Mechanized Attack Longplay (Arcade) [QHD]
523Game Info
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Developer: SNK
Publisher: SNK
Year of Release: 1989
Game Review & Impressions
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Developed by SNK before the Neo Geo existed, Mechanized Attack is one of the weirdest and most difficult lightgun games I've played. This is very clearly inspired by Taito's Operation Wolf, and while the graphics might initially impress, the various quirks and problems make this a less than enjoyable experience.
The first thing to know is you must keep the gun moving constantly. This is because the game simply stops registering bullet collisions when the gun sight is idle for more than a second. The screen continues to flash and remaining bullets in the magazine continue to decrease, but the shot has absolutely no effect whatsoever, and even the impact animations stop displaying when this glitch occurs.
Another issue with this particular title is the way the game calculates where the gun is aiming. This doesn't become apparent until the game is put into service mode, but it seems that the play-field is divided into a series of vertical zones, and lowering/raising the gun causes the hit marker to snap between these bands. Because the aiming system snaps between these invisible rows, bullets fired may not be registering exactly where you're aiming. It's a most peculiar system, and one that doesn't make the game any easier to play.
As if this wasn't enough, the game goes out of its way to make things difficult for the player, to the point where it's impossible to beat on a single credit. The cyborg enemies which show up in later levels are complete bullet sponges, requiring more damage than is possible to dish out before they flee off screen. They also become invincible while transitioning between human and robot forms, yet they can still fire back and attack you, making it impossible to prevent taking damage. I noticed that there were also instances where rockets fired by planes and helicopters became completely invincible for no reason, so I can only conclude the designers did this intentionally to either force the player off the machine, or make them insert more coins.
The final kick in the teeth is is the fact the game forces you to play through a second, harder loop of the game before you see the true ending, if you can consider it an ending. Given you'd have shelled out a fair bit of cash to get that far, I'd imagine being pretty cheesed off with the final screen.
Mechanized Attack is far from SNK's finest moment, and is a pretty lousy experience underneath the semi-attractive visuals. It's an interesting experience, but definitely not a fun one.
Information & Trivia
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- 'Heal all damage item' shown in attract mode never appeared during recording; suspect it doesn't exist
Video Notes
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- Uses default 1:1 pixel mapping; artwork looks squashed when resized 4:3 aspect ratio
Related Longplays & Videos
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Chapters
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00:00 Attract mode
00:27 Game loop 1
16:50 Game loop 2
34:00 Ending