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8 May 2021

REVIEW: Thunderflash on Xbox One

Review by Jon Donnis
Back in the 1980s we seemed to have one "run and gun" game after another, these were perfect arcade games, put your 10p in and play to your hearts content, classics like Commando and Ikari Warriors were often found not just in arcades, but in your local chippy. Well fast forward nearly 40 years and we have Thunderflash, a game that is inspired by these great games.

You are dropped into a warzone, and through top-down viewpoint, you have to fight your way through a seemingly never-ending horde of enemy fighters, drones, vehicles and bosses, to try to free "The Kashmir" from a criminal organization known as "Bloody Wolf".

As you play you will collect better and more powerful weapons, pick up gold and medals, and generally try to stay alive while destroying the enemy.
You can play solo or with a friend.

The controls are simple, your stick or pad controls the movement, and two buttons control your normal fire, or rockets. And that is it. You fire in the direction you are running in, just like the classic run and gun games of the 80s. Something that younger gamers might find a bit tricky to master. It is not just top-down view though, there is a scrolling left to right view on some levels, as well as other levels that might have you driving a speed boat, or a motorbike. It gives a nice bit of variety to the gameplay.

Everything is pretty straight forward, there is a normal mode or a hardcore mode. Check out the video I put together below for a selection of the different types of level you will play.

There is also a survival mode, where you are in one room and enemy after enemy spawns, and you just have to survive as long as you can, as well as a Boss mode, whereby you can take on bosses you have beaten in the main game.

The Good
If you are old enough to remember the classic run and gun games from the mid 80s, then you will take a lovely trip down nostalgia lane with Thunderflash, I can imagine this game fitting in really well at the arcade.

The Bad
Although retro graphics are the in thing right now, I feel like a slightly larger pallet of colours for this game would have improved the overall look, that said, this game is a retro style game, so not sure I should complain too much.

Overall
I was a big fan of Commando in the mid 80s, I spent all my pocket money playing it, this game brought back some fond memories for me. I love it.
I score this a Retrotastic 8/10

Review by Jon Donnis.

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