Target Acquired: Weapon of Choice DX

Man oh man, here's a history lesson for ya'! Weapon of Choice was originally released by Mommy's Best Games in 2008 on Xbox Live Community Games (later called Xbox Live Indie Games), kicking of an entire generation of indie games published on consoles. The game is a throwback to run-and-gun classics like Contra, but it features branching levels and seven playable characters... most of whom you rescue by killing your way through those nonlinear paths. The game is packed with hand-drawn art, grotesque creatures, huge bosses, wailing guitars, and insane firepower, with zany weapons like a jet engine gun and a bomb-blasting cannon that's totally not a huge bong (bomb-bong). Every playable character has his or her own unique weapon and abilities that change how you engage enemies, and when one dies, a 400 kiloton "vengeance missile" shoots another character into play, obliterating everything in a huge explosion. If that's not enough, you've got death brushing, a wall-crawling spider-pack, and a branching narrative with four endings. Full disclosure: that branching narrative was written by none other than me (Hi, I'm AJ!), so beware that you'll be filling my pockets with fat wads of two dollar bills if you choose to buy this game!

You can get Weapon of Choice DX on Switch via eShop, PS4 via PSN, or Xbox One via Microsoft Store. Check out my article from the 2008 release here with its blurry Xbox 360 capture card screenshots and some lovely development artwork.