Greedy Guns

The knock against indie games is that they're either a dual-stick shooter or some kind of homage to Metroid and Castlevania. In the case of Greedy Guns, it's a whole lot of both. This is a side-scrolling run-and-gun action game where our money-grubbing heroes explore a giant world full of hidden rooms and boss fights. It's a winning combination that finally got me to admit what people have been saying since the 1980s: "Greed is good."

As Metroidvania games go, this one is especially light on story. We shuttle down to a mysterious planet where the Holo Corp is hoping to dig up precious artifacts and rare DNA samples. You play one of two mercenaries that are sent to the planet to do all of the dirty work. In this case, the dirty work includes shooting through thousands of aliens while exploring a sprawling, interconnected 2D world. It's a dangerous job, but Bob and Kate knew what they were signing up for.

The one twist these two didn't see coming was the interference of a strange floating thief that seems to have its own motives. This is just the first clue that there's more happening on this planet than meets the eye, and it won't take long for our heroes to come face-to-face with all kinds of ugly bosses. This eventually becomes a frantic mission to not only collect enough artifacts and samples to get paid, but also make it off the alien planet in order to spend some of that money.

If you've played Super Metroid or any of the side-scrolling Castlevania games since Symphony of the Night, you'll already know what to expect from Greedy Guns. The idea is to run and jump around the 2D world looking for new weapons and power-ups that will allow the two mercenaries access to different parts of the landscape. We start out with a simple double jump, which eventually leads to a rolling move that allows us to avoid enemy bullets and move past the waterfalls, an explosion that breaks objects in your way, and even a move that gives you the power to suck items right out of the backgrounds.

There are also a lot of weapons to find and purchase, which certainly seems appropriate for a game called Greedy Guns. We get the traditional spread shot, a grenade launcher, a powerful sniper shot, a sustained laser gun and more. You'll be able to switch between two different guns on the fly, as well as use the right analog stick (or the mouse) to aim your shots in 360 degrees. The structure may be that of a typical Metroidvania adventure, but the action is all dual-stick shooting.

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While this is undeniably familiar territory, I like that Greedy Guns makes an effort to gives us a fresh take on the genre. I also like the colorful locations, the large bosses and the overall presentation. Perhaps the best thing is the addition of a two-player co-op mode, which you rarely see in this style of Metroidvania game. This does an excellent job of reviving the spirit of those old run-and-gun shoot-em-ups like Gunstar Heroes, Contra and Metal Slug.

What I don't like is how easy the game is. I don't know if it's the over-powered weapons, the ease of the dual-stick shooting or enemies that are push-overs, but I had very few problems fighting my way through Greedy Guns. Part of what makes the game so easy is that it checkpoints at every room, so you never lose more than a few seconds of progress. You'll even come back with full health, so there were a lot of times when it was easier for me to die and quickly respawn than seek out health items. The truth is, I wouldn't mind this aggressive checkpointing if the action and platforming was more challenging. This is certainly one of the easier Metroidvania games I've played.

While I could spend quite a while complaining that Greedy Guns is not very original and could stand to be a little more challenging, I would be lying if I said I didn't have a great time shooting through this alien planet. We're treated to charming visuals, a nice variety of enemies, a two-player mode and plenty of hidden areas, all of which leads to a winning run-and-gun shooter from a promising new developer. Greedy Guns is an easy recommendation.