Machine Gun Fury

Great retro game - homage to Commando maybe! worth a go!!

If you enjoyed playing games like Commando and Green Beret in the arcade, then this is for you.

Recommended, but only if it's a good sale. The game isn't bad, but it lacks both balancing and cohesion. You have three overhead run 'n gun levels (think Commando), except the first two are just carnage, while the last one is a base with key cards and bombs to find, so it's more action-adventure; three side-scroller levels, but again the last one has adventure elements; one Jackal-style vehicle level, and one pretty bad boat level. It feels like too many genres in the same game without a proper unifying thread. I think what could have worked well is to scrap the "arcade" pretension (it doesn't work with the longer, more "adventure" levels anyway) and have little sections at the HQ where you walk around and talk to your fellow officers, get a little mission briefing, etc. It would have made the game come together more. As far as the lack of polish, the biggest issue in general is that in the harder levels, you just can't see what's ahead of you and you end up getting shot from offscreen. First, the camera doesn't stay focused on you, it drags behind, which is dumb, and second, maybe don't allow enemies to fire at you before they're on-screen? Or give you a way to look ahead. Stil…

You shouldn't expect too much with a game this cheap. Unfortunately it failed to surprise me in a positive way, which some games do manage. The lack of controller support is the biggest issue, the keyboard controls are not good, and you can't change binds. There's issues with walls sometimes being solid so you can't shoot through them, but sometimes you can. You never know what until you try. It captures the NES run n' gun-feeling though, so there's at least that.

Machine Gun Fury is the type of game that's inspired by some of your favorites back in the day (if you had an NES at least!). Jackal, Contra, Ikari Warriors just to name a few. It has some similar design and mixes it up throughout the game. They all looked nice, controlled great and were really fun to play through. Except maybe the boat level, that one wasn't anything special. There's a few difficulty options and both a story mode and arcade mode so any skill of player should be able to play through this without too much trouble. If you enjoy the classics, I think you'll enjoy this one. https://youtu.be/4lyX8kfZflU

Decent enough for what it is but the vehicle levels are IMMENSELY frustrating and not fun for me.