If a serious shooter is work, then “One Man Army” is like recess. You singlehandedly take on tanks, helicopters, and so much more, with nothing more than small arms fire. It’s no more, or no less, realistic than a single small fighter taking on massive alien fleets in Galaga, R-Type, and a thousand other shooters. And nor should it be, if the game is a delight.
You would think that the game would be a dual-stick shooter and, while you do aim with the right stick, you don’t actually shoot with it. You use the right trigger to fire. The true joy of the game for me is the art style, which is hand-drawn, little more than stick figures, but with appealing bits of animation. I particularly like the smoke off in the distance. The story is unapologetically ridiculous, with grammatical errors that may (or may not) be intentionally ironic.
Your dollar gets you a game that ramps up in difficulty nicely, and totally gives itself over to its love it/hate it art style. It’s fun and genuine, all but completely lost in the mists of the Xbox Live Indie Games catalogue since its release in 2011, and absolutely worth a download.
Here’s what the developer (TrippinAlien) has to say about the game:
“Built in an underground lab by a team of scientists from steel alloy and raw rage. Raised by a pride of lions until you killed them for food at age six. Trained to withstand face-melting heat, eyeball-freezing cold, and mind-numbing fear. You are Army, the world’s preeminent badass. And you must stand alone. – All proceeds from this game will go to charity.”
Writings of Mass Deduction 