Gatling Gears

Overview

Set in the Mistbound universe (which it shares with Greed Corp) Gatling Gears is a top down dual-joystick shooter with a heavy focus on upgradeable weapons. The game was released on May 11th, 2011 for Xbox Live Arcade; June 28th, 2011 for PlayStation Network and August 31, 2011 for PC. The game was developed by Vanguard Games and published by Electronic Arts, and features a steampunk-esque aesthetic.

Story

After refusing orders and deserting the Empire army - and leaving behind a career of piloting Gatling Gears, Max Brawley lives a life of leisure and relaxation with his niece Zoe in Mistbound - a world of natural beauty. Years later, the Empire begins to execute a plan to drain all of the natural resources from Mistbound and destroy anyone that stands in the way their goal. Brawley with his niece Zoe then take it upon themselves to fight the Empire and stop their destruction.

Gameplay

Using the left stick for movement and the right to shoot (and aim) your gatling gun, cannon and grenades you are in control of Max Brawley in his mech-like Gatling Gear which resembles an AT-ST from Star Wars as you traverse over the different areas of the game. In campaign mode the player has three lives and players move through multiple stages (called 'areas' in game) in each chapter their goal is to kill every enemy on screen (you often can't move on until this is completed), and at times a goal is set to destroy enemy structures that factor into the story and additionally, "mini-bosses" (sometimes more than one) often show up throughout any one level. The end of stages usually consist of a grand-finale battle with hordes of enemy foot soldiers and vehicles whom the player must defeat to finish the area -- while the final area in each chapter consists of a boss fight.

When working their way through stages, players will rack up points along the way by killing enemies along with destroying enemy structures (though the points for destroying structures aren't awarded until the final tally after the end of the stage) and also Gears that drop from dead enemies and vehicles are to be collected that add a multiplier to the players' score - it takes six Gears to increase the multiplier by one and the multiplier decreases when the player takes hits.

Gold bars can be found throughout areas and serve as the games currency to buy upgrades for the players weapons and health. Three gold bars are available to find in each area (some being hidden to different degrees) and one is available to find in each boss battle area (these are not hidden.) At the end of each area, the players score is tallied up and a medal is awarded depending on the score. Bonus points are awarded for destroyed buildings, whether or not the spark bomb was used, etc. XP is also earned and can be used to buy unlockables such as paint schemes for your Gatling Gear, and pets who follow you throughout levels.

Modes

There are two modes available, Campaign and Survival: Campaign can be played single player, or in co-op over Xbox Live or local multiplayer. Survival mode comes complete with 3 different areas where the player must protect certain structures from never-ending waves of enemies while still collecting Gears for increasing the score multiplier. For example, in one area the player must protect two structures from not only enemy foot soldiers and vehicles but also from mine carts filled with explosives. Survival mode also supports co-op over local multiplayer and Xbox Live.

Additionally, in Survival mode the weapon upgrades you've bought in campaign to do not carry over.

Chapters and Areas

Prologue:

• Area 1: Boot camp
• Area 2: The Ramparts
• Area 3: Air Support
• Area 4: Stampede
• Area 5: The Vanguard

Chapter 1: Elysium Fields

• Area 1: Trespassers
• Area 2: Incursion
• Area 3: Roots of Evil
• Area 4: Cut Down
• Area 5: The Gardener

Chapter 2: Frostbite Pass

• Area 1: Avalanche
• Area 2: Digging Deeper
• Area 3: On the Edge
• Area 4: The Steelworks
• Area 5: The Excavator

Chapter 3: Thunder Valley

• Area 1: Fog of War
• Area 2: Misconduct
• Area 3: Shock and Awe
• Area 4: Lost in Time
• Area 5: Shockstorm

Chapter 4: The Drylands

• Area 1: Train Wreck
• Area 2: Tide Battle
• Area 3: Caved In
• Area 4: Waterworks
• Area 5: The Bouncer

Chapter 5: Katharsis

• Area 1: Terminal
• Area 2: Downtown
• Area 3: Workforce
• Area 4: Julius's Nature
• Area 5: The Butler

Weapons

There are three weapon types - gatling guns, cannons, and grenades with each being upgradeable and additionally, there are boosters for each that can be picked up randomly throughout stages. Before upgrades the gatling guns are weak, short range machine guns that work well on smaller targets, but they do not need to recharge. The cannons are good for stronger targets, mainly heavier duty enemies such as helicopters (they can kill ground troops, but only one at a time - they do not cause splash damage) though you can only fire 6 in succession before it needs to recharge (the recharge is roughly 3 seconds per cannon shot.) The grenades have an area of effect explosion, and you can pick the area where you want them to hit. There is a max of 3 grenades before you must wait for them to recharge -- which takes about 6 seconds per grenade. Additionally, the player can use one Spark Bomb per area. The Spark Bomb when used will clear the screen of all enemies and destructible structures.

Weapon and Health upgrades

Weapon and health upgrades, as well as unlockables are purchased from the "Pirate Shop," -- which is a mobile store that is transported around by a helicopter. The shop appears only at the beginning of each area.

Weapon boosters and power-ups

In addition, throughout the areas are boosters that drop from crates and dead enemies that increase the rate of fire and strength of all 3 weapons, as well as a shield power-up for invincibility and health pickups that are found in crates. Boosters (and the shield power-up) are only active for a set amount of time before running out. Being hit does not effect their duration.

Unlockables

Players earn XP for completing game stages and survival areas, which in turn unlock new Mech Walker enhancements in the Pirate Shop. (They add cosmetic touches to game play, without changing the player's fighting ability.)

• Effects: Animations that emanate from the player's Walker, such as clouds of leaves, exhaust pipes that leave fire trails, and energy streaks.
• Pets: Animals that trail the Walker's movements, including a fox, crow, and tiger.
• Skins: Paint schemes for the player's Walker.

Once a player earns 300 XP, they unlock the Mega Walker, a larger and max-powered version of their starting mech. Choosing this Mega Walker replaces all weapon and health upgrades; players cannot select gold-bought upgrades while using it.

PC System Requirements

• OS: Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo (or equivalent) running at 1.8 GHz or greater, AMD Athlon X2 64 (or equivalent) running at 2.0GHz or greater
• Memory: 2048 MB or greater
• Hard Disk Space: 2GB
• Video Card: ATI Radeon X1300 256MB and the Nvidia GeForce 7600 256MB cards
• DirectX®: DirectX June 2010
• Sound: 100% DirectX9.0c compatible sound card and drivers