Some of you old-school video game aficionados will immediately recognize this title, some of you may know this series but under a different name. The Assault Suit series originally came out here on the Genesis as Target Earth. A spinoff of sorts was also released on the Super Nintendo as Cybernator. The series also got a sequel on the Sega Saturn but unfortunately, that never was released in the US. These games are known for being intense 2D sidescrolling run n gun shoot-em-ups with lots of robots, weapons, and explosions. This is definitely my kind of game! I had heard that Assault Suit Leynos was receiving a reboot on the PlayStation 4 but it was only being released in Asian territories. To my surprise the game is now actually being localized for western release under the original name!
Before the mission begins you can select from various weapons. These include shields, rapid fire gunshots, grenade launcher, missiles and more. You can switch between these weapons on the fly so be sure to pick weapons to make your robot as versatile as possible. Assault Suit Leynos is a game that uses every button on the controller for something so mastery of this control scheme is a must if you plan on surviving the intense levels. Intense is not quite the word for this, once the action starts it does not let up until you either lose your health or win the mission. This is not such a bad thing because the visuals are just plain beautiful. The screen is filled with Robots missiles and explosions with the occasional character portrait towards the bottom of the screen to further the story. These portraits are so well animated and were a joy to watch. The game never slowed down either making this a game that is truly a sight to behold.
You are tasked with various missions throughout the levels. They include destroying certain robots, helping your allies or protecting your home base. Often times, you are flying back and forth across the map as the situation changes and your missions get updated. On occasion a massive boss will appear and you are tasked to defeat it to move on. Your health will recover over time, but note that I said “Over time”. There is so much chaos on screen that if you let your guard down for even a split second, you WILL get destroyed. That being said, this did not take away from the amount of enjoyment I had while playing the couple levels that I did. Assault Suit Leynos may not be for everyone our there, the action is definitely not for the faint of heart. But those of you who thing you are bad enough to handle it are in for a real treat with this one when it releases on the PlayStation 4 and PC.
