IDARB Review
 CHEATfactor Game Review by:  Joe Sinicki Reviewed on: PC 
 

Welcome to our CHEATfactor Game Review of #IDARB. We review the game and then factor in how the available cheats affect the overall game experience. For better or worse, our reviews will help you decide whether or not to use cheats when playing the game.

The gaming industry needs more games like It Draws a Red Box (or #IDARB). It's not concerned with the latest HD visuals, or a cool marketing gimmick or even rushing itself out before it's finished and needing multiple updates to fix it's issues. No, #IDARB is seemingly only concerned with making sure that you have a great time with it's brand of fast, fun and accessible brand of gameplay - and it's wildly successful. I've had more fun with #IDARB than I've had with a game in a long time, and I keep coming back to it every chance I get. You've never played anything quite like this before, and that's a very good thing.

 
...it never stops being fun.
 

#IDARB is part Super Smash Bros, part Smash TV, part sports sim and a whole lot of personality. The basic goal of the core game is simple, take on your opponents and try to score more goals than them. It's a strange mix of basketball and soccer, and one that though you'll pick up quite quickly, you'll have to spend a good amount of time with to master. Don't let any of the gimmicks of #IDARB confuse you, the game's brand of competitive sports is quick and fast, and you'll need to master passing and defensive strategies to be successful. It's incredibly rewarding to set up an alley-oop for a goal right in your opponent's face. Getting larger times in the mix makes things even more hectic, so much so that you're sure to lose your character more than a few times on the field, but it never stops being fun.

Then things get really fun. And weird, yes...very weird. #IDARB's biggest trick is that if you allow it to, it lets you allow literally anyone to have an effect on your game through the use of hashtag bombs. Here's how it works; each game that's connected to the internet is given a unique number, and hash tagging that number and directing it at the official #IDARB account on services like Twitch and Twitter will allow for different effects on your game. Using #seasick for example make the screen rock as if it were a boat in unsteady waves and using #lightsout makes the screen dark except for wherever the ball might be. There's useful ones like those and then there's also really strange hashtag bombs, like getting rick rolled and a demon that takes up the entire screen.

Half the fun of #IDARB is finding what different things do. Sure, there are lists of what people have found on the internet, but it's a lot of fun to experiment and see what something does, and the developers are always adding new hashtag bombs. The community involvement obviously makes each game different but some games can get a little too hectic. Getting a lot of viewers involved in a single Twitch room means that you're going to be spending a ton of time dealing with obstacles and it's still fun, but just be ready for it, and be ready to lose because of it, even though it's still fun when you do.

 
...allow you to customize almost everything about the game.
 

On top of all of that, #IDARB allow you to customize almost everything about the game. You can create your own characters and since it's just a simple dot matrix, your creativity is nearly endless. Want to play as a group of the former Presidents of the United States? Create them? Looking to team up Macho Man Randy Savage with Homer Simpson and Fry from Futurama? Go for it. The game also lets you create your own banners to display as each of your teams play and even make your own entrance music. Smartly, the developers even allowed you to create a unique QR code to quickly share your creations, allowing for an incredibly fast and dedicated community to spring up.

#IDARB is also extremely funny. Before jumping into the online games, I decided to cut my teeth on some of the game's story mode play, and though there's not much of a story to speak of, the small amount of dialogue written for each match is great and always good for a chuckle. The game's announcer is always spot on, shouting random 80s, 90s and early 2000s pop culture references every time something happens. There are quotes from movies like Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, and even some you'll be surprised by. It's clear right away that #IDARB doesn't take itself seriously, and that's very good for all of us.

It's tough to describe just what #IDARB really is, but once you get hold of it, it's something you're likely not going to put down anytime soon. It's fast, it's fun, it's creative and even more, it begs for community involvement. #IDARB's legacy will last, based on just how active the community playing it is, and that's a great thing for the industry as a whole. It Draws a Red Box is a great gaming fun.

 
Overall:  9/10 Presentation: 8 Gameplay: 9 
Lasting Appeal: 9 CHEATfactor: 0 
 
 
CHEATfactor
 
As of this writing there are no known cheats for #IDARB, stick with Cheat Happens for the latest as they become available!