Shakedown: Hawaii cover art

Shakedown: Hawaii

Light arcade action feeding a property-empire economy you optimise to completion.

Here's the argument for where this game sits - disagree freely.
Match your experience?
EXECUTION5 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE1 /10OPTIMIZATION6 /10

the cheat-test profile

The four axes - the argument

Each axis is rated on its own - how far one cheat would trivialize the game here. They don't trade off; low on all four means the game is an experience, not a contest.

  1. Execution

    cheat: Aimbot - perfect inputs

    5/10

    Top-down shooting and driving need modest reflexes

  2. Reads

    cheat: Out-predict an adaptive opponent

    0/10

    Cops and goons follow simple fixed AI

  3. Variance

    cheat: See what's hidden / map the RNG

    1/10

    The open world is static once explored

  4. Optimization

    cheat: A perfect solver / coach

    6/10

    The property-acquisition economy is the real progression engine

How to read this

Each axis is named by the cheat that would break the game along it. Execution is the hands. Reads is out-thinking an adaptive opponent. Variance is hidden information & RNG. Optimization is the solvable systems layer. A game's region is the top one or two axes.

These four aren't one rating split four ways - they're independent 0-10 questions. A 9 on one axis takes nothing from the others, and a game low on all four isn't missing data: it's telling you there's no skill here to cheat.

The basis is how the majority actually plays this game - not a niche mode or a personal run. For a game with very different modes (a story campaign versus ranked multiplayer), that's the version most people mean.

Compare with

Similar games

see all →

Ranked by shared genre first, then by how closely the cheat-test profile matches - a cross-genre tag means a pick matched on skill profile alone.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas cover art

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Practiced Mastery · open-world action

E
R
V
O
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Mad Max cover art

Mad Max

Practiced Mastery · open-world action

E
R
V
O
Mad Max
Mafia III cover art

Mafia III

Practiced Mastery · open-world crime action

E
R
V
O
Mafia III
The Simpsons: Hit & Run cover art

The Simpsons: Hit & Run

Practiced Mastery · comedy driving adventure

E
R
V
O
The Simpsons: Hit & Run
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy cover art

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

Practiced Mastery · 3D platformer

E
R
V
O
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time cover art

Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time

Practiced Mastery · action platformer

E
R
V
O
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time

Game details

Released
2019
Developer
Vblank Entertainment
Platforms
PS3, PS4, 3DS, Wii, PC, PS5, WiiU, Vita, Switch
Modes
Single player
IGDB critics
80/100
IGDB users
71/100
ShooterRacingAdventureIndieArcadeActionBusinessOpen world