Intro
Welcome to the June 2015 edition of Indie Arcade! For this month I have an awesome sidescrolling, metroid-vania, shooter known simply as Greedy Guns.
Note: Greedy Guns is currently in Beta. I played version 0.9.4 single player only, I did not try the game in CO-OP, but I really wanted too.
Premise
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A large evil corporation known as HOLOCORP sends mercenaries to an alien world to collect artifacts and DNA for scientific purposes.
Kate T. and Bob, the mercenaries sent to this alien world are not phased by the prospect of danger. As long as the money is good and the arsenal is well stocked, they are ready for anything. |
Art and Design
Art wise, the game looks great. Colorful and everything in the world has a strong silhouette. The game's art style is reminiscent of the webcomic Penny Arcade. The characters and environment look fantastic, sporting a wonderful sketchbook feel that is beautifully translated into the Unity game engine.
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The soundtrack to Greedy Guns sets the mood perfectly. At first it is low and somewhat ominous, setting the mood perfectly for exploration.
As the action starts, the music picks up. It never becomes a distraction but something that perfectly accompanies the tone of the gameplay. It is safe to say that the music in the game is solid. |
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On the gameplay side of things, Greedy Guns is pretty solid. The meat and potatoes of it are exploring a huge world and shooting enemies to collect cash coins.
The animation is great and the shooting feels right. Platforming is a important part of the exploration and it is also good. I played the game with a wired Xbox 360 controller and I would recommend it over the default keyboard controls. |
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Saving up to buy that grenade launcher!
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Every now and then, players will come across kiosks where they can purchase new weapons with their cash their earned from defeated foes. Players are currently allowed to carry up to two weapons.
Your standard blaster pistol has infinite ammo and no recharge time. The other weapons will need to recharge, the duration of the recharge will depend on how much ammunition is used. |
Unlike most games in this genre, you do not die with a single hit. You have a health bar and you recover health by finding special blue healing pads (located all over the world) that restore you back to full health.
Cons
I really enjoyed this game, but there are some things it is currently lacking. Greedy Guns takes some inspiration from games like Metal Slugs, and I don't know if I mentioned it before but I am a huge Metal Slugs fan. So a few things stuck out to me that was missing from Metal Slugs.
The first thing I noticed id that there is no grenade or grenade like weapon, and yes I did buy the grenade launcher in the beta, but I mean is that the player does not have a grenade, which is a staple of the Metal Slugs series. Maybe for now their is no grenade, maybe it needs to be unlocked or added into the game still, but my point is you will quickly be wishing for explosives once the enemies begin to mob you.
The first thing I noticed id that there is no grenade or grenade like weapon, and yes I did buy the grenade launcher in the beta, but I mean is that the player does not have a grenade, which is a staple of the Metal Slugs series. Maybe for now their is no grenade, maybe it needs to be unlocked or added into the game still, but my point is you will quickly be wishing for explosives once the enemies begin to mob you.
Another thing it is missing from Metal Slugs is the melee. Once again, this might just not be in the game due to it being an unlock or just simply has not been implemented yet.
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Some enemies, I can imagine the melee not being to effective against (those darn flying spiked pears!, and those darn rolling spike enemies!), but I feel that when I get up close and personal with an enemy, I just want to slash at it with a machete!
One thing I love about Melee weapons in Metal Slugs, and this is a small detail but in some of the games it varied from character to character, adding a bit of personality. |
Why not have Bob slash at his foes with a laser-blade knife? And Kate. T can punch enemies with her robotic fist (Although add some knuckles and spikes for comedic effect).
As mentioned before, the keyboard controls aren't that great. Mostly when aiming the mouse, It is really hard to get the perfect 45 degree angle when shooting at enemies.
In this case, the controller was far superior. That isn't to say that the controls were perfect, they can still use some fixes in terms of button layout, but this is somewhat minor and can easily be a quick fix in the options menu.
In this case, the controller was far superior. That isn't to say that the controls were perfect, they can still use some fixes in terms of button layout, but this is somewhat minor and can easily be a quick fix in the options menu.
Greed (and Guns) is Good
Greedy Guns is an awesome game. The art is bright, the gameplay is solid and shows a lot of potential. This is just the beta, just scratching the surface here. Greedy Guns is going to be on my radar. Expect me to tweet about it once the game has a full release.
You got nothing to lose and tons of cash to earn. Hop in the beta and give it a shot! Also make sure to send your feedback to the developers.
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