by Dayv
I've spent the last week or so
attempting to ignore the Steam Summer Sale due to a general lack of
funds and a firm belief in “surely I must have enough games by
now”. Apparently my beliefs are wrong and my convictions lacking,
and by the end of the sale I had no less than a handful of new
games to try out. One amongst them (grabbed potentially at random
during a vicious bout of game-buying-frenzy) is Bleed by IanCampbell, a quaint little title that has you shooting everything in
sight to prove how awesome you are.
Bleed is a side-scrolling shooter that
edges towards bullet-stormer at times. Armed with a pair of weapons
of your choosing (once you've unlocked them) and an ass so bad you
can slow down time, you'll be fighting from one level to the next
trying to take down the now lax heroes of yesteryear to prove you are
worthy to stand among them, or more accurately, atop them. Assuming
of course that you don't get your face
shot/blown/otherwise-horrifically-taken off in the process (which is
actually kinda likely).
Short but sweet
The levels of
Bleed remind me a bit of the old Mega Man themes, each with their own terrain and feel to them. One level has you fighting through some sort of stony
underworld filled with lava and falling boulders. Another, probably
my favorite, is entirely set on a moving train, where you'll have to
keep low when a tunnel approaches
 |
| and perhaps giggle at enemies that fail to |
It's a nice mix of
scenarios that makes you feel your character is really going to some
length to prove herself, and it challenges you to really
mix-and-match weapons depending on the situation.
Perhaps my biggest
complaint about Bleed, however, is also that there really just isn't
enough level. The levels themselves are somewhat short, and there
are only 7 of them. While trying to complete them in harder
difficulties does give them notable replay value—as the difficulty
doesn't just up the damage as is too often the case, but actually
changes the encounters a bit—they are still essentially the same 7
levels.
We need guns. Lots of guns (also swords and mines)
I've
always had a small obsession with choice in games and game makers
giving us more options in playing the way we want (even if it's a
completely ridiculous and ultimately hopeless style...looking at you
Blizzard), and Bleed gives you plenty of ways to gun your way through
the world. You'll start out with just a pair of pistols and a rocket
launcher, but you can unlock many more weapons as you go, including
my favorites: the laser rifle and a sword that deflects projectiles.
 |
| which I love and am also terrible with |
After
digging through the extras I also noticed that there are unlockable
characters, only the first of which I managed to obtain, which is a
robot version of our hero who recharges her Time meter by doing
damage to enemies. I've yet to discover the others as I am terrible
and can't get past the second level on Hard.
Seriously, you're probably gonna die a lot
I refuse to state
this as a complaint, as I was brought up on RPGs and turn-based
strategies and have little aptitude with games that require me to be
aware of things happening on the screen, and I'm sure plenty of people enjoy a hard core challenge, but Jesus Christ this game
gets hard. I managed to get through Normal difficulty without too
much of a struggle, but my god, I honestly may never manage to unlock
the next character, which requires you to beat the game on Hard.
Also, there is a Very Hard mode
 |
| that can really just go straight to hell |
This is the sort
of game made for those people that complain about how great games
used to be when they were really hard. And with a Style meter
in the corner that decreases with each hit you take, I can see Bleed
being a damn good time for high-score seekers as well.
While Bleed lacks
in overall level content, with the different difficulty and weapon choices,
Arcade mode (that is, a mode where you have only one life), co-op
play, as well as a boss arena, it does have a decent amount of replay
value, especially if you're the type that's willing to grit your
teeth and give it another go after getting completely annihilated.
And honestly, for only 5 bucks on Steam, I'd say it's easily worth a
shot.
Originality: 2
Overall not a new
concept, but old-school shooters will never truly die.
Levels: 3.5
½ a point per
level
Fun: 4
For the price,
Bleed was pretty fun, and I'll probably go back to it when I feel the
need to remind myself that I can't win at everything.
Loadout Options: 4
Let's
see...there's pistols, rockets, lasers, mines, flamethrower, shotgun,
sword, pistols akimbo, homing missiles...also several I have yet to
unlock.
No comments:
Post a Comment