Review: Assault Heroes (PS3)

Digital download services on each of the three consoles seem to be quite a home for old-school games such as Mega Man and Castlevania, and they’ve especially been a haven for sci-fi style shooters as well.  With this, Konami has brought back Assault Heroes for the PlayStation Network.

The game was actually released on the Xbox Live Arcade a few years ago, and the only difference is that the PSN version is five bucks more expensive at $9.99.  But if you’ve never experienced it, $9.99 is still a good price (but you might want to stick to the one on the 360).

Assault Heroes is a top-down shooter that puts you in control of the sole survivor of an elite unit (as always) as you try to take down hordes of opposing forces in your repertoire of military vehicles.  Whether you’re in a tank or a ship, you’ll be traveling from area-to-area blasting whatever you see, collecting items and power-ups as you go that’ll help you out in the game.

The left analog stick allows you to move freely along the terrain on the screen, while the right analog stick aims and fires your projectile weapon.  These controls are really simple, but over time, only having to move your thumbs can be a little draining, so it’s really good to play the game in bunches.

Aside from finishing every map, the main thing to do in Assault Heroes, like all other arcade-style shooters, is to build your score.  Pressing any button while in your vehicle will have your soldier jump out and fight with his primary gun.  Without your vehicle, every kill is worth more, but it’s easier to die.  If your character is killed, you lose a life.  However, when he’s in the safety of a vehicle, he’ll be fine.  Vehicles will continue to spawn, so the only issue would be to actually keep the soldier from getting hurt.

In traditional top-down style, the majority of fun you’ll have in the game will be with the plethora of giant bosses you’ll be struggling to kill.  Pinpoint precision along with choosing the right way to attack make the game a welcome challenge.  Dying in the game doesn’t force you to replay the first level, as you will always continue from the last area you finished at.  It’s a different take at having infinite lives, but it definitely makes the whole experience less frustrating.

Should you choose, the game can be played cooperatively both locally and online.  Unfortunately, at time of press, there weren’t too many people to be paired up with online, so it’s hard to judge that experience.  But if its popularity takes off similar to the way it did on Xbox Live, then it shouldn’t be long before people start to see its fun.

The game doesn’t really do much to impress anyone visually.  The envelope has been pushed by other digital downloads, but they still get the job done.  In regards to the sound, it’s the rock and roll and explosions that we all expect, keeping the overall experience solid.

Assault Heroes makes for some intense, old-school gaming on a rainy day.  Whether it’s with a friend or just for your own enjoyment, there’s a lot to like about Assault Heroes.  But if you have an Xbox 360, just note that you can have the game there at half the price of this PSN version.

Score: 6.8 | Recommendation: Try It
Verdict: “get it on XBLA”

About This Author: Danreb Victorio

Danreb Victorio is SmashPad's longest tenured staff member and has been writing for the publication since its existence as Gaming-Nation, Inside Gamer Online, Amped IGO, Amped News, and Gamer 2.0. Though SmashPad has gone through many branding changes, Danreb has remained the same--he pushes out content while also improving his craft with every piece that gets published. As a Co-Managing Editor, Danreb, along with Chris Selogy, is in charge of assigning, maintaining, and providing SmashPad's editorial content. Danreb graduated with a B.S. in journalism at San Jose State University, where he worked with the campus newspaper and magazine. In addition to SmashPad, you can read his more blunt work on Yelp.com.