Weapon of Choice DX [Xbox]
Developed by Mommy’s Best Games, Weapon of Choice DX is a crazy run ‘n’ gun platformer set in the distant future, when the planet has been invaded by a variety of strange and dangerous enemies. There are a few different playable characters, chosen from their Files, where you can read a little bit of backstory about them, view a photo of each operative and see details about their weaponry and skills. Four characters are shown as MIA to begin with, with them being able to be unlocked later, and three being available to choose from the outset: Xerxes Remington, with his Jet Engine Gun; Constance O’Leary, with her Arc Knife Launcher; and Moses Longhorn, with his Satellite Lasers; each with unique abilities alongside their weapon of choice.
There are different ‘Conflict Zones’ for you to secure, with a wide variety of hazards such as spiky alien flora and enemies that will creep up on you. Levels will fork at certain points, giving you other choices to make that will impact how a level plays out, with some routes proving to be more of a challenge, whereas some will be shorter and easier to get through. You have a ‘spider pack’ that has metal arms that will latch onto the environment, allowing you to climb around on walls and ceilings, and this is quite a cool method of transport to get around, and helps to get some good vantage points for attacking enemies. There are different story branches which lead to different ‘endings’ - and these are determined on a few decisions you’ll make along the way.
Originally released on 360 way back in 2008, it has had a few updates to add new difficulty modes as well as collectible MBG pies that are hidden throughout the game. There are six difficulty modes available: Easy, Normal, Hard, Wicked, Mega Death, and Mega Wicked; which gives you plenty of choice when it comes down to how much of a challenge you’re looking for. There’s an interesting game mechanic called Death Brushing, which allows you a short time to get out of the way of danger at the point of impact, or your brush with death. This can sometimes be a little frustrating though as you don’t have a decent dodge to make enough space between you and the enemy, so having this be added would have made a huge difference.
The visuals are really interesting, with the world - and its inhabitants - having really bizarre and somewhat hideous designs (and I mean that in a good way!). Bosses are absolutely bonkers, with the first one we came across being two worm like creatures sticking out of what turned out to be a large mug, with an even larger creature reaching down to pick up and pour its contents out! The soundtrack is really catchy too, with some intense rocky tracks as well as some more melancholic vibes that will play upon you losing a character.
In a rather surprising turn of events, upon death, the character select screen will pop up, allowing you to continue the mission as one of the remaining Solus Operatives - and you can choose to pick up and carry the injured Operative through to the level’s end. There will be other agents that you can find and rescue along the way - but only one can be carried at a time, so you’ll need to choose who you want to save. Any that are ‘lost’ during the course of a mission will then be marked as M.I.A. on the main character select screen, so you’ll end up having a continually evolving roster as you lose and rescue characters.
Overall, Weapon of Choice DX is a really interesting and inventive game, and whilst it doesn’t take long at all to beat it (with both our first runs being under an hour to see through a story branch to completion), this keeps things feeling fresh and makes it feel less daunting to take on a second run. At just £4.99 on the Xbox Store, it’s a great price too!
In the end, we decided to give Weapon of Choice DX the Collecting Asylum rating of 7.5/10.
Are you interested in Weapon of Choice DX? What do you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!
- V x
Thank you to Mommy’s Best Games for the Weapon of Choice DX Xbox review code!
