First Look at 'Heavy Mach' Side-Scrolling Tank Shooter
posted by arn on February 10th, 2009 4:25 AM EST in $2.99, Platform, Reviews, Shooter, iPhone games, iPod touch games
IndieAn has released a really nice side-scrolling tank shooter called Heavy Mach. [App Store] for $2.99.
The game is split into 6 missions with multiple stages (4-5) within each mission. A total of 60 stages are provided and can range in length. The game involves driving your tank and destroying enemy tanks while avoiding enemy fire. Controls are very well suited to the iPhone and involve left/right tilt for tank movement. Tapping at your target to fire and tapping on a lever to jump.
With my limited time with the game (Mission 3), it progresses in difficulty, though the basic mechanic stayed the same. It involves shooting and jumping (dodging) your way through levels. One strange omission, however, is the lack of collision detection between your tank and the enemy tanks. You can just drive right through them (though you do need to destroy the bosses to progress).
The best aspect of the game is the number of powerup weapons and upgrades you can get for your tank. Powerful weapons upgrades include a machine gun, shotgun, howitzer (high-angle gun), missile, laser, nuclear bomb and more. You have to be judicious about your use of these weapons, however, as you only get a limited supply of each as you go on. I found it worked much better to reserve these weapons for "boss" enemies rather than waste them on the minor players.
There are a few "1.0" issues that we hope will be addressed quickly. The in-game menu button was not functional, and some readers are experiencing crashes (I personally experienced one). The in game documentation is also quite limited, so you should read through the iPhone description on gameplay. That said, the graphics and gameplay already provide a very polished experience, and I still think it's easy to recommend at only $2.99.
This gameplay video shows almost the entirety of level 6 (Mission 2, Stage 2).
[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]
App Store Link: Heavy Mach., $2.99
whoa! Looks like metal slug on tanks!
Love the sound effects. Tempting.. very tempting. Hehe.
screenshot? eh whatever
video… agreed, very tempting!
I thin I might like the apparently slower, more tactical pace, vs. pure-instinct twitch gameplay in some shooters. I like a bit of planning and decision-making in my shooting and dodging
i agree it is pretty tempting
so….tempted…..
Looks nice and in a small way reminds me of Moon Patrol.
a skipping tank, ow well
Looks a lot like Metal Slug. VEWY VEWY IMPWESSIVE.
Love the Airstrike
Already buy this Game, is incredible! roolz!
The graphics are great, but the premise is ehh. What ryoi said about a skipping tank. So… inconceivable. At least with Moon Patrol, there is the premise of zero gravity.
i had moved from tempted to finally got it yesterday. The sound effects is really cool. It sounds so powerful. Yeah, it's a simple game but, there's no other games like it right now. Did, I mention the sound effects? Next! iDracula!
Looks interesting, but the sound FX are not very good. And apparently no music. Its a Metal Slug clone allright, so I would be more interested if the graphics were more comic-like. The tanks should have been more exaggerated like in Toy Tanks 3D or something. I guess the skipping and jumping tank would be more acceptable. Anyway, do you guys remember
the old anime "Dominion Tank Police" ? I like to see that as a game.