Weapon of Choice

Developer: Mommy's Best Games
Steam Release: Sep 2015
Hours Played: 1.4
Similar To: Capsized / Intrusion 2 / Serious Sam: Double D XXL / Shoot Many Robots
Rating: 1/5 Parsnips

GAMEPLAY

Weapon of Choice is for those who like their platform shooters ridiculous and insane! It plays very much like that other madcap offering by the same company: Serious Sam Double D XXL only this time around, you chop and change with seven or so characters who all come armed with their own unique and zany weapon. You can also equip the standard machine gun - on the fly - if you wish. You start a game of WoC by first choosing one of six difficulty settings and a character - and are then dropped into some type of tropical forest inhabited by all sorts of grotesque and hideous monsters out to kill you. You travel left or right in typical side-scrolling fashion while mindlessly obliterating monsters in a sea of satisfying squelches and splats. Jumping can get a little messy and awkward but the game has enough for us to forgive this.

 

BALANCE & PACE

The game itself is completely devoid of a U.I. There is no score or medals or stars or even health to speak of either; it's just you and the monsters. The main gimmick is when slow-mo kicks in (just as you're about to die) to give you the chance to take precautionary measures and thus avoid death's incoming clutches. The focus of the game is entirely wrapped up in simply completing the seven areas on the six different difficulty settings. It is super-short and on easy, it can be completed in less than 40 minutes! In short, you plough your way through an area with the use of rampant shooting. Get killed and you are able to call in one of your colleagues into the battlefield who arrives attached to a missile. Lose all lives and it's game over. Controls are done in twin-stick fashion with an Xbox controller which is definitely the best way to play the game. 
 
 

PRESENTATION & DESIGN

Like Mommy's Best Game's other similar offering (Serious Sam Double D XXL) the presentation is entirely outlandish and over the top. Terry Gilliam's work with Monty Python certainly seems to be an inspiration as the art-work is cartoon-like and much exaggerated. Some monsters are so large that you can only see their legs and udders as they pace along the screen while others appear to resemble sexual organs like scrotums. One particular boss has clearly been made to look like an erect penis! Some have huge popping eyeballs and a few gush out green goo as well as a shower of innards and giblets as they're being zapped by gunfire. The soundtrack is grunge / heavy metal which I personally don't really care for but is well appreciated by others. 
 
   

PROGRESS SYSTEM

Progress is predominantly viewed when selecting one of six difficulty settings on starting a new game for it is here that it states how many areas you have successfully secured for each. As mentioned the game comes with seven areas which are accessed via a branching system that all depends on how you tackle the first area known as Mountain Village. Finishing this first area brings up a dialogue box that tells you that you can either follow human orders by going to the mines or to side with the aliens and taking to the trees. Either path gives you two additional areas each. Alternatively if you take an immediate left when starting the first area, this will take you to Peak Bridges which is the other route you can take. The system works well as it totally fixes the player on the killing, the killing, and yet more of the killing.  
 
 

CONCLUSION

With no health, ammo, score or map getting in the way, WoC is the game to turn to when you just want to go on a killing spree and do nothing else. Even total beginners will be able to complete the easy setting with no trouble making it stress-relieving fun for anyone. Likewise, with no upgrades, inventory management or levelling-up to fret over, this really is a game where diving in is completely hassle-free. In fact, the only decision to make before playing is in choosing one of the six difficulty settings. This has the additional effect of allowing the player to practice and to progress at their own pace. For a mindless romp, Weapon of Choice might well be the best choice.