[i][b]Halo: Spartan Assault[/b][/i] provides a satisfying, intense, action-packed but fairly challenging gameplay, short yet intriguing plot and faithful representation of Halo and unique features of the mainline games, with the only downsides (but I guess that depends on who you ask) being short levels and repetitive objectives.
[i][b]Gameplay[/b][/i] is just what one would expect from a top-down shooter: you get a level filled with enemies and have to go from point A to B while shooting everything in sight. You get to carry two guns (with melee functionality), two types of grenades, a special ability and a shield. You get one life and have to restart the mission upon death.
[i][b]Guns[/b][/i] can be ballistic, explosive or plasma and acquired through picking up off the ground or dead enemeis, grenades - explosive and plasma (also explosive, just fancy) and too are received in the same way, abilities there are around a dozen, they are used to either harm the enemy or help the player - for example, auto sentry ability deploys little drone that shoots enemies around, and cloaking field ability allows to become invisible, - and can be found while exploring levels, and shield protects from the incoming fire shortly before needing to be recharged. Different variations of aforementioned equipment are given at the start of each mission and can be switched if desired. All of them are taken directly from the Halo series (aside from few abilities), use same models, sounds, do similar amounts of damage and thus - provide with great amount of versatility and fun shooting time, with the ony difference being that they don't need to be reloaded and can shoot indefinitely, until ammo reserves run out.
But the guns are only part of the fun, for [i][b]game also has vehicles[/b][/i]: tanks. Some levels will have you start with a tank, other provide it somewhere along the way, and some you'll encounter enemies with tanks and have an opportunity to hijack one from them. They are powerful and have enough health to withstand heaviest of hits, but require mindful handling so that enemies wouldn't surround it and destroy too soon, leading to tension even while utilizing such powerful vehicles. In addition, sometimes levels will have enemies driving small personal transport with guns (aka Ghosts, flying alien bikes) which can be stolen as well for more fooling around - but be careful, for they can run over you and kill in a blink of an eye!
In addition to that, oftenly player doesn't have to fight alone: [i][b]allied marines will be following and helping[/b][/i] to distract/kill foes from time to time, adding even more action to the scene.
Existence of such great amount of equipment is very much justified, for [i][b]foes are deadly[/b][/i]: they have good aim, are constantly on the move, come in numbers enough to surround and overwhelm the player and are able to throw grenades, use tanks, as mentioned above, and man turrets (which player also can hijack!). They act just like in Halo as well, being smart enough to know when to close the distance of retreat, keeping distance between their ranks and supporting melee troops with fire from behind, using cover and screaming in rage when damaged enough, or running away in fear. They have different kinds of troops, from small and squishy to big and very tough, and their units cover everything from deadly melee to long-range (as far as screen allows) support, providing player with many threats to face and forcing to think and act quickly.
Spartan Assault [i][b]has no difficulty levels[/b][/i] to adjust the gameplay, but it has the modifiers. Different Skulls can be activated before start of each mission, each of them altering gameplay in some way to provide more challenge, like halving the amount of ammunition that enemy drops upon death or making so shield recharges only after melee kills. And if help with game process is what you need - then there are powerful weapons and boosters to choose from, although they are bought for experience points (which you receive for completing missions) and last even if you die and have to restart the level. Experience points are received depending on how much score you've got during the mission, and score is calculated based on how many kills you've made, how many medals (for example, for killstreaks) you've earned and how fast you've finished the level.
[i][b]Levels[/b][/i] themselves are short and can be completed in 3-8 minutes depending on the objective at hand. Player can be tasked with: simply moving from beginning to the end; defending something from waves of enemies; hunting down and eliminating targets. Some levels present mix of all of them, others - only single task. Not very diverse, but shortness allows to quickly alternate between them and not get tired of similar objectives too quickly, although it does become stale closer to the end. Different decorations help to keep things fresh, providing with environments of grasslands, deserts, ice covered valleys and caves, all of which have their distinct colour palettes and can be either semi-open (allow to choose from different paths that intersect and end in same places with some points of interest in-between) or linear but never disorienting or too straightforward. For some it might be not enough of time and scale to enjoy, especially considering that game can be completed in five hours or less, but I personally found them sufficient.
[i][b]Plot[/b][/i] is short and is being told through cutscenes, which are shown each five missions (at the beginning of each new "operation"), and via text description that can be read before starting a mission. It's straight to the point and mainly describes what's going on, why and how, but that simplicity allows to hide some surprises. Overall, it's really good at adding flavor to the game and isn't illogical - which already makes it better than what many other games can offer.
[i][b]In the end[/b][/i], I say Spartan Assault is a solid top-down shooter that can be enjoyed by both casual and advanced players, people who don't have much time to spend on gaming sessions and Halo fans. It's fun, challenging, offers customizable (to a degree) experience and doesn't take a lot of time to complete.
