I wasted but not itching to go back either.

There's no real single player game, just a series of challenges to compete for scores in and some multiplayer modes. I tried them all, and some of them were kind of cool, but none prompted me to try again once I completed the requirements for the basic trophies. The combat has some cool gimmicks to it and beating up a group of guys can be all right, but in the end it just sort of feels like a poor man's Super Smash Bros. The motion controls add an interesting element with turning the controller over to meditate and restore health, but the other techniques are too wonky to use effectively. I wouldn't mind trying it with four people if I ever had that many people and controllers in the room, but I'll probably just forget I downloaded it before long.