OPERATION WARCADE

You’ll be back… for more

Any game that excitedly shouts “double Uzi” as a house beat pumps away in the background deserves your attention. Inspired by ’80s arcade classic Operation Wolf, a gallery shooter that saw you go full Arnold on waves of cannon fodder, this game revels in its retro simplicity.

First, I need to preface everything I’m about to write: the game looks hideous. There are PS2 games that can give Operation Warcade a run for its old money. But it doesn’t matter, because it’s so much fun. Split into two modes, Classic 3D Edition and Immersive Edition, you get to experience the gunplay in slightly different ways. Classic offers a virtual arcade cabinet to play with – you start a game by grabbing the Uzi mounted on the coin-op. 1 Enemies attack in patterns from left to right – helicopters, gunboats, tanks, and jets try to halt your progress. Occasionally Immersion Events appear; shooting these pulls you into the cabinet to fly a jet fighter, drive a tank, fend off soldiers with a bow and arrow… there are dozens of these minigames. It’s a riot.

Immersive Edition plays similarly, only now you’re ‘inside’ the cabinet, peering down and around the screen. 2 Meeting goals earns XP and Badges to spend on new weapons and buffs, as well as unlocking the next level. It’s a modern take on the Operation Wolf idea, but it falls into the trap of putting the grind ahead of innocent fun. Also, taking you closer to these visuals isn’t the best decision the dev could have made. (Did I mention it looks hideous?)

If you can see beyond the horrible graphics, Operation Warcade will scratch that VR shooter itch. Ian Dean

FOOTNOTES1 If you’re using a PS VR Aim controller the Uzi turns to a machine gun. 2 Turn around and you can see yourself on the other side of the screen.