Review

We sit down and review She Assault Android Cactus and Western Press. It's time to duel! Reach for the sky! Here's our review of both smaller titles

Last year a gem or two slipped past me and I never got around to reviewing them. You may have heard of these little games since they have gone on to garner much critical acclaim. I have since gone back and started playing them again and now they're ready for review. I am sure if you made your way to this article then you already know which games I am referring too, but if you don’t they are Assault Android Cactus and Western Press. I know they are older games by this point, but if a game good I am going to give it its due praise and review. Plus I felt they would go great together because a cactus can be found in a desert and that’s where most western things are also found. I know that might not be the cleverest reason to do something but you’re reading this so I must be doing something right. Enough joking around; time to start the reviews.

Western Press is the first game from Bandit-1 based in Melbourne. It is a very neat game set in the Wild West with a colorful class of character to face off against; while Assault Android Cactus is a very neat game set on board a giant ship in space that also features a colorful class of characters with intriguing boss fights.

Western Press’ gameplay is extremely simple. It kind of reminds me of the old educational game Mavis Beacon, if that game lets you murder someone. Once you create your profile you can either play through the skill tester mode, or in a tournament with your friends, or bots. Depending on your keyboard settings you can type words, random gibberish, among others. This all takes places in duels just like in the old west. Just two people, and who draws first is the winner. The quick pace of the game really help to keep you engaged. If you mess up it’s only a few seconds to get a second chance.

One disappointing thing is the lack of Steam workshop submissions for Western Press. It even has achievements for playing with a downloaded character in front of a downloaded scene, but after a year of nearly being out there are only about twenty submissions, and out of that only one is a backdrop.

Western Press was developed and published by Bandit-1 for the PC on April 21^st, 2016. A copy of the game was purchased by myself for reviewing purposes.

You can find Assault Android Cactus on a wide variety of platforms but my copy is for the PS4. I am usually a PC guy but I enjoy these types of games on console more. I know you can use PS4, Xbox, and other joysticks on PC. The gameplay is pretty straight forward. One joystick moves you around and the other fires your weapon. While you can’t die, you just get downed and have to tap the fire button, the challenge really comes from your energy meter that drains over time. It gives the combat a greater sense of urgency forcing you to fight harder to get the precious orbs of energy that refill your energy bar. This is also one of my biggest annoyances. I’d be on the final stage of a boss moments away from victory only for my battery to give out forcing me to play through the whole thing over again.

At the start, you can choose from four of the nine playable androids. A couple of them are complete crap though especially in some boss fights. Lemon is one of these. The scattergun requires you to be precise and up close. Early on it’s not too bad, but I could not beat a single boss with him. Starch is my favorite to play as mainly because she's adorable. I really like all the bosses in this game with Vespula being my favorite. Usually, after each boss, you unlock a new android to play as.

You can pick up Assault Android Cactus for around fifteen bucks on the PlayStation store or Steam. I definitely recommend picking it up for some good old twin-stick bullet hell action! Western Press is five bucks that can be a fun game to play with friends, and on sale, it’s even easier to recommend. If winning a gun duel with a keyboard doesn’t sound fun for you then you may want to pass. If you want to test your quick draw skills Western Press is available now on Steam.

Assault Android Cactus was developed and published by Witch Beam for the PS4, PS Vita, Wii U, and PC on March 8^th, 2016. A copy of the game was purchased by myself for reviewing purposes.