Target Acquired (Hands-On) (iOS) Preview

By Joseph Walsh 20.01.2015

Review for Target Acquired (Hands-On) on iOS

As Kickstarter projects become a more common and viable way for developers to present, fund, and hopefully create new titles, the harder it becomes to stand out and catch the public's attention. Presenting a manifesto of half-hearted ideas is no longer enough to convince people to commit and lay down the required currency requested to ensure said project happens; an assortment of buzz words, key industry figures, and early footage are just a few examples of what's needed to capture the hearts of gamers. How is Target Acquired, Touchten Games' latest work-in-progress on iOS and Android shaping up?

Currently, it looks like Target Acquired has ticked every box. It's being positioned as a love letter to those that grew up with titles such as Mega Man and what better a way to reinforce that point other than getting the music composer behind Mega Man and Mega Man 10, Manami Matsumae, to jump on board and provide her own signature sound to this promising game.

The game itself starts off in what appears to be a setting based on Mega Man 2's famous opening sequence, and looks and feels very 'In the Year 20xx.' As with all of the best games born in the '80s, the storyline serves as a mere foundation, designed to give the game purpose but without taking focus away from the gameplay. In Target Acquired's case, a Japanese Police Cat Girl tries to stop an Evil Genius Cyborg Mouse from world domination. That's it. It looks as crazy as it sounds and plays exactly how a Mega Man-inspired, touch screen title should play.

Screenshot for Target Acquired (Hands-On) on iOS

Labelled as a "Mega Man meets Temple Run" crossover, a nod towards the Bit.Trip Runner series would actually be another fair and relevant comparison as Police Cat Woman, Yura Anders, automatically moves from left to right, leaving the player with limited controls, including jumping, shooting and dashing. As expected, timing will play a crucial role in finishing levels as enemies paired with enemy attacks leave little to no room for error.

Boss battles prove to be the game's biggest surprise as they revert from the more traditional side-scrolling formula and switch to a third-person Time Crisis-esque view, so rather than springing towards the finish line at full speed, Yura Anders finds herself ducking for cover, looking for shelter and shooting from behind decrepit barriers to take down her enemy from a precarious distance.

Throughout the game, rings can be collected to help upgrade the protagonist's armoury and weaponry, a necessary conquest, assuming the game gets harder as it progresses towards later stages.

Screenshot for Target Acquired (Hands-On) on iOS

Final Thoughts

As this was a very early build, it's worth noting that Cubed3 didn't have access to unlockable upgrade options, nor did was there a chance to see pasts the first few stages and bosses. However, what was on offer did leave the team intrigued and curious to see how Touchten Games' project pans out.

Recreating and reimaging games from the past is never an easy task, especially games that were built around buttons and where twitch reflexes are king, so much kudos to Touchten for developing Target Acquired around the hardware it was designed for and for bringing something fresh to the mobile gaming world. Only time will tell if the Cat Girl will rise towards the dizzy heights of her predecessors, but as things stand, the future looks and sounds bright for Yura.