Tower of Guns – Endless FPS Bullet Hell
I just finished a Tower of Guns shooting spree on Xbox One and I have to say that it’s liberating to have a pure FPS to jump into whenever I want. It’s a single player experience perfectly suited for people that want to get the biggest guns, blast their way through level after level packed to the gills with enemies, and all while dodging a torrential hail of bullets. Best of all, the levels are randomized so it’s a new challenge every time I die and start over. If you’re tired of coordinating teams and yelling over voice chat in every other shooter out there, this game is for you.
Tower of Guns is my first foray into an FPS bullet hell game. My projectile dodging has only been in the form of top down shooters in the past. It delivers exactly the kind of experience that I would expect from smashing the two genres together. Walls of projectiles flying at my face is exhilarating while it lasts. I’m not great at this stuff, but I’m improving. Weapons gain xp and level up to become more powerful during each game to increase survivability, perks allow players to customize their game play experience to an extent, and the game is full of random drop (or bought) modifiers and special items. Thankfully, as I play and die, I unlock new weapons and perks that I can take with me into the next attempt.
There’s no pretense of a serious story in this game. (Story can actually be turned off in the options menu.) Stories are given, but they’re ridiculous and change from game to game. My favorites so far include a DMV fight to the death for a driver’s license and an 80’s computer gamer playing a text game. It’s there for flavor, but who has time to read when you’ve got a crazy gun to shoot and bullets to dodge? (You could always read the story stuff before heading into a room full of doom, but I’m too impatient.) Unlike many FPS games that are lacking in story because they’re really built to be a multiplayer game, Tower of Guns is just a single player game that gives zero fucks about pretending to be about anything other than a full throttle first person experience.
The visuals in the game are fairly cartoony and vibrantly shaded. I generally prefer a bit more sharpness and realism in my shooters, but in this case it works. Bullets are over-sized and stream trails behind them as they move at a somewhat slower than expected pace. The player projectiles are also slow and sometimes just as ludicrous. Everything has its outrageouness dial cranked to 11, so reality doesn’t enter into the equation at all. I’ve really taken to using the 609mm Hand Cannon which is like a gun that shoots an exploding Bullet Bill. (Just watch out for that close quarters explosion damage.) The guns are ridiculous, the enemies huge, and the bosses are downright terrifying!
Each game of Tower of Guns is randomized, but there is an important difference between the three game modes. Normal mode is a climb to the top of the tower and can be completed. Endless mode is a battle to survive as long as possible and gets ranked against other players on the leaderboard. (I’m not last! Woo!) My favorite mode, however, is Dice Roll. In that mode a random buff or debuff is applied when entering a new room in the tower. Will I get double armor or get screwed over by low health mode? I’m clearly a glutton for punishment.
If I have any complaints about Tower of Guns, it’s that the music gets a bit repetitive after a few games. (Sorry, sound guys.) I recommend putting on your own shooting soundtrack and going wild. Tower of Guns is out now for PS3 / PS4 and Xbox One for $14.99. It’s a chaotic and thoroughly enjoyable breath of fresh air in a genre full of carbon copies. I’m having a blast with it and you should absolutely come check it out on the official Dorkadia Plays channel over on Twitch if you want to see it in action first. Or you can check out the trailer below, but we’re more fun.
