http://www.freegamesexplorer.com/games/videos/western-front-1914/ It's 1914 and you're out on a one man battle on the western front of the war, hence the name Western Front 1914. Sure, there are quite a few anachronisms here and there, but the game follows the rule of cool and it's best to just go with it rather than questioning things. Part of that adding to the rule of cool is the sheer level of detail seen in the game. All the characters are drawn really well, with subtle and subdued colors that provide a detailed, if not quite realistic, atmosphere. You've got all sorts of tiny little things that, were they not there, wouldn't affect gameplay but their being there adds to the overall feel of the game a great deal. Things like recoil on your weapons causing your gun to flip up a bit (though why the crossbow does so is a mystery), the reflected muzzle flare lighting up your face and body armor, the lighting effects caused by explosions, etc... Even the enemy sprites are just as detailed, with the different enemies all being drawn differently making for a varied and unique array of baddies to fight. As for gameplay, the game pretty much plays like any other side-scrolling beat-em-up, but with guns. And swords. And giant steel mechas, because of course those are things that they had in the first world war. Obviously. Still, it's the rule of cool, and there are few things cooler than giant mechas with gatling guns for arms. And yes, you do get the opportunity to pilot one, and absolutely yes, it does make you feel just as amazingly powerful as you would imagine. Controlling your character is fairly simple. You move around the screen with the typical WASD controls and aim/fire your weapon ala Abuse by moving your mouse around and then clicking at where you want to fire. You can roll to evade by double tapping A or D depending on where you want to go. A neat little addition is that if you pick up a second weapon, you can dual wield that weapon thus doubling your firepower. Sure, it's completely ridiculous and only really features in Hollywood and doing so on the battlefield would get you killed, but hey, it's cool. What's cooler is that you can hit E to shoot baddies both in front and behind you, allowing you to take out bad guys from two fronts. You can cycle among the weapons you've got by using the number keys 1-5. You'll get a variety of weapons, so have fun with them. Perhaps one of the most anachronistic weapons is the large two-handed sword you've got strapped to your back. Once you've beaten up enough people, hit Space to use it and unleash a cutty, slashy, stabby, attack of doom on everyone around you. So what are you waiting for? Go on out there and grab that Thompson. Get yourself a machine gun. Strap yourself into a giant mecha and go on and play Western Front 1914!

• published: 04 Jan 2014
• views: 1394