Review: Bunch of Heroes (PC)
In recent years, we’ve seen a number of twin-stick shooters where the objective is to kill zombies. There’s the aptly-named I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MBIES 1N IT!!!1, Zombie Apocalypse, Dead Nation, and a few more besides. Bunch of Heroes is the latest in the genre, but how does it fare?
The name ‘twin-stick shooter’ is fitting, as you play the game by using both
sticks; the left stick is for moving and the right one is for aiming. The game is viewed from a top-down perspective, and can be played with either a control pad or keyboard and mouse (WASD = left stick, mouse = right).
The story features aliens who are attacking and making zombies, and that’s pretty much it. The game is split into three campaigns (‘The Farm’, ‘The Graveyard’ and ‘Mars’), each with three episodes, totalling nine different scenarios for you to play in. However, they are all unlocked from the start, so there’s no real sense of progression. You must complete different objectives over the course of each chapter, such as ‘Kill the fat zombies’ and ‘Get the cheerleader to the car’. It can feel a bit repetitive after a short time, as it’s all pretty much the same; you just have to fend off zombies for a set period of time, destroy/defend objects or reach a marker.
Players have a standard weapon with unlimited ammo, as well as being able to pick up other weapons by destroying supply crates. These weapons vary from conventional shotguns and AK-47’s to the more elaborate explosive crossbows and flamethrowers. Also available from the supply crates are health packs, which are also dropped by some enemies.
Enemies can also drop energy… type… things, that power-up your character; after collecting 7-8 of these, you can unleash your special attack. Special attacks vary depending on which character you choose; there’s the big All-American football star, Cuban communist, cute Asian martial-artist or the geriatric RAF pilot. Or Santa, if you download the free holiday-themed DLC. However, using these special attacks changes the camera angle to a third-person perspective, and it throws you off a bit.
The game has both single and multiplayer modes, but most of the fun of this game comes from playing with your friends. Infuriatingly, though, each player only has three lives; once a player runs out of lives, they are forced to spectate for the rest of the game. If you fail any of the objectives then the game ends, forcing you to start over from the beginning. I also noticed a bit of lag while playing online, though it didn’t really ruin the game.
Bunch of Heroes isn’t a bad game, but it’s pretty unremarkable too. What it does, it does with competence… but it’s just missing something. Whether it would be better with an actual story, checkpoints or having to clear each chapter to unlock the next, who knows?
5/10