THE FACTS: Onslaught WiiWare | Hudson Soft | Official Website | 1 Player | 1-4 Players (Online) | Out Now (Europe) | 1000 Wii Points (£7.00 / $10.00 Online) Controller compatibility: Wii Remote and Nunchuk Reviewer: Billy White
WiiWare has seen loads of different games so far, from puzzlers to sims and even sports games, so when it was announced that a FPS title was to make its way to the format, just about everyone seemed surprised. Not only did this particular FPS include four player online co-op, but it was also supposed to fit inside the size limitations for WiiWare games, and it was being developed by a Japanese company, which is almost unheard of in the industry.
It seemed fair, then, that Onslaught was not going to be your average FPS game, and makes a few necessary tweaks along the way. Your enemies are all bugs on an otherwise forsaken planet, which tones down the expertise needed for your average AI, all the cut scenes are shown via text and you'll rarely see many different textures along the walls or floor. Despite all this though, Hudson has made a great attempt at a WiiWare title and their hard work and attempt at something different has definitely paid off.
In each of the thirteen levels, you have a specific objective that has to be completed. This may involve destroying enemy hives (the points where enemies spawn), reaching a certain place or defending your equipment or supplies. Each objective is fairly straightforward, but can often be very difficult in completing. Each level can also vary in length from around ten minutes to half an hour, although you don't need all the time given to complete a level.
The game is controlled very easily with the Nunchuck and remote. You use the control stick to move your character, and use the B button to fire - easy enough. You can also change your weapon by allocating each one of the four types to the D-Pad buttons. The weapons vary in strengths and weaknesses, with the selection here featuring your standard all round weapon, the fast but not too strong, the more powerful choice and a missile launcher. The latter is very powerful and is controlled by highlighting the pointer over enemies, and then releasing the fire button after your selection has been made.
The enemies in each level are what you'll usually be focusing on, as you defeat as many as possible to make your way through the game. Each enemy tends to have an obvious weak spot shown off by a luminous green glow, but some of them can take much more shooting than others. Because they obviously aren't going to be as clever as your average human AI, you'll often come across lots at a time, and depending on the type, can still be tricky to defeat. When you attack enemies, you have to watch out for the green guts that will flow out everywhere, and if this splatters across your visor, you'll have to shake your Nunchuck to wipe it clean so that you don't risk losing life from prolonged exposure to the liquid. Some enemies will also jump right at you, forcing you to shake both your controllers to tear them away.
Overall, the depth of gameplay in this title is astounding, but not hard to remember. You'll soon be blasting away at your enemies in no time, along with the help of your two trusty team mates. These fellow fighters are there to help you, and are controlled with a tap of the A button. Using this function, you can change your team mates' positioning, by directing them in the same direction as you, to your side, or so that they shoot behind you. They're not the most advanced fighters by any means, but certainly help you along your way in another stroke of genius from Hudson.
If the single player game just isn't enough for you (although there is a lot there to master), you can always try your hand at one of the harder difficulties which range from easy to "ultra". The last time we checked, only one person had posted a score to the "extra hard" leaderboard, so we doubt you'll be getting through the whole thing very soon - I myself had trouble on the "normal" difficulty several times!
If you do get stuck, you can always get a few tips online in the wi-fi co-op style mode. You can play any level without being ranked, with up to three people online, as you aim to complete the level together, whilst still gaining the highest score as an individual. You each vote for a stage and one of them is picked randomly from the selection, ready for you to start battling on. From this, you can pick tips up from other players, despite the obvious lack of communication between gamers, but you won't be able to unlock anything else. Even though it would have been nice to have the option of unlocking levels in single player via the online battle mode, the online games are just for fun and offer a bit of fun, and a chance to see harder levels without running through the whole thing.
If you like comparing your scores with the world though, there's a high score table for both the single player levels and the special online battle mode. This battle mode features a special ten minute stage where you have to try and kill as many enemies as possible to gain a higher score than your opponents. The stage is pretty big, so you've still got the opportunity to kill different enemies than your opponents rather than one player taking them all on, and after the game, you can check out your ranking through the (extremely slow) leaderboard screen. Hudson have definitely turned their online setup around since Bomberman Blast, with no lag or difficulties whatsoever during the gameplay, and we can only hope that they keep this up for their future games.
Not only does this game play very well online and offline, but it's also quite a looker. The textures might not vary much, but the landscapes have been created in full 3D, with different heights, wall shapes and many more great features incorporated into the design. The game has some decent music as well, but you're not likely to remember this as much as the repeating voice quotes every time you kill several enemies in a chain ("that's why you're still a kid" being one of the most annoying ones). With the WiiWare limit in mind, Hudson have done an excellent job fitting everything into the game, and so the excellent graphics add to their list of achievements.
All in all, Onslaught is one of the best WiiWare games yet. With some excellent gameplay, online features and aesthetics, this game has it all, without making the game too easy, complicated or difficult. This is well worth a purchase for FPS and adventure fans, especially at just £7.00, and keeps the genre as fun as ever - when you're not cursing under the pressure of some levels, of course.
Final Score 26/30 Very Good
Gameplay 9 With as much depth as you can get without overcomplicating the game, this controls and plays with excellence Presentation 9 The graphics are unbelievable on WiiWare, if a bit samey (and that's why you're still a kid) Enjoyment 4 Difficulty aside, this is a very enjoyable FPS game, with the gameplay being kept as family friendly as possible Other 4 Online co-op and rankings? Yes please! Although it's such a shame that they didn't incorporate this into the single player mode 
How we rate games: EXPLAINED |
