The latest (and first!) major update to Iron Meat, developed by Retroware and Ivan Valeryevich Suvorov, adds a few interesting features,one of which seems to confuse even the game itself.
Mirror Mode, one of the new big draws in this update, is exactly what it says on the tin. If you’ve played aMario Kartgame, you’ve most likely got the premise figured out by now.
After beating the game normally,Mirror Mode lets you flip the whole game horizontallyand play another run. You’re not gonna have your controls or menus flipped, this is a new perspective on the game’s world. Of sorts.
Xbox Wire’s post on the update describes it as something that “may seem like a trivial update”, but promises that it’ll be a fun new twist on a once-familiar experience.
Also included in the update is a notable gameplay tweak. Once you’ve already doubled up on a gun that’s fully upgraded, you can turn those green projectiles red witha new Supercharge mode- because more bullets is always better.
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You can alsobring any extra lives you earn into the next levels. If you come out of a level with more lives than you started with, you’ll carry them with you into whatever challenges lay ahead.
Given Iron Meat’s very deliberate (and judging by reviews, very successful) attempt to emulate older games like Contra, updates like these feel right at home. Extra lives? More bullets? Mirror Mode? Sure beats weapon skins.
What Mirror Mode Means for Iron Meat
Here’s a question: when was the last time you saw a AAA game with a mirror mode? Outside a very short list of games that include the aforementioned Mario Kart, it’s the sort of thing people nowadays need to mod in.
As you can probably guess,Skyrim’s already gotone such mod. It’s also got some controller funkiness, but hey, a bit of jank isn’t foreign tothis province of Tamriel.
If you need convincing that a Mirror Mode can actually make things feel different, look no further than that mod’s discussion page. People love the idea for how fresh it can make things feel, especially if you’ve already put hundreds of hours into exploring every facet of that world.
There are also a few people appalled at the uncanny valley it creates, but even they can’t say it’s not a significant change to the game. You know, given that they’re saying it’s a big change.
So while a Mirror Mode for a sidescroller may seem like an odd pick, it’s not completely without precedent. You’ll have to play for yourself to see whether you prefer shooting left or right, but don’t be surprised if it’s a choice you actually have to think about.
