Tower of Guns, for xbox one
Rating: 7.0/10; Good
Worth playing for any fan of fast-paced old school shooting
Tower of guns is an old school first person shooter which is obviously inspired by games such as the original Doom, Quake and Unreal Tournament. For those not familiar with old school shooting, there is no recoil, no reloading, no stamina, no aiming down sight, no stances, and no penalties for jumping and moving. In fact the game encourages you to move and jump around while shooting because most enemy projectiles are slow enough to avoid.
There is a significant amount of randomness in the game, making each playthough different. The levels that are played, their layout, the type and placement of enemies and loot can all change. The levels themselves are full of large moving parts that can hurt you, damaging floors and hidden secrets just like could be found in Doom 1, while the enemies are exclusively robots. Some enemies fly and some are stationary, though all are nothing more than a big gun (or blade) of some kind. None of the enemies are particularly interesting in appearance, though I guess something could be said about the non-violence of shooting enemies that are just robotic guns.
Upon starting a new game, you choose a starting gun and powerup. At first the selection is minimal, though more are unlocked by playing. You can also find plenty of loot in the levels. Blue orbs make your gun more powerful by leveling it up, but are lost upon being hit. Coins can be used to purchase random loot at vending machines; whether or not the machines appear and what item they contain is completely random. On top of this you can find powerups that enhance basic stats, such as health and jumping ability, gun mods that can change the behaviour of guns, super items on a cooldown and even new guns. Some things are better than others, and whether or not you find good loot is a large part of the game’s difficulty.
On difficulty; the game is hard. It is easier said than done to avoid damage from enemies, and your choice of starting gun vs. what random loot/enemies/bosses you get can make or break the entire run. Death ends the run, and you have to start an entirely new run. Two game modes add additional challenge and replay; one gives random bonuses or penalties such as forced constant jumping or health drain, while the other is endless play. Endless play can allow you to accumulate ridiculous stats, such as being able to jump 20+ times, which is essentially flight. Playing through this game with that flight ability is definitely something that should be experienced.
I only ever had 2 guns at a time; the starter and one I found in a level. I never found a third gun. It was disappointing not to have an entire arsenal to carry around, like in those old school games.
While the game is not nearly as good as the old school games to which it pays tribute, it provides a solidly entertaining experience with enough variation to make it worth playing through at least several times.
Pro
- Progression for unlocking guns and powerups
- Progression for ranking up guns and stats each match
- Decent variety in starting guns and powerups
- Endless play and dice roll mode for additional replay
- Many random variables make each run different
- Enemies drop loot
- Several humorous story lines which can encourage getting to the next
level to see what is said next
- Secrets in every level, which are worth finding
- Secret involving hugbots
- Ability to fly with enough jump powerups and/or a certain gun with
heavy recoil
Con
- No ability to start off with more than 1 weapon
- Can’t find any starting guns at loot
- Lack of enemy variety; too many are turrets
- No multiplayer
- Tilt is a feature which warps you to the start of the current room in
case you get stuck, but it is not explained by the game. There was
one place with no way out which had message saying to “use tilt”. I
had to look it up online.
- Supers and gun mods are automatically picked up to replace your
current. I had one drop right in front of the exit door, which
closed behind me so I could not go back for the better item.
- Minor loot like health and xp despawns after a while, which make them
hard to get if you are struggling
