Assault Heroes 2 Hands-On

Assault Heroes 2 is the sequel to Sierra's 2006 shooter on Xbox Live Arcade. The original game was a exciting and fast-paced hail of bullets and explosions that offered a fun co-op experience. We had a chance to get a look at a work-in-progress version of the game at Sierra's recent media event and are pleased to report that not much has changed about those key elements. In fact, the follow-up is looking like it's going to sport a nice layer of polish and some tweaks based on user feedback from its predecessor.

Two vehicles and loads of cool weapons: It looks like the Assault Heroes formula hasn't changed much in the sequel.

The game casts you as a solider fighting off aliens. Exact details on you, your job, and what's going on are still pretty thin with the story being relegated to some text in in-game cinematics. Bottom line? Run around and shoot stuff. Lather, rinse, and repeat with a friend if so desired. This time, developer Wanako has tricked the mechanics out a bit to add some welcome variety to the action, which pleases us mightily. You'll still alternate between rolling in a vehicle and running around on foot while gunning people down. However, there's been some tweaking done to the action to really polish up the experience. You'll see more cannon fodder while playing and get the chance to roll in one of three new vehicles you can hijack. Our favorites in the demo were a helicopter and the new spaceship you'll pilot in certain segments. You'll also get a new ice weapon to add to the trio of weapons brought over from the original.

As cool as all that is, we have to say we're the most taken with the enhancements that have been made to the on-foot experience. Assault Heroes 2 now lets you hang onto your full arsenal while running on foot (as opposed to just using the machine gun), which is very handy. You'll also get a dodge roll, which is pretty handy too. The best tweak, though, is the underground bonus sections in the game, which you can now play through using your stock of lives as opposed to the unforgiving single-try system in the original game. Co-op also gets some nice polish in the form of an enhanced co-op attack that lets you automatically switch weapons and join up with your buddy when enemies trigger their attack. Co-op also gets the added perk of a new multiplayer mode called Zone Battle, which offers short co-op experiences.

The visuals in the game have seen a bump in detail and general mayhem. The graphics are cleaner, particle effects are more polished, and the action is generally a lot busier than in the previous game, which is a good thing. There's also a respectable amount of variety in the environments, with developer Wanako getting downright goofy with some of its visuals. For example, you'll find a "magic mushroom" area in the jungle with 'shrooms that will drastically alter your visuals for a bit when you bump into them. This time out, you'll also wind up zipping around in space and an alien city, which offer some funky new locales to explore. Under the hood, reps noted that there are improved physics and AI, but it was a bit tough to verify during a short gameplay session.

Based on what we saw, it's worth keeping an eye out for Assault Heroes 2. The core gameplay mechanics have that primal appeal of classic overhead shooters, which is never a bad thing. Once you factor in the various enhancements over its predecessor and the always appealing co-op action, you have an enticing package worth a try. Assault Heroes 2 is due out this summer.