Developer: Dracue Software
Publisher: Rising Star Games
Platform: PC, PS4
Tested on: PS4
Assault Suit Leynos – Review
Assault Suit Leynos is a remake of the 1990 Mega Drive classic and also known as Target Earth. This 2D side scrolling shooter is loved by many and hated by at least as many people for its unforgiving difficulty. It’s time to polish off the old mechanical battle suit and get ready for blasting aliens in space . Assault suit up!
Story
In the not so distant future, Earth sends out space ships to colonize the far reaches of space. Due to dwindling resources the great military powers on Earth are at each other’s throat and soon a fourth world war erupts. This takes a heavy toll on the planet and an uneasy truce is made as all nations run out of resources to keep a war going. Since the outbreak all communication with the shape ships was lost and they are assumed lost and over time forgotten. With global peace in place humanity can finally reach for the stars once more. Colonies are established on nearby planets and resources start flowing back to earth and the planet flourishes again for the first time in decades. This is all pretty short-lived when an unknown enemy appears in space and relentlessly starts attacking the outer colonies. Their overwhelming numbers and power quickly pushes humanity back to the brink of total destruction and extinction. Only the AS squad can put up a fight and turn the tide before it’s too late!
The story is trying hard to be more then two dimensional but is mostly a means to an end. Give us a reason to put on our assault suit and blast everything in our path. The story is explained in fast moving text and spoken Japanese so there for hard to follow. This is a shame as they did want to add some depth and intrigue.
Graphics
Although the original had great graphics for its day, the HD remake is a huge step forward of course, with all new HD visuals for an action packed, alien blasting adventure. During the campaign which is divided into eight stages, you’ll fight the enemy on different terrains, on the planet surface, inside a factory and you’ll be part of an all out battle in space. So there is plenty of diversity between the stages, however during any given stage you will encounter repetition in the environment but since there isn’t much time in between fighting sequences is hardly noticeable . After all a multitude of explosions will also often cover up the screen as well, sometimes even making it hard to see what exactly is going on.
Sound
The sound is alright with decent music and Japanese audio. Therefore we must rely on the subtitles. Since the spoken audio is in Japanese any subtext or emotions are lost to the non Japanese speaking public. This is a missed opportunity as memorable dialogue or funny one-liners can stick around for ages like bubble gum and ass kicking.
Gameplay
Assault Suit Leynos is a side scrolling shooter with minimal platformer gameplay elements . Jumping is limited and a jet pack is an optional piece of gear that has to compete with weapons and armor.
Before each level you can choose your loadout to customize your assault suit, there is a wide array of offensive and defensive options. At the start of the game only a small portion is available, the rest can be unlocked by completing minor side missions. These side missions aren’t indicated to you in any way. You can reach the end of the game without unlocking a thing and not even knowing you missed something. By keeping an eye on the achievements you can get an idea of what to do.It’s possible to reach the final stage of the game without unlocking any weapons, only to come to the conclusion that without more firepower it’s impossible to kill a certain enemy in the small time frame that is required.
Tactical choices must be made when selecting the gear for each mission since you can only carry six items. choosing items like extra armor or a shield will increase your survivability but limit the firepower at your disposal. The basic weapon has unlimited ammo but also takes up one slot and is just fine for killing small enemies but lacks the punch to kill bosses. Balancing survivability and firepower is key to surviving each stage, as you gradually unlock more items things get easier as you’ll find the items that suit your play style.
Collecting experience points from killing enemies will make you gain levels and unlock “options” to make it more fun the next play through. Neither of this is explained and at some point you might stumble upon it.
What makes the enemy bosses more interesting than the countless small grunts you have to plow your way through is that those boss units are made of different parts which must all be destroyed before you can bring its health bar to an unhealthy transparent color. For example a huge enemy spaceship is made up of dozens of turrets which can be destroyed (individually or as a group) adding another layer of gameplay on top off the brainless shooting an end boss can otherwise easily become.
Conclusion
A great walk down memory lane for the seasoned fan of the original, but decent for anyone looking for a fun shooting experience who’s willing to put in some time as the overall difficulty is nothing to sneeze at. The game is not very long by itself but it keeps you entertained and a little voice in the back of your head will tell you “one more try, just one more you almost had it”. Add the extra options to make a future replay more interesting and you have a game that will excite you the first time around but also still entertain you the next times around.
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