Tower of Guns
Overview -
'Tower of Guns' was created by one guy - Joe Mirabello of Terrible Posture Games. Mirabello was laid off during the 38 Studios debacle of 2012 when the state of Rhode Island tried to fund a video game company that had been created by a professional baseball player, and the studio then went bankrupt. I’m not making this up. Mirabello decided to go on his own, and released 'Tower of Guns' for PC back in 2014. Now it has been ported over to the Xbox One.
Video Review
Perhaps it’s mean-spirited to pick on budget indie games for not looking good, but 'Tower of Guns' does not look good. It has a wet, cel-shaded look with an industrial/steampunk theme, with lots of gears and pistons all over the levels. It looks like a cheaper version of 'Borderlands', itself not renowned for its great visual quality. Backgrounds and textures are muddy, effects are simple, and, most frustratingly, the hitboxes on the turrets often do not match the models. That said, the game runs smoothly.
Audio Review
The sound effects are weak and repetitive, but the music is much better. It has a riffy 80s glam rock feel, with the occasional electronic segment. A spooky melody plays in the background, just in case you forget that you could die at any moment.
Final Thoughts
'Tower of Guns' is a decent game, but its price at launch is just a bit too ritzy for the amount of content it offers. There is fun to be had in its procedural levels, for those who enjoy the challenges of roguelikes and who like to be tested over and over.