OXM UK: "Here's the less obvious big departure with Halo: Spartan Assault: it's the first Halo game in history that has a female protagonist. She's Sarah Palmer, the pouting Sergeant Apone wannabe from Halo 4's Spartan Ops campaign, and she's here to kick Covenant arse and take names in commute-friendly, five to 10 minute bursts of top-down blasting. OK, so it's not quite giving anybody the right to vote, but it's nice to know that mass-murdering alien scum isn't exclusively the province of the chromosome-deficient."
BNR: Ah, top-down shooters- one of the more arcade-ey genres with a measure of popularity today, there are quite a few of them on the market. Assuming you’ve played Asteroids (which drew inspiration from what many consider to be the first video game, SpaceWars) and want some more, which are worth your time? Don’t despair; my personal top-five is here! these are games that I personally really enjoyed- if you’re into top-down (also known as twin-stick) shooters, you’ll want to check these out.
My personal favorite TDS of all time is Dead Nation by House Marque. I loved that game so much, and clocked so many hours into it. Can't wait for Alienation.
With the latest update for the IOS games of Halo: Spartan Assault and Halo: Spartan Strike Xbox services have been added including achievements for both titles.
DD:
What’s quite incredible about Spartan Assault is that it has managed to encapsulate the atmosphere and design of the Halo games, previously exclusive to Microsoft systems, into the confines of an iPad. From the way troops behave, to the weapons and locations, it feels like an authentic Halo experience, even though it's a top-down dual stick shooter, rather than a FPS, and that’s the best thing Spartan Strike has going for it.
