Thunder Wolves Review (Xbox 360)

Prepare the rocket pods and get those heli-rotors spinning. When a villain arises by the name of “The Serpent” terrorising “a region with a lot of conflict that starts with middle…”, you are thrown into the pilots seat on a variety of missions that see everything from boat chases down a river, with machine gun fire and rockets from every angle, to bombing a nuclear silo and surrounding warehouses with drones.

Of this thirteen mission long game, you are given the first mission as a tutorial, learning the (somewhat clunky) controls, tasting your first amateur combat and firing thousands and thousands of live rounds from a heavy machine gun that never seems to overheat.

Apart from some flashbacks to South America and a few half-hearted attempts at some story twists, the story never does get enthralling, but it still manages to be exciting. And besides, there isnt really any need for a heavy story, this is a game about skimming over arid deserts, lush jungles and urban wastelands and blowing up everything that gets in your way. As for  explosions, they’re not the most impressive, but damn there are a lot of them!

Another thing worth a mention is the multiple points of view and different weaponry you can use. Most of the missions are standard with you flying around in a dragonfly or other type of helicopter, but some you are kitted out with an explosive sniper rifle able to wipe up 5 guys with one shot, you are also able to hop onto the rail-gun and forget about the poor piloting controls of the helicopter, and lets not forget, the tank, which feels just like the helicopter, without the need to control altitude.

For a while, the endless amount of lead you can pump into a target seems astonishing, but you start to realise soon that the bullets dont seem to have that much effect and you constantly hear the rocket reload noise as you realise they are the only munitions that do any damage. The nitro boost helping you to dodge missiles ends up shooting you into walls and towards the floor, the rocket pods are extremely difficult to switch between due to poor button mapping and the enemy rocket lock-on sounds are blurred under the loud 80’s rock music played in the background.

The Final Verdict 

Overall, this is a game with a lot of faults and a poor story. Even a serial killer with a passion for explosions and bloodshed, will find themselves wondering what they just played, and why it only lasted 3-4 hours.

+ Likeable characters

+ A lot of explosions

– Too Short

– Poor Gameplay

Final Score

5.5