Metal Rambo Revenge Hero

If you know what you're getting, Metal Rambo can be a hell of a ride. As in the rest of the franchise going back to its debut in 1996, the action is all about running and gunning. In both the seven-level solo/co-op campaign and the single-player-only combat training mode where you fight dozens of quickie one-off battles, you go up against the evil regular troops plus his new cadre of future soldiers wearing helmets with antennas. Not that you need to care about any of this story stuff. All you have to understand is that you've got to kill everything in sight while jumping around and activating the odd platform.

Features:

- Easy and Simple to play.
- Nice-looking graphics 2-D.
- Cool skill design and effect.
- A lot of challenges and stages.
- Classic sound created excitement for players.

Gameplay is identical to the previous XX Shooter, which in turn ripped off earlier scrolling shooters, such as shooting. The only real difference between the Revenge Battle series and its predecessors is a reliance on murderous tank vehicles called slugs. Whereas something you to mostly blast, here you frequently get the chance to wreak havoc while driving tanks and even giant mechanical ostriches. Difficulty in the campaign is just brutal when going it alone, even if you play on beginner with unlimited continues, because the levels are geared for co-op play either locally or over the smooth and lag-free connection. One enemy shot takes you out, so you can easily find yourself stuck in a rut of getting killed over and over again in difficult sections of levels.

Despite this level of difficulty, it can be hard to walk away, especially when up with a friend to take on the campaign as a team in co-op. Everything gets a touch monotonous at times, because game doesn't mix up enemy assault waves as much as it should, but the pace is always snappy even when the never-ending stream of enemy soldiers, tanks, mortars, and choppers makes you want to cry uncle. This is one of those shooters that hit you with so much running and gunning that you never get the chance to think long enough to decide to stop playing. The game's brevity also keeps you going, as you can finish the seven brief levels in a single 60-minute session as long as you're playing on easy or in co-op. So you just keep going until you're done, which is long after you realize that you're doing the same thing over and over again.

Yet the game manages to retain a fair amount of its charm. Commandos still look more like Saturday-morning cartoon heroes than real soldiers, and enemies go through in their death throes. Even the way the game dishes out power-ups is cute: you obtain rockets, lasers, and the like from rescued with Rip Van Winkle beards. And announcements, such as when you acquire power-ups, are broadcast in '90s-era arcade voices--brassy shouted slogans in front of what often sounds like 16-bit sound effects and music. None of this is anything close to cutting edge, but it does establish a quirky old-time console atmosphere.