Review - Heavy Fire; Shattered Spear
Paul Fiander
First things first, I played this game using both a Dualshock and the Move (with and without the navigation controller). The review will be based on the Move Navigation controller combo, but to start with Ill quickly mention the other two control formats.

The Dualshock unfortunately was mapped in an unusual way. The left thumb stick is used for aiming your reticle a complete change from most shooting titles out there. This unfortunately made my time with the game feel like torture. This may just be my inability to adapt, but it felt like this game was designed as a light gun game only. If the developer would have added the option to switch the sticks around it would make control feel more natural to the majority of players
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The minimal UI makes seeing targets all the easier.
The second control I went for is the move only. This is where I began to feel much more comfortable. The memories of Operation Wolf at the arcade and Rambo III on my Master system came flooding back to me. Although unfortunately I do not have a gun casing for my Move. The integration here works well and I found the ease of target acquisition beginning to feel like fun. Unfortunately the trouble with this scheme is the cover mechanic. Unlike in games like Time crisis where a pedal was used for the character to dip into cover, here a gesture for the Move controller away from the screen was used to hit cover. It just did not feel right and made the return to the screen liable to get you killed.
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Finally I get to the control scheme of choice the Move with a controller. This is the only way to play this game. With the cover mechanic working through the controller it allows you the chance to line shots up and makes your deaths feel less cheap. As the trouble is with you not a fiddly mechanic. The controller also makes the reload feel smoother, there is no auto reload here so a quick tap of the Square or L1 button does the job. Its mechanics like this that make the game like a genuine on rails light gun shooter.
So from here on in its all Move, Move, Controller.
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Oh Lens Flare, need you be everywhere?
As with most First person shooters (with notable exceptions like Bioshock Infinite) the story is basic and its main function appears to be to get you to the next environment to kill more bad guys. Its perfectly functional in HF;SS but nothing you are going to remember at the water cooler on a Monday.

A lot of the story is played out in the loading screens with the main character describing the set up. Unfortunately the voice acting is not great with the main character having a weak strained tone to his voice, which can become jarring in longer play throughs. The dialogue itself is standard military chatter and again acts as simple enough way of getting the player to each mission.
Graphically this game has the ability to deceive to flatter it can look pretty good but at time especially in smokey environments it does look quite poor. The lens flare does look good but somewhat overused. The guns themselves look adequate as well as the myriad of vehicles you encounter.

You will get the chance in the campaign to be a gunner in a wide range of modes of transportation from gunships to boats and the now seemingly ubiquitous AC130. These sections were one of the most enjoyable parts of the game and they are well implemented. I challenge anyone not to feel like a God as they use thermal imaging from the AC130 to escort their team to safety.
The game does not have a multiplayer instead it uses leader boards and local co-op. The leaderboards are handy for giving those with a competitive nature something to fight for. The Co-op however does allow for upto four players to unleash a hail of bullets at the multitude of enemies. When games are obsessed with online components its quite nice to have a local co-op to enjoy.
As you can tell from the general tone of this review I was not overly taken with Heavy Fire. It is a perfectly serviceable Move title but I wonder who the target audience will be for the game. It's rated as a 16 and over title in the UK, but with the low uptake of the move I'm not sure it will appeal to this age group. Its a pick up and play title and for around the £20 mark its not a complete avoid for a spot of fun. 
My advice would be if you enjoy your Motion control gaming then this is a title to consider.

Wrap Up

The Good  - One of the better Move titles I have played
The Bad   - Terrible with controller, Some Graphic effects especially smoke,

Score - 2.5/5
Images courtesy of Publisher Avanquest Software Publishing.
Game - provided by Publisher