EDIT:
January:
February:
March:
April:
May:
June:
85) Astra Superstars
86) Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
87) Star Wars: Dark Forces 2 - Jedi Knight
88) Star Wars: Dark Forces
89) VVVVVV
90) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Hyperstone Heist
91) Broforce (PS4)
So this was a free PS Plus game a while back. It's an over-the-top, extremely gory retro-style shooter. With lots of "America, heck yeah!" on top. A lot. It really waffles between awesome if hyperbolic patriotism and sneaky little jabs at the same. Like the commanding officer before you enter one of the stages saying, "These people look and act differently to us. Go *something something I can't remember*." But really, the whole thing is more of a pastiche of action movies and the characters in them.
No, seriously, all your "bros" are quite recognizable action stars, with only small changes. And "bro" somewhere in their name. You start the game as Rambo... err, Rambro, and you slowly pick up more as the game goes on. That's one of the cooler hooks to keep you going, just to see who pops up. Arnold appears in many variations (Commando, Terminator, Conan), you've got Bruce Willis, you've got Wesley Snipes (Blade), Richard Dean Anderson as MacGy... MacBrover, Mr. T as B.A. Broracus, and the list of hits keep on comin'. Heck, even some of the girls get in this thing, with Ripley from the Alien movies, the girl from Kill Bill, and some chick that I now recognize as Cherry from Grindhouse (never saw it, folks!).
So with all these action stars, you'd think this would be a run-and-gun. But it's not really. It's got some of those aspects, sure. But there's no multidirectional fire, and your bros are really, really easy to kill. Like, super-easy. You actually have to take a rather measured approach to stages. And unlike a typical gunner, the stage layouts are much less straightforward. In fact, think of the stages more like something from Worms. Very destructible, with all sorts of stuff that can make your enemy explode into giblets, or you if you're not careful. So much of the later levels is about proper routing and using the environment to your advantage. Not that there aren't some areas where you do go all out, but you rarely have the versatility that you do in Contra.
You always start with a random bro you've unlocked, and you swap out to another one when you save a POW. The constant cycling keeps you on your toes, and forces you to learn how to use each bro's weapons more effectively. Some are better than others, though. "Brobocop", for example, has a charged pistol shot that's insanely effective. Snake "Broskin" has an awesome sniper rifle. One of the best boss-killers is good ol' Mr. "Anderbro", when you pop the red pill and just go to town on them.
The initial targets are terrorists, but your attention eventually gets turned to an alien infestation (yes, there are face huggers), and you eventually descend into hell and fight Satan himself. It's insane.
Anyway, everything sounds awesome, but it's not without its faults. If you want more Contra-style play, you're not gonna find it here. The PS4 also has some serious performance issues. Things can get very, very chuggy in later stages. The last battle can be very slow, and I ran into several instances where it seemed like the game just locked up, having to wait more than a minute for the game to right itself and start the next stage. It also doesn't control quite as well as I'd like.
Did I mention that it's gory? Yes, it's pixelated, but the game's sense of humor might not be everyone's cup of tea.
In the end, it was pretty good to play for free, but I'm glad I didn't shell out cash on it like I thought about doing when it debuted on GOG. It's one that's worth playing just to see how many ridiculous references they can work in, but I wouldn't break the bank for it.
