Games:
L.A. Machine Guns
- Platform: Arcade
- Release Date: 1999
- Similar Games: Gunblade NY (Arcade)
Game Description
This float-and-shoot sequel to Gunblade N.Y. is designed to make use of the coin-op format, with a 50 inch display screen, a powerful sound system, and two full-sized machine-gun controllers. L.A. Machineguns gamers board virtual hoverbikes to sail around the skies of 2025 Los Angeles and blast away at enemy androids, being careful to avoid civilian casualties or collateral damage. Any of five missions, ranging in difficulty, can be selected at the start of each game. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game GuideReview: Enjoyment
Even playing alone this game is a thrill! "Circling around" for enemies is a great feeling, as is the vibrating gun and stand! ~ Shawn Sackenheim, All Game GuideReview: Overall
For a game as innovative as Gunblade NY, it sure didn't get the respect it deserved. I guess it's like Virtua Fighter 3, it was always too expensive for most arcades to buy and too expensive for people to play. At any rate, Gunblade was one of the single most creative shooting games since the genre was started back with games like Duck Hunt. Firstly, it featured really big guns! I'm talking huge here! Secondly, and most importantly, it allowed you to circle around unendingly until you eliminated the required enemies. The game's events are still set on a track but allowing you to circle enemies until they're destroyed made the game feel amazingly free and open.Jump ahead to the spring of 1999 and witness
The gameplay is still the same. Gone, however, is the helicopter from the original game, replaced by individual hover bikes. The graphics are superb and the game is filled with infinite details including tons of cars, boxes, and roadside junk to blow up for bonus points. The game utilizes the Model 3 board which was used to create Virtua Fighter 3. The characters don't look anywhere near as realistic as in that game but the shear number of characters (both enemy and friendly) that the game pushes around is impressive and nerve wracking. You'll find yourself circling back for many enemies but this time there's tons of obstacles that you'll careen around, between, and through as you stop the onslaught of the cyborg army once again.
Keeping true to the rule that a sequel must posess more levels than the original, LA Machine Guns offers five levels from the introductory "save the President" mission, to the "escape from Alcatraz" level, all the way to the final confrontation at the enemy base deep below Yosemite National Park! All of the levels are cram packed with tons of detail, as I said, and there are plenty of enemy variations to tackle. Not only are the enemies different, you'll find them riding hover bikes of their own, flying on jetpacks, running across the ground, and jetting around the oceanfront on water based hover bikes.
Level for level, ounce for ounce, LA Machine Guns is a superb arcade shooter. It's got tons of action, that totally unique "circle around" gameplay element, big guns that you get to hold, plenty of vibration (in the gun and in the floorboard you stand on), and it really delivers a great feeling of freedom even though you really are limited to a set course. Track it down, cash in a wad of dollars, and have at it! ~ Shawn Sackenheim, All Game Guide
