Post-Mission Debrief
So, Heatseeker has its up and downs but what about overall? Is it worth some playing and more importantly, your cash?That all depends on whether you’re looking for a game you can spend some time with or just a game to pass the time with. Heatseeker, like many single player games on the Wii, serves to highlight one of the Wii’s biggest shortcomings that being the lack of multiplayer options within its games. Now I know Nintendo say that the Wii is aimed at the casual gamer and the successful games on the Wii are basic ones like Wii Sports, Wii Play and even Rayman Raving Rabbids... all titles which feature lots of short mini-games. But key to these games is the in-the-same-room multiplayer aspect, which is what makes them the supreme fun they are. Heatseeker has none of that. You can argue that Zelda on the Wii is a single player game but it has a totally different playing style and a strong storyline, something that Heatseeker lacks. What you’re left with is a single player arcade flight sim that’s crying out for a least a bit of same-room multiplayer action...
But like I said, Heatseeker suffers most because of the Wii itself and I think it’s safe to assume that the poor graphics aren’t the fault of the developers but are in fact a necessary evil to keep the framerates up and provide a fast moving arcade experience. If you can look past the graphics, Heatseeker is a lot of fun, hobbled in places by the daft control set that really should have made more use of the hardware available.
So, if you’re looking for a quick blast, action arcade flight sim then I would have to say that Heatseeker just about ticks all the boxes. The ease of use, the simplicity of the controls (as long as you don’t get too technical) and the cinematic touches all add up in its favour. The impact camera is particularly satisfying... so much so you start to feels like you’re in Top Gun though I don’t think that I’ll ever find myself looking forward to hugging Val Kilmer on the deck of an aircraft carrier.
If you boot up Heatseeker looking for some arcade blasting with a touch of a storyline and plenty of weapon, aircraft and mission variety, this is a well worth the money... if you’re after anything more, the Wii isn’t the system to look for it on.
Pros
Easy to get into
Simple controls for easy flying/shooting
Clear mission goals in bite sized chunks
Satisfying cinematic experience
Cons
Daft button assignments for more complex controls
Graphically poor to keep framerates up
No multiplayer aspect at all
It’s an arcade style flighty-shooty game, with the emphasis firmly on arcade.
HEXUS Awards
Heatseeker - Wii
