Gunslugs 2 is an over-the-top, guns blazing rush-to-the-finish action game based on 1980s action hero movies. You take your bad ass hero and rush through the levels blasting your way through the war zone where you are air lifted out at the end. it’s the kind of game you’d expect to see on a next-gen console played out in 1080p, not in a small handheld game designed in old school pixels.
But it’s actually quite fitting that the game has that 8-bit look and feel since the era of action movies it’s based on is right along side the 8-bit games of old.
That being said, while this game looks like a retro game it’s much more fun and forgiving than the NES wartime games you might remember. There aren’t any lives to worry out and no impending game overs on the horizon. Just a lot of chaotic action with your military slugs, acting very un-slug like.
Now the game looks great in all its pixel goodness and the 3D effect of the Nintendo 3DS version looks spot on. The depth created by the layered backgrounds looks great. But the one thing that I think sets this game up for greatness is the randomness of the levels. Now I don’t mean that they’re random in the sense of crazy. I mean they are randomly generated levels.
This is awesome.
As much as I have fun grinding through levels in a die hard need to beat them, there is something refreshing about getting surprised and beaten up in a tower and then going back in and finding it a whole new beast. Not only that but the locations of the towers you need to destroy aren’t always in the same spots and the enemies generated in the levels are also random.
I love it.
Here’s a bit of a rundown of the plot of Gunslugs 2. The Black Duck Army is back with new domination plans, this time they want to take the galaxy! Their signal towers are covering the planet, and alien technology seems to be used all over the place Luckily the Gunslugs are here to stop them.
In addition to the story mode you’ll also unlock arcade mode and there is a daily challenge level to beat. This one isn’t randomly generated.
One thing that is neat in Gunslugs 2 is during the levels you’ll encounter fellow Gunslugs. When you break them out you’ll switch out and continue the level as them. Complete with different weapons AND a full health bar. This can be great if you’re starting to get low on life. Boom. As you get on in the game and you rescue more and more gunslugs you’ll be able to choose who you start in each level.
About the only thing that I didn’t like was a bit of a clumbsy set up in the controls and menu, which seems like a major oversight. In pretty much every game after you press start to pause the game, pressing start again will resume the game play. Not here. Pressing start in the menu quits the level with no ‘are you sure’ prompt. Also pressing the (b) in the pause menu normally would also boot you back into the game but also quits the level. You actually have to press the (x) button to do this. This odd menu set up required more conscious thought when in the pause menu than really should have been needed.
But aside from this really minor snafu Gunslugs 2 is great fun. Wild, crazy, and chaotic it’s a blast to play. Gunslugs 2 retails for $4.99 in the Nintendo 3DS eShop. It’s rated T for Teen.
