Fresh Action in the Tradition of Arcade and 8-Bit Classics
Assault Heroes starts with a little text to orient the player and proceeds with brief cut-scenes to smooth the transition between stages. The game play consists chiefly of shooting your vehicle's top mounted mini-gun, flamethrower, and flak cannon at enemy units large and small who attack from all directions. The weapons each have three upgrade levels and your player is also equipped with potent grenades and screen clearing nuclear attacks.
Some might complain about the game's length, but it really isn't any shorter than any other comparable arcade style game, like Contra, which can be beaten in one sitting.
The highlights of the game are the thrilling boss battles where you'll face a number of creative opponents including a walking wall and an armored train. The lowlight would have to be the four caverns you have to walk through on foot if you want the Lair Slayer achievement.
All in all Assault Heroes is a good example of what new games presented on X-Box Live Arcade should be: a crisp, tightly packaged product that blossoms as soon as you start to play and invites you back for more. The full version is well worth your time and money. Play it and see for yourself an exceptional example of how competent level design provides great storytelling. Perhaps you'll even realize that some of your favorite classics were great because they didn't tell you what to think but allowed their plots and personalities to flourish in your mind.