The majority of WiiWare titles are more like expanded flash games than console experiences. Exceptions to this rule like Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles:My Life as a King prove WiiWare titles can be more than a shovel-ware dumping ground. More often that not, there doesn't seem much reason to get excited when something new is released for Nintendo's answer to PSN and XBLA. Hudson have always supported the Wii through virtual console games and WiiWare titles and have again done the system proud with Onslaught, the first WiiWare FPS. With such a glowing start could this be a reason to finally stop playing CoD4? Oh lord no but it will give you a few hours of surprisingly entertaining gameplay.

Read on to find out why...

From the late 90s graphics of the title screen to the odd wannabe rock music, you know that Onslaught is going to be a pure arcade experience. The storyline is what you expect from a sci-fi shooter. You have to find out why contact with a distant research colony on some far away planet was lost. Simple right? Well after you arrive you're attacked by giant cyborg insects and it's up to you to survive and find out what the crap is going on. Soon you bump into two soldiers who are on a 'top secret' mission and they decide to join your crusade. The story is told through either text overlaying imagery in between missions or subtitled chats between you and the soldiers. Not really surprising for a title like this especially since it only takes up 309 blocks on your Wii and took me less than five minutes to download.

Controls are generally good and responsive with waggle obligatorily added for reloading and wiping bug spit from your visor. Aiming is done with the Wii-remote and movement is controlled with the nunchuck. Double-tapping the analogue stick in any direction will make you quickly dash a few feet ahead which sounds stupid but is very helpful against some of the later enemies. B shoots, the D-pad changes weapons, the A button alters your squad formation (from shooting ahead, to the sides or behind) while C and Z lets you use your grenades or energy whip respectively. For the most part the controls are manageable but when surrounded by lots of bugs they begin to let you down, especially when having to waggle to reload - something that isn't always recognised. Support from the AI soldier does relieve some of the burden but don't count on them for too much as they never wander too far from your side.


From the start you have an assault rifle, submachine gun, shotgun and rocket launcher at you disposal along with the aforementioned grenades and energy whip. Along the way you'll come across weapon boxes that add even more firepower to your arsenal. These are upgraded versions of the weapons you already have but every little helps here! Some levels give you the option of using a  BKD-G9 which is basically a tank with two stinking great machine guns attached. This can be a pain in the ass to control but is still is a lot of fun. Replenishing ammo is done by collecting dropped ammo cases from downed enemies. These only refill the weapon you're currently holding which puzzles me as to whether it was a design decision or poor programming. It's not a big deal though as each weapon has 10 cartridges full of ammo to use up before the needing any more. The BKD-G9 however only has a limited amount of bullets for each level it's on so use it wisely!

For the most part enemies don't pose much of a threat unless they get too close although there are some who have projectiles and other that fly at you with speed. Like any good insect, being shot at close range will cause an explosion, showering you in green blood. If not wiped off quick enough (with a waggle from the nunchuck) it begins to burn, depleting your health. It takes a lot of blood, projectiles and insect bites to kill you and health packs are found in coincidently-placed crates emphasising the arcade nature of this title. Along with this, each bug has a green patch on their body identifying a weak spot. Handy if you want to take them out quickly.


From seek-and-destroy to protection-based missions, all levels in Onslaught are timed. Some are only five minutes where as others give you half an hour to complete your task. Levels lasting for 10 minutes or less have you playing until the time is up where as the half an hour missions are completed when you've finished your task. You start with three missions to choose from in any order and after completing these you move onto the fourth which involves a boss battle. Once beaten the process begins again with three new levels unlocking a fourth with a boss until level 12 and 13 which are two consecutive boss battles. Each level ends with an alphabetically-graded score and can be replayed at anytime. You're scored on things like how quick you complete a level, how many enemies you killed and accuracy of shots. A nice touch which adds replayability for OCD sufferers and a bit of fun for the rest of us.

The design of the levels vary from either wandering the planet's surface or strolling through caves. In regards to the layout of the levels it changes just enough to be interesting but because the scenery looks very similar, the game still start to feel repetitive. Another annoyance is the difficulty progression. One level had me guarding a ship with insects attacking from all angles. Since the AI character hung around me like a sick puppy, protecting the ship was very annoying indeed as I quickly became swamped with and before I knew it, the ship was destroyed. I replayed this level way too many times for it to be fun.


A great feature of Onslaught is the online multiplayer game modes. Free battle lets you play any level from the story mode and ranking battle mode pits you against up to three other players all trying to get as many points as possible within a specified time. Matchmaking can take some time but if there is a couple of people in a party, the game can begin by both of you pressing '2' thus speeding up the process. I didn't experience any lag whatsoever which is a commendable feat indeed.

Graphically it's pretty decent considering what it is. Don't expect high textures, lighting effects or even detailed animation but for a WiiWare title it's not bad. As mentioned before levels do begin to feel the same but this is probably to do with having to re-use assets in order to keep the file size down.

For a £7/€10 game Onslaught is a lot of fun. Some may find it a little repetitive and the later missions will have you screaming at your TV, but for the most part it feels enjoyable with a rewarding difficulty. The almost-flawless online modes are a great addition and more than some higher-budget FPS games offer. It may only take a few hours to complete, maybe a touch more if you revisit levels, but for arcade shooter fans it's more than worth the tiny price tag.

80%

8-D
Enjoyable and rewarding difficulty for the most part.
Four player online co-op throughout
The online play works perfectly
Quite an achievement for a WiiWare game

>:-(
Controls can be frustrating
Later levels become more annoying than challenging
Can be a little repetitive for some