Game Reviews

Storm the Train

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iOS
| Storm the Train
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Storm the Train
|
iOS
| Storm the Train

When it comes to frenzied, bullet-flying action, you probably don't immediately think of trains. Switch out cranky guards and frumpy trolly dollies for shambling zombies and laser-spewing robots, though, and it turns out that endless-shooter Storm the Train might be onto something.

Your task is refreshingly simple: run, gun, and survive. You've got full control over your selected character as he leaps back and forth across carriage tops, giving proceedings an action-platformer feel as you unleash fiery justice upon the endless enemy hordes.

Bullet Train

Of course, this being a shooter, you've a vast range of weaponry at your disposal. Things start off slight with a slow-shooting rifle and bullet-spraying Uzi, but soon you're rummaging through the game's wealth of unlockables in a bid to boost your arsenal's awesome fire power.

Unsurprisingly, Storm the Train follows the now standard free-to-play template by hiding its juiciest wares in an in-game store. That means you'll need to put in some hard graft (or reach into your wallet) to stock up enough coins and stars to clear the shelves.

Thankfully, currency can be earned at a decent lick and, with some perseverance, everything from health upgrades to powerful, randomised special attacks can be yours. Throw in the likes of super-powered robo-suits and limited-time weapons drones and there's a decent amount of variety to the game's meaty shooting and limb-shredding carnage.

Sidetracked

Mini-boss style encounters, hostage rescue missions, and occasional vehicle-based challenges punctuate Storm the Train's bouts of bullet-spraying - and provide a decently compelling hook when paired with the game's slow drip-feed of new abilities.

If there's anything to complain about, it's the minuscule array of stage themes. New objectives and more aggressive enemy variants aim to keep things fresh, but the lack of visual variety can grow wearying, undermining the game's attempts to mix things up elsewhere.

Still, there's a decent amount of chaotic blasting to be found in Storm the Train and it's delivered alongside a generous upgrade and unlockables system that gives the game its compulsive edge. It's a tad repetitive, yes, but as a quick-fix shooter, Storm the Train is definitely on the right track.

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Storm the Train

An unremarkable but effective endless-shooter designed around that compulsive coin-collecting free-to-play hook
Score
Matt Wales
Matt Wales
Following a lifetime of adventure on the high seas, swabbing the editorial decks of the good ship IGN and singing freelance shanties across far-flung corners of the gaming press, Matt hung up his pirate hat and turned his surf-seared gaze toward the murky mysteries of the handheld gaming world. He lives to sound the siren on the best mobile games out there, and he can't wait to get kraken.