ManStruggle brings retro, button-mashing delight to Facebook

Grab Games, creator of Gold Miner World, recently released a new social game to Facebook with a decidedly fresh aesthetic and gameplay hook. ManStruggle, a game that requires a seriously fast index finger, is an homage to all things 8-bit gaming. From the pixelated visuals to the campy music to the silly, muffled narrator who can say nothing more than "Man Struggle," this game conjures up fond memories of lazy Sunday mornings and burning wrists (no, that last memory is from today). Got your attention? Then join us behind the cut for a detailed first look at this tribute to the world of 8-bit. The game can essentially be summed up in two words: Press A. That's it, really. Well, you can briefly customize your wrestler (which looks more like strangling) and share your achievements on Facebook, but that's not the point. The idea of this game is to compete with friends either locally or online in real time to see who can press the "A" key faster.

Don't have any friends (really? This is Facebook) or none that are online? Then you can play your friends' average records of what the game cryptically calls "Rate." This metric measures the rate at which you press the "A" key in percentages. While we don't know what these percentages amount to in presses per second, the higher your Rate percentage, the better and it can go past 100 percent (I've reached 120% Rate).

There are four play modes to choose from. First, "Struggle Vs. Friend Now" mode lets you play against one your friends in the game in real time, if they're online. Second is "Struggle Vs. Friend in Person," which allows two people to play one another locally with the second player pressing the "L" key. Third, we have Struggle Roulette--no, it is not like Chat Roulette with more pixels--which randomly matches players live online regardless of whether they're friends for quick fun. Last is "Arcade Mode Vs. CPU," a mode that pits players against the computer in increasingly difficult struggle matches.

To ignite the competitive spirit, there are leaderboards, and more importantly the Wall of Shame. This feature puts the top cheaters in a defined list for everyone to see their folly. Unfortunately, it's unknown what the criteria consists of to be considered a cheat. However, we'll take some players on the wall holding a 522% Rate as a sign of tampering with the game.

Looking for something to pass the time while you reminisce of the golden days of gaming or just some more punishment for your wrists? Then by all means give Grab Games' ManStruggle a few million presses.

Play ManStruggle on Facebook Now >

Have you tried ManStruggle? Need more struggling buddies? Speak out in the comments. Add Comment.