Mekkablood: Quarry Assault

A stylistically interesting game, it kept me interested to the end. The firefights are intense and when you hit the groove, it's great to immerse yourself in the combat. However, a lot of the game gets in the way of really enjoying it. The levels are very repetitive. Generic sci-fi chrome rooms and halls wears out its welcome very quickly. The most interesting level was an outdoor canyon, if only because it was really the only time we had an environment like that. The weapons are fine and functional, but kinda bland. The shotgun is painful, in that it's almost more of a melee weapon with how short range it is. I never figured out what made the Big Laser special; it just seemed like a worse rocket launcher that used more ammo. And while you do get upgrades/options to each weapon, some of them aren't clear why they're better or different. More clarity with the weapons would make it actually an interesting choice on what to use. There's also not a lot of feedback when you get hurt. There were firefights that ended where I thought I did really well and look down to see I had like 20 health left. I didn't even notice I had gotten hurt, or where from. Additionally, while the cockpit perspective is really stylish and cool, it takes up so much screen real estate that it makes it hard to see. I think there's a way to balance that, but this isn't it right now. And the story is kinda worthless. I didn't even know why I was doing anything until the last level; I'd thought it was just fun revenge, but then we got introduced a wife to save, I guess. Not that it needs a strong story, but for attempting to have clear characters in the pilot and your helper, it feels like a failed effort. Also the weird AI ending just needs to go in the bin. There's a really strong skeleton to this game, and a lot of my critiques are things that could be ironed out in a Mekkablood 2. I hope to see more from them. With additional polish I think they could do something great.