Assault Android Cactus Review - Twin Stick Shooting Excellence

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

Assault Android Cactus Review - Twin Stick Shooting Excellence

An arcade-style twin stick shooter, starring a small cadre of androids caught in a ship full of murderous robots. It's shockingly good.

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[josemlopes]

I really like twin-stick shooters but this one really has a lot of qualities I dont like, everything looks big and messy, from the artstyle to the projectiles and characters. It certainly looks like it plays more like a bullet-hell with legs. There seems to be missing a certain type of precision from the player in aiming as opposed to dodging since everything is huge and there are projectiles everywhere.

And I am still waiting for someone to make a realistic twin-stick shooter, I do like arcade ones but there are already so many good ones at doing that.

 

[Worgen]

I really like twin-stick shooters but this one really has a lot of qualities I dont like, everything looks big and messy, from the artstyle to the projectiles and characters. It certainly looks like it plays more like a bullet-hell with legs. There seems to be missing a certain type of precision from the player in aiming as opposed to dodging since everything is huge and there are projectiles everywhere.

And I am still waiting for someone to make a realistic twin-stick shooter, I do like arcade ones but there are already so many good ones at doing that.

It may look messy, but its really not. Only the bosses are bullet hell and only some of their phases are at that, the levels themselves tend to be more about tons of enemies, the bullets in them are the least of your worry. The aiming precision depends on which character you are playing as since each one has different weapons. Some home in, some don't, some are a shotgun, one is a laser, and each character has a unique special weapon also, one of my faves is a drill that you just dash with, kills small enemies instanly and big ones it grinds down and smashes into the walls.

 

[NewClassic_v1legacy]

I really like twin-stick shooters but this one really has a lot of qualities I dont like, everything looks big and messy, from the artstyle to the projectiles and characters. It certainly looks like it plays more like a bullet-hell with legs. There seems to be missing a certain type of precision from the player in aiming as opposed to dodging since everything is huge and there are projectiles everywhere.

Unlike the shooters I think you're referring to, stuff like Ikaruga and the Touhou series, this game is actually a little bit more on the vein of arena shooters like Smash TV or Geometry Wars, things that aren't designed to be very high-precision, pixel-perfect shooters. Instead, it feels a lot more like it's intending to capture the vibe of those classic arcades. One to five minute stages, as far as the player can get on a quarter, with the game trying to make the action itself the engagement, rather than the precision or death (as it would be with the bullet hell games).

Personally, I think there's room for both, but comparing this style to the other is a bit like comparing Dark Souls to Dragon Age. Although they're technically in the same genre and share similar aesthetics, you're missing out on a lot of the energy and nuance. There are various videos of gameplay footage roving around the internet, and it's worth taking a few minutes to watch one to see if the easier, more energetic gameplay of Assault Android Cactus would be your speed.

Personally, I think it's just as valuable as games like Ikaruga (another favorite of mine), but for very different reasons.