From the developers that created the new Genesis game Coffee Crisis, Bite the Bullet is a side scrolling action title sort of like Contra but with a twist – you can eat your foes when they are defeated. That’s right. Humans, flying drones, alien gross zombie creature things, it doesn’t matter. You can eat them all and you know the saying, “you are what you eat.”
The Earth has been dominated by evil creatures and you are dispatched to retake the home land. Thanks to the development of a certain drug, you gain the ability to digest anything, puking up your spoils at the conclusion of each stage to unlock perks. Eating certain enemies can increase your health whereas others can adjust other attributes like defense. It is a gross but humorous mechanic that becomes a bit tedious by the end of the first stage. That is, if you can even make it that far. This Contra-like clone is difficult so don’t expect to see the end credits without hours of brutal punishment.
Like catching a Pokemon, you need to stun your opponents to a near death state so you can capture and consume them. Since most enemies take multiple hits and the screen can be filled with several baddies at one time, action can become a bit messy. The UI is cluttered and difficult to read, especially when trying to fend off so many foes, so there is little to no time to read the stat bonus available when eating a downed enemy. The text is also difficult to read due to its small size. Consuming your foes and taking their power Mega Man-style, the entire gimmick built around this game, lacks fluidity. After restarting the first level a few times, I figured out it is just easier, faster, and more fun to avoid enemies altogether than to participate in the run-and-gun action, only stopping to kill and eat a single enemy every so often to keep the health bar high. Unfortunately, you there know there is a problem when you want to bypass the main gimmick behind this game as much as possible.
Although the gameplay has some stutter stepping, the pixel art is super gross, which I mean in a good way, and the heavy metal soundtrack will shake you to you core. The soundtrack is so heavy and created with quality, it is worth buying this game for the soundtrack alone. The heavy tunes also play loudly so sensitive ears will want to make adjustments in the main menu.
Bite The Bullet is built around an interesting concept but falls short of creating a satisfying meal in which left overs will be appreciated. The other quirks, like the inconsistent frame rate and no option to turn off the annoying controller’s rumble feature, don’t help matters either. Like that new restaurant in town, it might be worth trying a sample to see if you want to buy the main dish.
SCORE: 5.5/10
Not As Good As: the Metal Slug games found in the Neogeo Pocket Color Collection Selection Vol.1
Don’t Forget About: Hard Corps: Uprising
Wait For It: a new Mercenary Kings title
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
Twitter: @ZackGaz
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