For more on Final Fight: Double Impact, check out our full Final Fight: Double Impact review. Or, for more of the best Xbox 360 games for a 10 year old, why not try our Family Game Finder
Final Fight: Double Impact is a collection of two downloadable side-scrolling beat 'em up games - Final Fight, and Magic Sword. Both conversions of old arcade games, the two games play out fairly similarly, letting two players team up to dish out the punishment to a whole host of baddies, playing as either a muscle bound knight, or two ex-pro wrestlers, depending on which game they're playing.
As old arcade games, both titles share the principles that made the arcades such a success back in the 80s - they're easy enough to pick up and play, but with a difficulty that's been designed to be just hard enough to encourage you to have "one more go" when you die at the last second. Luckily, as this is a downloadable game, earning an extra life is as easy as pressing Start, with no additional charges involved - and that means it'll be possible for most people to get all the way to the finish.
With easy controls (one button jumps, one button punches/kicks, and combinations of the two unleash different attacks), there's not all that much that younger children may struggle with here, either - but it is worth bearing in mind these are both old games, and as such, they have a difficulty level that's arguably a tad trickier than we're used to now. While older players shouldn't struggle too much, younger players may find the amount of times they'll have to die in order to reach the end (remember, these were originally designed to suck coins out of you) frustrating. While there is some reading involved, none of it's really necessary once your child knows what they're doing - and if they like similar games, like Batman: The Brave and the Bold, or if they're a bit older, Castle Crashers, they should get on well with this.
Despite their emphasis on dishing out physical punishment to baddies, neither game in Final Fight: Double Impact contains much in the way of gore, although there is some content parents will want to be aware of. Final Fight lets you pick up a variety of weapons, from pipes to knifes to use against your enemies. Enemies who get hit with the weapons will usually fall backwards in an unrealistic manner, but will give off a few small red pixels by way of blood. While you'll be beating up chimeras, mummies, and skeletons in Magic Sword by using your, well, sword and magic, there's no such minor gore here.
Apart from that, the only other thing is that completing certain goals in either game will unlock artwork in the game's "vault", some of which contains images of women with exaggerated breasts and hotpants - but again, it's fairly mild.
Age Ratings
Format Reviewed: Xbox 360
