Prolific XBLIG developer Stegersaurus Games brings us some simple but effective platform gaming in the form of Lots of Guns, released 5th January and available for just 80 of those awkwardly denominated points on the Microsoft marketplace.

Your task here is simple enough: Go higher, kill some dudes. It’s a vertically scrolling shooter and, as the title suggests, in order to climb as high as possible you’ll be provided with a shed-load of guns to keep your tiny 2D form from exploding into a cloud of red pixel-dust.

There a couple of neat things at work here. Firstly, the levels are themed by checkpoint so you could initially enter an Amazonian world inhabited by tribesman chasing you down with spears. Then, at the next significant height, the environment will shift and you’ll be in a gloomy nighttime setting, blasting shambling skeletons whilst an evil moon floats sneeringly in the background. It certainly helps to keep things fresh.

Additionally, every once in while you’ll be provided with a choice of directions through which to ascend. This constitutes a change of weaponry and is randomized so, until the two options appear, you won’t have a clue whats on offer. You could be handed a standard revolver against a minigun that kicks like frickin’ mule. It’s your choice. Or perhaps some experimental weaponry; an awesome deathball against an unpredictable bubblegun, both of which require you to significantly alter your tactics from the standard straight-shooting arms selection. Again, your choice.

Needless to say, there are plenty of ideas here tied together in such a small package. From my time with the demo, Lots of Guns looks to be well worth the asking price.

[Xbox Live Marketplace]