Game Reviews

Random Heroes 2

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iOS
| Random Heroes 2
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Random Heroes 2
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iOS
| Random Heroes 2

Not so long ago, Random Heroes appeared on the App Store and quickly won us over.

Each bite-sized level was positively packed with aliens to gun down, and we gave the game a Gold Medal for its glorious celebration of all things retro and violent.

Random Heroes 2 has arrived on the scene, and it takes the form of a continuation of the original's love letter to side-scrolling platform shooters.

In short, it's more of the same - and that's a good thing.

Aliens? Resurrection!

It would be entirely fair to call Random Heroes 2 an expansion of the first Random Heroes. You face the same types of enemies using the same oddball collection of heroes with the same types of upgradable weapons.

It even handles exactly like its predecessor, with a few notable improvements.

While holding down the 'fire' button you can now slide your finger up to aim upwards and / or press the 'back' arrow button to moonwalk away from your enemies while firing.

Both control enhancements are quite welcome, but hardcore mobile gamers - being a demanding bunch - might wonder why they weren't given the option to aim their guns down as well.

Loose change

Yet for all of this, Random Heroes 2 isn't a simple rehash of Random Heroes with some new control options thrown in.

It's a glimpse at what the developers could have, and should have, done with the first game, and as such it renders the first game obsolete.

With over 90 gorgeously-rendered levels to play through, Random Heroes 2 offers plenty of length and many stages feature hidden areas for you to discover as you explore the 2D landscape.

This discovery process isn't all that difficult (throw yourself at walls until you find a fake one), but it's a hook that will make you want to play each level a few times to find all of the collectibles hidden within it.

Happiness is a warm gun

Random Heroes 2 is everything that a retro mobile platformer should be.

Its low-investment levels are well suited to on-the-go gaming, but you can easily stretch play sessions out to an hour or longer if you're serious about collecting coins and achievements.

Random Heroes 2

An excellent entry in the catalogue of mobile side-scrolling shooters. The pacing, challenge, and action are pitch-perfect
Score
Matthew Diener
Matthew Diener
Representing the former colonies, Matt keeps the Pocket Gamer news feed updated when sleepy Europeans are sleeping. As a frustrated journalist, diehard gamer and recovering MMO addict, this is pretty much his dream job.