Assault Android Cactus review

 
While there hasn’t been a shortage of arcade style twin sticker shooters in recent years, Assault Android Cactus is a stand out title in the genre. It’s a well polished, sci-fi themed arcade experience that incorporates frenetic bullet hell elements along with excellent local co operative play. Originally released on Steam last fall, AAC made an impressive debut on PSN this past month. 

The game starts off with Cactus, an Interplanetary Police junior constable, getting stranded on a freighter under attack by its own robotic crew. She encounters and teams up with other androids in their fight to reach the mastermind behind the rebellion. There isn’t much story to speak of, but the androids have distinct personalities that shine through their voice clips and unique character animations. There are other neat little touches like the androids having unique conversations with each boss character. The game is filled with other charming little details like the androids physically and verbally expressing their disappointment if you deselect them from the character screen. 

There are 25 main stages divided into segments, each ending with a climatic boss fight. The goal of each stage is to survive long enough to defeat a certain amount of enemies. The stage layouts vary from wide arena style rooms to stages that physically transform as you advance forward. Enemies  periodically drop power ups that grants you speed boosts, effects like temporarily shutting down every enemy on screen, or  additional fire power via machine gun equipped droids.  These power ups change every couple of seconds, so sometimes its best to wait until it turns into a power up that you need. The boss battles raises the intensity even further as you have to learn and dodge their bullet patterns. Thankfully the controls are very responsive and that the androids move at a brisk pace. 

What makes AAC different from other twin stick shooter is the battery gauge, which constantly drains as you play. When it’s empty, it’s game over. The battery can only be recharged by collecting small batteries after you defeat a set amount of enemies.  The androids do have a traditional life bar, but they can revive themselves immediately upon defeat by mashing the trigger button. The penalty for running out of health is losing your score multiplier, weapon upgrades, and valuable time. 

Each of the eight playable androids have unique visual and play styles. Each android has their unique pair of weapons: their standard shots and a special move that’s recharged via cool down meter. For instance the main protagonist, Cactus, uses a straight shooting machine gun while her special is a powerful, close range flame thrower. Another android, Lemon, uses a spread shot and has fires off missiles for her special. You can reuse the special during the cool down period, but its best to wait until it’s fully charged for maximum effectiveness. Balancing your standard and special attacks adds a unique rhythm to the game as the latter will be used often to bail you out of tight spots. 

The PlayStation 4 version runs at a smooth 60 FPS without any framerate dips, which is essential for a game where a split second is crucial. While the android designs may not appeal to everyone and the stage aesthetics are rather sterile, the game’s performance is impressive considering the sheer number of enemies and visual effects on screen. The soundtrack accentuates the intense action with a pulsing chip tune and electronica soundtrack. The voice acting is limited, as mentioned previously, but does a great job establishing the characters’ personalities. 

The latter stages and the boss battles are challenging, but rarely frustrating. The main campaign is a tad short, but there’s the endless Infinity Drive mode for hardcore players and online leaderboards. There’s also a daily challenge mode called the Daily Drive. Both mode gives the game tremendous replay value.  The game also has a robust co-op mode, allowing up to four players to play through the campaign. Playing the game alone is already chaotic, so the addition of extra players makes it an even more intense experience.  Sadly there’s no online option.

AAC is easily one of the best PSN releases this year and is a must have for gamers looking for a well rounded arcade style experience. It’s a very impressive effort from the three man Witchbeam team; their attention to detail and game play balance really shines even when compared to high profile PSN titles.