Assault Android Cactus is another one of those titles that first appeared at Gamescom 2013 before disappearing into obscurity. Well, it's back and brings with it details of the characters that players will need to survive this upcoming bullet hell. Those characters are androids and they must rescue a spaceship while trying to fight back against a robot uprising.
Each character will have their own primary weapon that powers up as the level progresses. Their sub weapon works "on a cooldown". If the characters get knocked down, they won't die; instead, their powerups will be cleared. However, they only have a limited amount of battery power and the game is over if this runs out. Here are those eight characters:
Cactus, our games namesake, sports the classic Vulcan-style machine gun. Fast, precise – and once it’s levelled up – able to tear apart pretty much anything. Her secondary weapon is the flamethrower, a short range, high damage weapon that burns through packs of enemies and puts big dents in boss health bars.
Holly‘s Seeker uses homing bullets – they lack punch but are easy to use and backed up by a slow travelling but destructive Cannonball to smash through enemy lines.
Lemon uses the classic Spreadshot, when upgraded it has the most screen coverage in the entire game, and her four shot rocket launcher makes short work of tougher enemies.
Coral uses a slow reload, short ranged shotgun that clears groups at a time, and drops a plasma field capable of repelling enemy bullets and dealing damage to everything nearby.
Starch uses a continuous beam laser rifle, and can rain down swarms of heatseeking micromissiles on hapless foes.
Aubergine doesn’t even use a gun! She controls a spinning robot called Helo and drives him into enemies remotely, while using her Singularity Generator to create mini black holes to suck enemies together.
Shiitake uses a slow firing but heavy hitting Railgun that will pierce a row of enemies, and plants proximity activated Propeller Mines, letting her set traps and stay on the offensive even when backpedaling.
Peanut sprays molten metal with her Magma Welder, leaving behind hazardous puddles, but her secondary weapon is the real show – the rocket propelled Giga Drill, capable of sending her screaming across the stage, impale large enemies then screwing them to the walls!
The Playstation 4 version of the title will feature local co-op for up to four players, meaning that these characters' skills can be combined to create a formidable team. Unfortunately, Vita players will just have to face the threat on their own when the game is released later this year.