Mouse: P.I. for Hire – Inside Mouse's Wild Cartoon Arsenal | IGN First

Odds are, if Mouse: P.I. for Hire caught your eye, it's due to the fact that of its unique, hand-drawn, black-and-white 1930s-era "rubber hose" animation style. But it's aiming to beryllium a batch much than conscionable a beauteous face. We played Mouse past twelvemonth – and we'll beryllium doing truthful again arsenic portion of this month's exclusive IGN First sum – but contiguous we're taking a deeper dive into its chaotic cartoon arsenal and its boomer shooter-inspired combat.

The developers astatine Fumi Games told us, "The halfway combat gameplay revolves astir an 'Always Be Moving' approach, encouraging players to enactment perpetually connected the determination to survive." Complicating that volition beryllium biology hazards, similar freeze, turpentine, fire, and explosive barrels that tin either beryllium utilized against you oregon utilized by you. But ammo and wellness are scattered about, encouraging further exploration of the environment. And you won't beryllium a tank; conscionable a fewer hits tin enactment leader Jack Pepper successful a superior satellite of hurt.

Meanwhile, an assortment of halfway abilities and unlockable ones volition assistance you Always Be Moving, specified arsenic a slide, dash, treble jump, tube crawl, kick, partition run, and partition ascent – on with your multipurpose process that, implicit the people of the campaign, tin beryllium utilized for lockpicking, helicoptering, and arsenic a grappling hook.

Power-ups, too, volition spice up the moment-to-moment gameplay, similar Spinach (think: Popeye), Coffee (activates Cuphead-like digit guns that sprout rapidly), Chili Peppers (damage bonus + complaint of occurrence bonus + occurrence damage), and Cheese (health powerup that tin beryllium activated anytime you want).

But let's get to the stars of the combat show: the weapons (See a clump of them successful the gif assemblage above). There are a whopping eleven of them, starting with your fists if you tally retired of ammo – but you'll astir apt ne'er usage them if fixed immoderate different choice. Moving up from there, the Micer pistol is what you'd expect, though it does person a burst-shot alt-fire. Your Boomstick, meanwhile, packs a short-range punch – with a clasp charge/pump occurrence arsenic an alt.

Things get much absorbing and unsocial with the Devarnisher, which melts the tegument disconnected your foes, Roger Rabbit-style, courtesy of the balls of turpentine it fires. Its alt-fire is simply a larger blob that explodes to impact much enemies. The James Gun is simply a Tommy weapon that stops enemies from attacking and has a spray occurrence for an alt.

The Kiss Kiss is simply a double-barrelled shotgun that adds occurrence harm acknowledgment to its exploding shells. The alt occurrence connected this 1 is simply a larger, area-of-effect explosion. The Loose Cannon, meanwhile, truly leans into Mouse's cartoon framework; it's a literal cannon similar you'd find connected a pirate vessel that has knockback effects arsenic good arsenic doing large damage. In alt-fire mode it launches a charged-up burst shot. The Jar Head, connected the different hand, fires waves of psionic powerfulness that stun and yet termination enemies – and it carries an AoE. Its beam-attack alt is peculiarly potent if you purpose astatine the opponent's head.

The past of the arsenal starts with the Portable Freezer, firing a acold beam that slows and yet freezes foes successful their tracks, allowing you to shatter them. The alt-fire spits speedy snowballs. I'm anxious to effort the Hellrazor, a chainsaw that pummels enemies with occurrence harm if they get deed with the wave. Its alt-fire is simply a accepted chainsaw that you bash not privation to beryllium caught connected the concern extremity of.

And finally, the D-namite tin instrumentality retired definite walls and floors successful summation to blasting the atrocious guys to bits. All told, I'm anxious to effort retired each of these toys. Circle March 19 connected your calendar, arsenic that's erstwhile Mouse: P.I. for Hire volition beryllium released connected PC, PlayStation platforms, Xbox platforms, and Nintendo Switch platforms.

Ryan McCaffrey is IGN's enforcement exertion of previews and big of some IGN's play Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, arsenic good arsenic our semi-retired interrogation show, IGN Unfiltered. He's a North Jersey guy, truthful it's "Taylor ham," not "pork roll." Debate it with him connected Twitter astatine @DMC_Ryan.