Hudson's first shot at an FPS on wiiware proves to be a worthy contender in the Wii's FPS library.
The story of Onslaught is a very simple one. You are discovered on a planet inhabited by cyborg bugs, by a special armed forces squad. They basically recruit you on the spot, and the three of you work your way off the planet.
Story mode is a fun little trip, consisting of 13 levels, 3 of those containing bosses. You have three modes to choose from right from the get-go, easy, normal, and hard. As far as the levels go, there are three types of levels that you will see throughout the game, not counting boss levels.
The first type of levels are "defend X" missions. you are given a specific amount of time, in which you must destroy any enemies that come close, or plan to come close, to whatever it is you are protecting at the time.
The second type of missions are "destroy the hives" missions. You have 30 minutes to wander through a level, destroying as many bugs, and their homes, as you can. The level ends after you have destroyed all of the hives, and you are awarded a time bonus.
The third type of mission is a " A to B" type mission. Basically you start in one place, and have to move to another place, killing everything in your path.
There is a good distribution of levels throughout the story mode, and each level is fun in its own way.
The controls are a big plus in Onslaught. Every button you press is responsive, and the buttons are well-mapped out, so no pushing one button, thinking its another, and getting yourself killed.
The game play itself is just plain fun. Aiming works pretty fluidly, with different modes of sensitivity (awkwardly just named A,B,C,D) for the pointer. The levels are under no circumstances long, but the secret weapons hidden in some of them make playing the levels again oh so worth it. Unlocking guns in 1-player also unlocks those guns in your online arsenal, which is a definite plus to playing through again. The difficulty is surprisingly good, even on easy mode the game presents a bit of a challenge on some levels.
The online is a nice refresher from other FPS's such as Medal of Honor or COD on the Wii. There are two online modes, and both of them are different modes of co-op ( which im sure is why its got a T rating,as opposed to an M. There is NO human to human violence intended for this game) There is virtually no lag, friend codes are not mandatory, but they are available for playing with specific friends.
The online experience is played out much like this:
- click online
- choose your mode
- wait for other players to join you (you only have to wait for one, despite it being 4 player)
- pick a level (which works exactly like Mario Karts level select. everyone picks one level then roulette)
-play!
You can pick to play with anyone in the world, anyone in your region, or with friends, and all modes work fluidly.
The only difference in the two online modes, is that in the competitive co-op mode, you are competing with others for a high score, and win based off of that. The other mode plays just like one of your single player missions, only you have partner(s).
The Cons of this game a few, and not very strong. The character that you play moves like a tank. He is slow, and the ability to dash by awkwardly double-mashing the control stick, is useless. it makes it feel like you're playing an on-rails shooter, only you control where the rails go.
The story is bland, and advances in a tiny dialog box, that is very easy to miss, not that it matters because it is so generic.
The last, and most fatal flaw of onslaught is.... you're team, er, the fact that they talk, in general. when you obtain a combo, you will be rewarded with the most random of things, such as "that's why you're still a kid" which I find as an interesting blend of annoyance and hilarity. luckily though, you can turn them off in the options menu.
Despite these minuscule flaws, Onslaught is an AMAZING buy for only 1000 Wii points. it's worth every point, if not in story, then definitely in fun game play and an interesting online experience.