The Heavy Fire game series has been around since 2010. There were 4 games in the series up until recently. Each game was an on the rails shooter, but had a different setting. Recently, Mastiff has added a 5th title to the series – Heavy Fire : Red Shadow.
Tensions are high between the United States and North Korea. The Koreans have gotten tired of sitting back having the world disrespect them. They have launched missiles at several countries and have sent invasion forces to Guam and other locations. It is up to you to repel their army and defend your position.
You are manning a mounted machine gun with unlimited ammo and a small stash of rockets. You must fight off invading forces that come from the land and the sea. Enemies attack with machine guns, RPGs, and suicide bombs. As you take out enemies you will earn XP that can be used to call in everything from medical packages and rocket refills to artillery strikes or even an attack helicopter. You will also earn skill points that can be used to upgrade your gun, character and support streaks.
The game consists of 4 locations that are played both at night and during the day. To clear a level, you must survive 4 stages of 4 waves apiece. Luckily if you clear stage and then die you are able to restart at the beginning wave of the last uncleared stage. You can also use your skill points to upgrade your gear for a better chance to make your way through. No matter how many times you die, you will always retain your upgraded gear. There is also a survival mode which will allow you to take on wave after wave of enemies on your favorite map and time of day.
Your mounted machine gun rotates 360 degrees allowing you to attack all sides. The graphics are pretty decent. It is possible to make out the shape of infantry at long distances, but even as they get close they are still pretty undefined. The sound can quickly become monotonous, but you need to keep it on so you can hear the kamikazes approaching.
Heavy Fire : Red Shadow is out now. The game is fairly repetitive, but it is fun to mindlessly blast away at oncoming foes. With a price tag of $19.99, you may be disappointed with what the game has to offer. Especially since once you have all the upgrades, there is no real difficulty left. If you are a fan of on rails games, this is a game to add to your collection at some point.
