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View Full Version : GOTD 4/24/2016: Somer Assault (TG16)



celerystalker
04-24-2016, 03:31 AM
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Somer Assault (or Mesopotamia in Japan) is an action... um... let's say puzzle platformer in which you must traverse mazes guarded by creatures of the zodiac as a hardened... uh... fighting... slinky? Hmm...

Yeah. So, your mighty battle slinky must find its way through mazes in a pretty strict time limit AND defeat the zodiac guardian in that time. You stick to the walls, moving like a slinky flipping atop itself with a band in the center that can fire. You can duck tightly against walls, jump about two tiles in height, and fire to traverse these mazes which vary wildly in complexity. Many are quite simple and intuitive, while others are obtuse and littered with teleporters. You do get help in the form of powerups from defeated foes, such as extra speed, additional firing bands, and life bar extensions to help keep you alive. Dying causes you to lose all of your powerups, though, so fire away early and often.

The bosses themselves are, as mentioned, giant bronze creatures of the zodiac. Gemini Twins, the giant Cancer Crab, the Taurus Bull... each has its own detailed look and attack pattern, some of which are way simpler than others. They tend to be fairly easy, though, so most of the lives you lose will likely come from running out of time while trying to locate them.

Somer Assault is pretty darn unique in its premise and execution, and feels very fresh for it. The difficulty is uneven until you learn the tricks to the different mazes, but the boss fights are mostly pretty cool, and clinging to walls with your slinky flips is oddly entertaining. The music isn't amazing, but I should probably take into account how I was playing Gondomania with a friend immediately beforehand, which has a soundtrack I really dig, and that comparison might be coloring my perception a bit. Still, it's a fun, sorely unique game that Atlus or Turbografx fans should definitely check out, as there's really not much else like it.

Played this one?

Guntz
04-24-2016, 04:58 AM
I tried playing this (PCE + Everdrive), all I can say is it's just plain weird. Sure, it's very cool and fun, but I never thought a slinky game existed.

Emperor Megas
04-24-2016, 05:11 PM
I own this one, but haven't played it yet. I'm a sucker for any game that has astrological characters/enemies and/or a celestial theme (like Chariot, from Three Wonders). And I mean...'Slinky', right? What's not to like.

Steve W
04-25-2016, 03:24 AM
I bought this one back in the day after reading an interesting review of it. It's definitely unique, you won't find any other game like it. I remember putting a lot of time into it but never really advancing all that far, maybe five or six of the levels at most. You have to admire their imagination, I would never have come up with "Battle Slinky - The Game" no matter how long I brainstormed.