Heavy Weapon

Written by John Scalzo  on February 13, 2007

Review: I'm taking the nuclear option

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Microsoft has a lot to think about now that year two of the Xbox Live Arcade has begun. With Sony's PlayStation Store and Nintendo's Virtual Console breathing down their necks, the XBLA division actually did the unthinkable and released a list of Arcade titles coming in the next three months. Remarkably, there are only two titles based on 80s arcade classics. So with a good feeling that newer games were on the way, Microsoft dropped the Contra/Metal Slug-inspired Heavy Weapon on the Live Arcade a few weeks ago.

Heavy Weapon takes the cigar-chomping Rambo of your typical side-scrolling shooter and shoves him inside a tankЕ an Atomic Tank. Yes, the year is 1984 and the Reds are threatening war, so the US does the only thing a nuclear power can do, they send the Fat Man in a big tank to drop the Little Boy on those Ruskies.

While the game is similar to Contra (powerups are even dropped from the sky by a blimp-shaped helicopter), it actually has a style all its own. The screen scrolls constantly and simple left and right movement is controlled by the left stick. The right stick positions the turret that will paint the sky with bullets. These two sticks (and dropping an A-Bomb with the Right Trigger) are all you'll need to get everything out of Heavy Weapon.

From there it's just a matter of taking on the game's nineteen levels (with a chance to add to your arsenal with new weapons at the end of each level). There are nine main levels (that begin to repeat at the halfway point) that vary slightly in length and location, but your Atomic Tank will always be cruising on a flat surface shooting at the game's dozen different enemy types (which take the form of planes, missiles, tanks, satellites and giant atomic bombers).

But while the levels never feel all that different, the types of enemies you'll face will always be unique because the opposing enemy forces are always a random assortment of what each level has to offer. You will never face the same enemy force twice and memorization won't save you. This can lead to some seriously intense action as dozens of opposing planes, tanks, satellites and munitions of all the colors of the rainbow will often clog the screen. Shooter fans will not be disappointed with the challenge level at all.

The game is colorful, but not overly impressive in the graphics department. Everything about the graphics is very simple, but in this case, light and colorful is much better than realistic and gritty. The bosses (which are big and inventive) and some of the larger enemies particularly stand out. Sadly, the bosses, like the levels, begin to repeat after the halfway mark. So there are only ten of them.

Heavy Weapon's single player campaign is complemented by two extra modes: Survival and Boss Blitz. Boss Blitz is pretty self-explanatory, players must pilot the Atomic Tank against all of the game's bosses without dying; but Survival is where some good fun is had. Survival (which can be played by one to four players both online and off) pits the Atomic Tank against a neverending level of enemies and the only thing that matters is how long you live. Playing for those last few seconds to earn an Achievement or for bragging rights on the Live Leaderboard are what shooters like this are all about.

The game also has a nagging flaw that I can't seem to shake no matter how many times I play. You never know the status of your powerups or your energy level. As you roll over the Russian soil, the powerups (speed bonuses, weapon strength enhancers, shield regenerators, etc) you collect are just sucked into the tank, there's no meter or gauge to let you know how many hits you have left until you die or how what your tank's top speed is. A real tank has a lot of dials and gauges that let you know exactly what's going on with your tank. Apparently an Atomic Tank is above such distractions. It's a small annoyance, but it's always there, pecking at the back of my brain.