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Natsume's top-notch update
of the old Cabal/Blood Brothers shooters.. I had this game knocking
about for a while before actually playing it
properly, and it turns out to be quite a little
gem. At first glance it looks like a rather
run-of-the-mill third person shooter with a
standard Wild West setting.
First impressions are deceptive here though, play
a little further into the game and it takes on a
unique rather surreal character all its own, made
all the better by some imaginative and attractive
fantasy artwork that Capcom
themselves would have been proud to have
produced. And this is no ordinary 'Western' but a
world from a weird parallel dimension where
robotic gunslingers, huge anime mecha bosses and
all kinds of odd technological oddities step into
the fray to try to halt your progress.. just the
kind of game we like here at Destroy all
Monsters!
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A
familiar looking Western
setting at the start of
the first stage soon
gives way to..
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...something
rather more surreal as
robotic gatling guns hove
into view..
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Anyone who remembers the
old Cabal (or sequel Blood
Brothers) coin-op will have an idea what
to expect gameplay wise. Taking control of either
hero
Clint or heroine Annie
(nice original names there Natsume!) you must
progress through a number of timed stages (at the
end of which lie some pretty mean level bosses)
picking up some rather nifty items of firepower
as you progress. As in Cabal, your onscreen
character and their targetting cursor are under
your control simultaneously. With the addition of
a handy duck-and-jump button and some devastating
dynamite-style 'smart-bombs' your life is made a
little easier, and the control becomes
second-nature with a bit of practice. The
difficulty level is well balanced with the first
few stages relatively easy but later levels
requiring a lot of skill for survival with all
hell breaking loose around you. Special mention
has to go to the high level of detail in the
backgrounds with plenty of nice blastable scenery
and lots of nice little touches (smashable
windows and neon (in the Wild West?) signs,
destructable tables, whiskey bottles and more..
Oh and of lots and lots of HUGE
explosions and pyrotechnics going off non-stop..
what more could you want?! ;)
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