Buy: Xbox Marketplace (400 MS points)

Developer: Mommy’s Best Games

Ever heard of Nathan Fouts? No? Let me fill you in. He worked as the lead weapons designer and boss programmer for Resistance: Fall of Man, Ratchet & Clank and even the twisted Postal Series back in the day—designing literally dozens of brutal armaments, enemies and even a beautiful-sounding “Limb-Hacking Program” (this is a direct quote from his resume, folks!). However, all you need to know about Nathan is that he’s a man who really…really loves his guns.

In 2007, he left Sony to form his own independent casual games company: Mommy’s Best Games, and before too long his first solo effort was released as a community game on Xbox live. There’s a lot riding on Weapon of Choice—after all, Nathan quit a sweet Sony gig (with a Resistance sequel on the way) to develop it…so was it worth it? Let’s find out!

Weapon of Choice is an old-school ‘run and gun’ platformer brought screaming into the next gen-era with a bevy of imaginative and well-executed gameplay innovations. The basic mechanics are second nature to any casual console gamer: you’ll run, double jump and shoot your way across multi-tiered levels full of disgusting alien bugs using the (you guessed it) dual stick move/aim control scheme…so far, so bog standard. There are platforms. You jump on them, kill the baddies and take down some bosses. WoC handles this competently enough, so let’s cut the crap and get right down to the important stuff…

…the boomsticks.

Each of WoC’s seven gloriously clichéd characters (ranging from the seductive assassin to the grizzled black army sergeant) packs a horrific amount of firepower—and with Fouts at the helm, the ordinance is the real star of the show. Rather than lumping us with the usual tawdry selection of machine guns, lasers and missiles that most games constantly force down our throats, Weapon of Choice truly raises the bar for the entire gaming industry in terms of sheer imagination, originality and downright ownage.

Bored of assault rifles? How about a portable jet engine turbine…that actually lifts you off the ground when you use the secondary fire?!

Tired of sniper rifles? Why not try a swarm of deployable floating laser turrets?!

Sick of shotguns? Consider using a 6-foot chainsaw made entirely out of bio-plasma...that can bend round corners?! Or a rapid-fire cannon that sprays out clouds of flying ivory knives?!

Nathan’s really outdone himself this time. Not only are the armaments incredibly fresh and original, but they also require very different techniques and tactics to use effectively, essentially providing a different game experience each time you play. Also, did I mention that one of the guns sprays out clouds of flying ivory knives?! Oh, right- sorry.

The gadgetry doesn’t stop there, though. Each operative is equipped with a spiderpack: basically a backpack with four long arms that automatically attach to any surfaces within reach, allowing you to move normally along ceilings and walls. This greatly increases your movement options as every surface is a potential platform! Jumping onto the ceiling whilst raining clouds of flying ivory kn…okay, okay…raining death down upon your hapless foes is as fun and satisfying as it is tactically useful.

However, whilst your arsenal is undeniably incredible, WoC’s finest innovation is its attitude to death. When an enemy or projectile slips past your defenses, time slows to a crawl (whilst leering, laughing skulls beckon you to Hades) allowing you a critical second or two to jump, dodge or shoot your way out of the situation before you’re deepsixed. This is called deathbrushing, and it’s absolutely glorious. Dodging your way past a flurry of missiles…whilst gunning down a putrescent alien abomination…in slow motion. What’s not to like?

If the deathbrushing fails then your character is crippled, taking you back to the character select screen. Instead of losing a life, you pick another squad member who is instantly deployed back into the action…via a vengeance missile. Just position the crosshairs over a hapless bug, squeeze the trigger and watch an enormous cruise missile annihilate it! The ability to bring swift explosive vengeance to the enemy that took you out is absolutely satisfying—seriously, it’s like eating a delicious meal.

No game is perfect, however, and WoC is no exception. Even though the game has four branching storylines and endings (not including the secret joke ending!) it is still painfully short; you’ll only need 2 hours to see all WoC brings to the table. The graphical style is also inconsistent—the backgrounds and enemies are painstakingly hand-painted, but the player characters and effects are jarringly low-res (often looking truly appalling). The controls are also fairly loose, and the sprite’s ‘hitboxes‘ (‘the bit what takes damage’, for the non-geeks) don’t really relate to their size, often causing confusion about how far to dodge incoming fire. On the upside, the music is awesome—a large selection of riff-heavy original metal tunes makes the perfect soundtrack to mass xenocide!

But these negative points, valid as they are, pale into insignificance next to Nathan Fouts’ final coup-de-grace. Instead of releasing WoC as a full-priced Arcade title, Mommy’s Best Games designed it as a community game…with a price of 400MS. A handful of pounds (or a couple more dollars for y’all across the pond) nets you a very capable action platformer that genuinely delivers more innovation and excitement than any number of full-price titles. Combine that with an epic soundtrack and ridiculous weapons and you’ve got yourself an essential community purchase. Support indie developers and stick it to the man!

CGI Rating:

Discuss in the forums. - (4) Posts