Super Trench Attack is a game developed by Retro Army Limited, a 4 man team, and is a very ambitious game for such a small staff size. Bringing humour to a parody of the First World War, this cartoony shooter is set to make you laugh as you bring death to the evil Black army. Oi guvner, did I also tell you it’s in jolly good English too?
Story
The story follows along a loose idea of war, one side is good and one side is bad, the good side being Green and very British and the bad side being Black and pantsless…Yeah they get ridiculed a lot. You start off with some basic training, learning the controls and ways to fight and are then thrown into the war and put to the task of winning the war single handed. Your character being nameless and seemingly unstoppable never raises questions in the army, oh to be the hero.
The story is told through conversations with the HQ Lieutenant as she gives out your missions, what they entail and how they will affect the war. The game starts off slow, destroying enemy listening towers and retaking your lost territory to fighting the generals of the Black Army. After a couple of missions you gain your partner, Buddy, who fights alongside you and provides back up fire but doesn’t offer up much conversation in the muffles from behind his gas mask.
The story seems to lack any build up, throwing missions at you that don’t really pack a punch, the only real fire you get is from fighting the bosses the story mode throws at you…or quite literally the fire traps. The story seems very rushed and finds no real resolution to the war and simply ends too soon to be considered a full campaign.
Though the story mode is rather short at 6 hours it is jam packed full of fun and tactics, although there isn’t much for replay value. There is no new game+, but loading a completed save allows you to view your medals and the stats of your play through.
Gameplay
The controls are very simple to learn, 1-4 changes weapons, WASD for movement and the mouse to aim and shoot. The majority of the game is controlled whilst in a bird’s eye view, with you moving between bases and mission objectives; however this changes from time to time to a first person gallery shooter similar to Time Crisis where you have to kill all enemies to proceed.
The art and music style feels very reminiscent of the old arcade shooter Point Blank (Namco), with its sounds being very short and humorous and its art style leaving all the characters lovable yet podgy targets. The art stays consistent, following a pixel based style with highly detailed small characters and objects. The music sticks to an army style yet staying up beat and happy to flow with its humorous surroundings.
Your character and partner Buddy will Rank up after killing enough enemies and you will have a choice to select a skill, either to increase health or add fire damage to your pistol. The levelling system is very archaic, going for a stat based system with clear definitions of what the selections will do.
Money is obtained from killing enemies or destroying objects in the world and is used to purchase weapons, ammo and upgrading your current weapons, though the pistol is fine throughout the majority of the game. There are only around 8 different weapons in the game including a Pistol, Rifle, Machine gun and shotgun along with grenades; however the different versions of each type have very little variation in their stats.
Overall Thoughts and Feelings
This game certainly isn’t a hardcore adventure, with light tones and comedic gameplay and atmosphere; this game will either appeal to your sense of humour or cease to excite you. It is a fun little adventure with several hidden collectables to find and skills to learn but lacking the energy to drive you to play.
Fans of the Blackadder TV series will enjoy the jokes and humour in this game as they feel rather similar, if not inspired by it, I found myself laughing every so often at the characters dialogue and the comedic animation they use. The comedy in this game is heavily British and while I, being British, found it very amusing, some people may just cringe at the jokes or stereotypes portrayed in this game.
In the end I would give Super Trench Attack a 3/5; it’s a very well done game but lacks the quality of others on the market. The humour is funny at times and follows along with its entire setting and genre and has certain throwbacks to other shows and games. The game can feel rather boring if played for more than a couple of hours at a time as it is very basic and the only real challenge you can get is through the later unlocked hard mode. Carry On Soldier.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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