GKick Review: Intrusion 2 | GKick Network

August 1st, 2012 by Steve Perry

(Intrusion 2 review cont…)

GRAPHICS:
Intrusion 2′s design, like the rest of it’s elements, calls back to the days of 8-bit and 16-bit side scrolling action titles such as Contra or Gunstar Heroes or Metal Slug, and it’s done brilliantly. Even the interface is simple, clean and feels old school. The physics engine, which I spoke so highly about earlier, is obvious right from the get-go. Your character has a smooth animation style, everything moves and reacts, and you can just as easily shoot a soldier as you can crush him under a boulder or two. The fact that the entire environment reacts to what you do adds a whole level of depth to this game that is hard to match even by some big-budget titles. Trust me, the first time you see-saw your way up a hill with a felled tree and a boulder or cause a heap of storage trunks to collapse on top of a group of weaponized military men the level below, you’ll love it. Sometimes, the physics might cause an object or a lift to get stuck, but it’s just as easily fixed. It’s simple, it’s pretty, and it does the job well.

AUDIO:
The music in this game comes courtesy of George Dziov’s Android and is pretty hard driving and intense, albeit if a bit repetitive at times. However, the situational music for certain battles and the fact that the music isn’t annoying in the least keeps me from turning it off, but you do have that option. As far as the other sound goes, Intrusion 2 utilizes pretty standard sound elements that mesh in well with the energetic music. I didn’t hear any audio that felt awkward or out of place, which is generally a pretty easy feat, but it still does it well.

FUN FACTOR:
It goes without saying that Intrusion 2 is fun, even if it can seem a bit unforgiving at times. Abramenko does a fantastic job of putting you in situations that may seem impossible but giving you the utility to overcome it, even if it means ducking behind a stray weapons locker or even the remains of your last mechanical foe. The game is also more than just keeping yourself alive, it’s keeping yourself armed. While you do have a good supply of weaponry at your disposal, wasting ammo will get you caught in a hard place and force you to use your infinite ammo pistol which – honestly – will only get you so far. As I said earlier, the game is non-stop action, so the only breaks you’ll get will be the ones you create for yourself, otherwise you’ll be blasting apart enemies full-throttle.

REPLAY VALUE:
Beyond a High Score system, there isn’t a whole lot in the way of replay value. That isn’t a bad thing, however. This is a game that was inspired by the run-and-gun titles of old, and you’ll get plenty of time out of it for what you spend. In addition, whether you’re competing for the highest ranked score (globally) or just to improve your own performance, you can find a reason to run through the game a second or third.. or fourth time.

GAMEPLAY:
Beyond the mild faults with the physics, the game operates without much effort. WASD moves you around, your mouse is your crosshair, and E is the action key. Fortunately, you can adjust these settings as you will, but however you prefer to play, it’s still pretty simple stuff. Because it’s so simple, being able to use the environment to your advantage is made all the easier as you battle your way through Intrusion 2. The boss stages are large and intense, the enemies will keep you busy without overwhelming you, and the wide variety of enemies and weaponry you’ll have at your disposal make the game even more exciting. Whether you’re riding on the back of a giant wolf or hopping into an armored mech suit to dish out justice, everything is done very well. Some movements do feel a bit awkward, especially backing up on a wolf, but nothing is ‘game-breaking’ or really much of a problem at all.

OVERALL:
I said it before and I’ll say it again. Intrusion 2 is the easiest $10 you can spend. If you enjoy the games I mentioned earlier from the ‘olden days’, you’ll find something to love about Intrusion 2. Every level had something unique to throw at me, every boss fight was frustratingly fun, and despite the minor flaws, it still is an enjoyable distraction to keep going back to. It’s fun, it’s challenging, and it’s cool to find all the ways you can blow stuff up or kill things.

OVERALL SCORE: 9/10

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