I love a good arcade game and the iOS is the perfect platform for me to slake my thirst for fast-paced action. Post-apocalyptia is the perfect setting for a pulpy shoot ‘em up, but the scenery and setting is all too familiar. From 80’s movies to Fallout 3, the deserted wasteland is almost more familiar than your local neighborhood. But a new iOS game aims to add a new twist to the usual. Fire and Forget: The Final Assault is a fast-paced arcade-style shooter that looks like a mashup of Mad Max and Need for Speed. Will this game be a final assault on your boredom or will it quickly be forgotten? Let’s have a look.

The first thing that strikes you about Fire and Forget is the bonkers story you’re hit with in the first few moments. Basically, the apocalypse has come, everyone has crazy cars, and there is a bad dude with “nucleo” in his name. This story is fitting for the setting and gameplay. It is sort of a cross of Fallout and Mad Max.

The basic gist of the game is that there are a lot of bad guys in vehicles, both wheeled and flying, that need to be blown up and scorched with lasers. You control your vehicle by tilting your device from side to side. You don’t really have any control over your speed, but you can get a bit of a boost by tapping a button and launching your car right up off the road and into the air. This is useful for avoiding obstacles, shooting down flying enemies, and breaking up the monotony of the road. Who doesn’t like a flying car?

Fire and Forget
loading...

You have the choice of two weapons: you get a rechargeable laser to take down the weaker baddies and homing missiles that pack a bit more of a punch. It is best to save these for the boss at the end of each level since it will make short work of him. Sadly though, the enemies are all copy-and-pasted versions of the same three vehicles and the boss at the end of each level is the same damn guy. After a few levels, you start to get the feeling that there isn’t much more to Fire and Forget: The Final Assault. And there really isn’t.

Yes, this game has enjoyable gameplay, combat, and scenery. It takes the post apocalyptic thing and tarts it up to another level of interesting, but the lack of variety and imagination isn’t something that can easily be excused. With so much more being offered in the App Store, you have to do more to grab our attention and set yourself apart.

Fire and Forget
loading...

The game does a decent job of differentiating the levels. Each one has a different color pallette and twists and turns in different ways. All they had to do was modify the enemies to make them more interesting and engaging. The auto-targeting, when you aim close enough, works fairly well and could be expanded to include vehicle hotspots. It would be much more challenging to have to shoot out weak points and the monotony could be broken up a little bit.

Also, having the same boss throughout so many levels gets boring and predictable. I’m sure this guy has villain buddies that would love to have a crack at you. Why not let them have a go at the renegade hero in a hovering Batman tumbler?

Fire and Forget
loading...

Overall, Fire and Forget: The Last Assault is more forgettable than memorable. If it had done more to be unique and embrace all the opportunities it set up for itself, it could have been an engaging title. Instead, you’re better off picking from any number of the other vehicle-based shoot ‘em ups that litter the App Store. Repetition doesn’t always force you into remembering things and this game proves it.

Store Link: Fire and Forget: The Last Assault for iPhone & iPad | By Microids | Price: $1.99 | Version: 1.0 | 135 MB | Rating 4+

6.5 out of 10 arcade sushi rating

More From Arcade Sushi