The age-old game design truth remains true: If something you do isn't original, you'll be forgiven as long as you do it well.
Gatling Gears
For: PS3 (via PlayStation Network), Xbox 360 (via Xbox Live Arcade), Windows PC
From: Vanguard Games/EA
Rating: Everyone 10+ (violence)
Price: $US15
Gatling Gears is the umpteenth twin-stick shooter (left joystick to move, right stick to aim and shoot) to appear in the past few years, and while the tutorial teases a technically (and visually) polished game with large levels and lots of firepower - gatling guns, rockets and grenades are all available immediately and in nearly infinite capacity - it also inspires no confidence that it does the same old formula better than the numerous games that preceded it.
Fortunately, after a few decent but slow levels, things change considerably for the better.
Gatling Gears doesn't rewrite the script, but it fills it with some terrifically frantic action that's imposing without being cheaply difficult.
An upgrade path allows you to significantly improve the oomph of all three weapons, and Gatling Gears counters by crowding its pretty outdoor environments with increasingly tougher enemy soldiers, vehicles and robotic contraptions - topped on each level by some terrific multistage encounters with bosses that sometimes command half the screen.
Gatling Gears' campaign is lengthy and polished enough to command the $US15 tag, and it complements it with an arcade-style Survival Mode and two-player offline/online co-op support across all modes.
The proliferation of twin-stick shooters has dampened the excitement whenever yet another one arrives, but if you like the genre, this is one of the good ones.
