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| | Publisher: Freeverse  Genre: Arcade | | | Min OS X: Any Version CPU: G3 @ 333 MHz RAM: 55 MB Hard Disk: 70 MB |
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Considering its status as a non-mainstream gaming platform, the MacOS has a number of quality arcade-style shooters. This is likely due, in part, to the fact that this genre appeals to a wide audience. Ambrosia Software has been keeping this genre alive with quality titles such as Mars Rising, Aperion and Maelstrom, but they are not alone. Shareware developers such as Zsculpt Entertainment and Feline Entertainment have been producing shooters in a similar vein. Freeverse Software recently released its own shooter called WingNuts. This company has built a solid reputation as a high-quality game developer, but their focus has generally been in the areas of puzzle and card gaming. WingNuts is clearly inspired by Freeverse’s roots as a developer of puzzle and card games. The game combines proven play mechanics with a fun (yet simple) back-story, colorful graphics and imaginative sound effects. Story The evil Baron von Schtopwatch is using his dangerous Time Sifter technology in order to gather fighter planes and other weapons from throughout history in order to raise an unstoppable army. Piloted by his legion malevolent robots, The Baron will unleash this Temporal Robotic Airforce upon the world unless his ransom demands of one hundred billion dollars in cash and a complete collection of Beanie Babies™ are met. The only force capable of thwarting the Baron’s plan is the WingNuts team. From aboard the aircraft carrier USS Flotsam, the WingNuts are the world’s best hope to stop the Baron and his insane scheme.WingNuts makes no apologies for its absurd plot. In fact, the game’s crazy storyline is what separates it from similar titles. WingNuts will surely be welcomed relief for gamers who have grown tired of the Hollywood-influenced epic storylines of games such as Deus Ex and Diablo II. Conversely, the unabashed wackiness of this game will likely be a turn off for some players. For those who care little either way for video game storylines, WingNuts has much more to offer than a bizarre premise. Gameplay WingNuts is a shooter in the purest of forms. The game play does not radically change throughout the entirety of the game. Missions may become more challenging and there may be and increased number and variety of targets to deal with, but it is still all about the shooting. WingNuts takes place from an overhead perspective in a similar fashion to other shooters like Mars Rising or the classic arcade game Raiden. The player has full freedom of movement in two dimensions on each level but you cannot raise or lower your plane, which is typical of these types of games. The goal is to clear each of the game’s thirty levels of enemy planes using a variety guns, bombs and missiles. At the end of each level, there is a powerful ‘boss’ plane that must be defeated before you can move on to the next level.
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