Operation Thunder

This game was made by two dear friends of mine so I'll try to be unbiased during this review. This game is a legitimately fun game to play. The way the game eases you into the game with the first few levels before increasing difficulty is balanced really well. The difficulty seems hard but also fair in a sense that you you get room to trial and error and try various methods in order to complete each level. The ability to select your weapons, gadgets, equipment, etc. adds a lot of replayability to the levels to see how much faster and more efficiently you can do it and what the best tools are for each level. In terms of the game play, the best comparison I can make is with the Hotline Miami series. If you've played those games, it will feel very familiar in terms of how it's a level-based top down shooter. That doesn't mean the game is a copy of Hotline Miami. Far from it. The developers have definitely made a unique game with their own spin on the genre and it feels like a fresh experience. In terms of bugs, features etc. although I encountered some bugs initially, the developers are very responsive and will take your feedback and implement any bug fixes necessary as they come up. They've already had a day one patch with bug fixes and some quality of life improvements and are constantly updating and supporting the game to make sure it's fun to play, free from bugs and glitches, and tweaking mechanics to better suit people's preferences and feedback. I would say give this game a try. At $5 it's well worth it and you'll be supporting indie developers who made this game with a passion. They've worked hard on the game for over a year and deserve any feedback about their first ever game so they can continue improving and making better games in the future.

Even though I don't play a lot of video games, I can safely award this one GOTY in my personal collection. I was surprised at how well made the game is, I can really tell it's a passion project. It's nice to buy games from little indie companies because the best part is you actually feel like you can communicate with the developers rather than have my opinions and emails lost in a chain of "no-reply" emails. But anyway, onto the the strengths/weaknesses. Strengths: - The game play mechanics, holy sh*t you'd think it's a Hotline Miami sequel if I didn't tell you otherwise. Really smooth movement, gun shots don't do that weird counter strike curve around the wall thing. - The artwork is beautiful specifically for the level mapping, as well as the interesting character designs. - The enemies never became predictable, that's one of the things that would get me to stop playing most video games. But no, these ones actually react differently from level to level and I think it's due to clever planning. Weaknesses: - The game does take a little bit of time to pickup, but once it does it's actually quite addicting. My recommendation would be to keep playing at least past the first chapter before forming an opinion. - The story is quite interesting, but the dialogue style might not be my cup of tea. But that's alright because it's not the main focus of the game. 4.5/5 stars, highly recommend this one boys and girls.

This game is actually a lot more fun than I expected. The level design is well done and the enemy variety and placement keeps the game interesting from start to finish, although Chapter 1 is a little slow. The sounds and music are good as well. The story is solid, it won't blow you away, but it's entertaining enough for this type of game to keep your attention. The game does have a couple weaknesses, but they're minor and don't detract from the overall experience. You can tell that this little gem was made by indie devs that truly are passionate about the games they make. It's also feels like you can actually communicate with them; I shot a message to the devs about a glitch I encountered and it was fixed the next day. I will definitely be supporting these chaps in the future and I recommend all who like the game to do the same! Ultimately, it's a good way to spend a few hours. 9/10: Would recommend, especially for the price!

[i] My Experience [/i] I had fun with Operation Thunder, although I am a bit of a top-down shooter fanboy. I liked the way that bullets are able to penetrate so many of the walls. Taking it slow, you're really able to feel like a professional operator, tackling objectives and dispatching enemies with precision. I liked the interesting weaponry in the game, as well as the gadgets you have access to. Lastly, the game made me laugh out loud on at least one occasion. This is a rare occurrence in gaming, so I like to celebrate it when it happens. Although it makes things a bit easy, you can zoom out with the game's camera and take shots on enemies from out of their range. However, as I mentioned in a discussion board post, I'd much rather this be the state of affairs than be shot from off-screen. The only glitch that I ran into (not sure if this is fixed yet) involves the shielded enemies. Even after they fall, their shields can still sometimes affect movement and bullet trajectories. Overall, Operation Thunder is a high-quality debut from Flashblack Games. I plan to jump back in soon to try the levels added with the "Winter Update," and look forward to seeing what these two developers produce next.

I LOVE this game. It is so fun to play and I already got to level 10 so far. I would recommend it to all my friends for sure.

Backed it on Kickstarter... it`s pretty fun for a short game session in between. Casual Game... nothing special. Gameplay is cool but gets boring pretty fast eventhough you get new things. Played like 17 levels after loosing motivation. All in all a good game for a 2 people dev team.

My brother and his best friend are the creators of this game! So of course I had to try it out myself. This game is so well-made and so addictive!!! I'm a very casual gamer - I grew up playing mostly Nintendo & Super Mario games, and I don't play a lot of PC games besides Among Us (LOL). But this has me absolutely hooked. In the game you're given missions to complete where you have to shoot down enemies of varying degree. You're given 3 types of guns and you also get some superpowers, such as stunning, smoke, and decoy (and more to be unlocked). There's a lot of strategy involved in knowing where to attack first, which powers to use and when to use them. But it's VERY easy to learn, which I liked as a beginner gamer. Each level is perfectly bite-sized and it gets so addictive trying to figure out how to beat each one. The artwork has this beautiful retro yet detailed look and the graphics are VERY smooth. I have encountered no bugs, lagging or any issues at all (so far) which is very impressive. There's a very intriguing story behind it all too. I just finished Chapter 1 and it looks like plot twists are incoming as the villain slowly reveals himself. I'm so excited to continue the story and unlock more levels, powers and enemies. This is a very fun game perfect for gamers of all levels :)

In my genuine opinion, I didn't have the highest hopes for this game until actually diving into it. The first chapter is understandably easy. Gives players the opportunity to learn the game, test weapons and play around. I personally had fun speed running through the first few levels only using my taser. Come chapter 2, players had to adapt to a more calculated approach and come up with various tactics to clear levels. There's a special satisfaction to tossing a decoy and slipping past an enemies vision to taze them in the back. Progressing further in the game, players get access to new weapons and gadgets to take on tougher opponents. Story is ok, I personally didn't pay too much attention to it. Gameplay is fun and very addictive. I did come across a few bugs and hiccups, but the development team is attentive and responsive. So overall, I do recommend the game as a fun time killer. Seeing as this is the first game from the developers, I'm excited for the future creations they have in mind.

This is a fun game. In the early levels you have stationary targets placed inside of buildings in positions which makes you think how to kill one target without being shot by another. I wish they would add a map editor to this game. This game along with Blacklist Brigade are two awesome top down Indie shooters I hope get the recognition they deserve.

A solid game with good level progression. The various types of enemies, and the different map layouts provide unique challenges that keeps the game fun.