AppAddict.net Guest Reviewer Will O’Briant was lucky enough to get some hands-on time with a beta release of Com2uS’ upcoming 3D inter-galactic shooting game, Heavy Gunner, here are his impressions…

I recently got my hands on a beta version of Com2uS’ upcoming shooter “Heavy Gunner.” It’s likey that you are already familiar with Com2uS, as they have produced many other great titles for the iPhone including both Homerun Battle 3D and The Chronicles of Inotia. Heavy Gunner is showing a lot of promise and looks to be another highly enjoyable Com2uS title.

Heavy Gunner is a level-based shooter with RPG elements and contains 35 levels (which can be played on one of three difficulty settings.) In each level you are assigned the task of killing a specified number of enemies, surviving a certain amount of time, or even fighting a boss battle. As far as actual gameplay, you are only responsible for controlling the shooting, your player cannot walk around. You adjust your aim through tilt controls, and fire by pressing the two on-screen fire buttons. There is a fire button on each of the bottom corners of the device, as your player is always dual-wielding weapons. The tilt controls still need some tweaking, but being a beta version, more changes will be made.

In between levels, you can upgrade virtually everything via points earned in-game. There are 8 weapons available for purchase and each of these guns’ stats may be upgraded as well (ie. damage, clip size, reload rate, etc.). There is a nice variety of weapons, including everything from a machine gun to a gun that fires electricity. You also have the ability to upgrade your shields, how fast they recover, and your hull capacity.

The graphics are awesome, the futuristic weapon animations and enemy units really pop at you. The game also throws a lot of different environments at you throughout the campaign, like space, volcanoes and more. Aside from the main campaign levels there are several survival stages. I really appreciate that Com2uS put the effort in to add the survival modes, as they really increase the game’s replayabiltity. From what I’ve played of the game so far, it has a ton of replayabiltity, whether it be going back and playing the game to upgrade all 8 weapons, shooting for a high score in survival mode, or playing through the gameagain at a harder difficulty, there is a lot to keep you coming back.

Overall, I am really happy about what I have seen so far, and with some improved tilt controls, Heavy Gunner will be great. The graphics and gameplay mesh together well to create a really fun experience. You should definitely keep your eye on this game.

Screenshots
Video Footage