xbox live indie game reviews

With so much drama in the world today, it's refreshing to see a global conflict that transcends the played-out cultural clashes of modern-day 'terrorism'. Weapon of Choice trades the tired clichés of sleeper cells and sectarian violence for the tried-and-true formula of campy 80s alien invasions and side-scrolling adventures while taking gamers on a nostalgic journey through the glory days of 2-D platforming shooters.

Weapon of Choice, as the aptly-named title suggests, is fully committed to providing you with a diverse arsenal of absolutely murderous tools, such as the flame-spewing Jet Engine Gun, the skeleton-slicing Plasma Saw, the orb-launching Satellite Lasers or just some plain-old postmortem revenge missiles. With your finger on the trigger of such an impressive display of destructive devices, you can be sure that this game will supply you with an ample amount of targets.

Each of the seven operatives also has a distinct gameplay style to complement their unique weapon: Xerxes Remington is an agile short-range specialist who can hover in mid-air and propel himself wildly across the screen with by manipulating the burst of his Jet Engine Gun; Constance O'Leary creates a shadow double to lay down extra Arc Knife Launcher fire as she double-jumps; Numble Paul is a long-range expert who peppers enemies with localized explosions from her Mortar Launcher and morphs into a human saw blade as she flies through the sky; and the quirkiest operative, Thwack Jones, puffs smoke trails from his weaponized bong to create temporary platforms in mid-air.

In addition to their certifiably unique weapons, each operative is also equipped with a basic secondary machine gun. This is the most 'normal' gun you'll encounter in Weapon of Choice, at least until you pull the right trigger to activate the tether function and 'take your gun for a walk'. Once you've swung your boomstick a few times to hunt down your victims with a serpentine strike of bullets, don't forget to shimmy up a wall or dangle from the ceiling with your automatic spider pack, especially when you enter a slow-motion brush with death.

Despite all of its redeeming qualities, this game omitted one of the foundations of Nintendo-era run n' gun action- cooperative play. No amount of amazing guns or selectable characters can compensate for the sheer joy of fending off an alien invasion with a pal, especially when you could be doing it from miles away across XBL. As anyone who has played Stage 3 - Waterfall of Contra with a friend can attest, shoot 'em up scrollers are simply more fun with a partner, especially if you can steal their powerups or screen-kill them for lagging behind.

Even though I remain distraught over the lack of two-player tandem ass-kicking, I still believe that Weapon of Choice is one of the premiere titles available on Xbox Community Games. The weapons and characters are reminiscent of the Genesis/SNES title Contra: Hard Corps, except that trying to complete this game doesn't make you want to give your console a flying knee because it's IMPOSSIBLE TO BEAT. For anyone looking relive fond memories of Contra, Bionic Commando or Earthworm Jim, this game is definitely a must-have.