Budget games are the equivalent of mini-cupcakes. At first you think, “Wow, I don’t have the money for a gigantic cupcake at the moment, but I can afford this smaller version! I don’t really know who baked it, or what flavor it is, but its one-third the price!”

Then you start to look closer at your purchase: The frosting is paper thin, only covering half of the top. The sprinkles aren’t sprinkles at all, just strange discolorations in the frosting. You dive in to take the first bite–it’s not vanilla flavored like you were promised, and it’s incredibly stale. “Heavy Fire: Shattered Spear” is no exception to this unfortunate, but common, rule.

“Shattered Spear” was published by Mastiff and developed by Teyon. “Shattered Spear” was released on Jan. 29 for PS3 and Xbox 360, while the PC version will be released on March 5. HFSP launched with the attractive price tag of $20, and it shows. “Shattered Spear” is the fourth entry in the Heavy Fire series.

“Shattered Spear” is an on-rails shooter similar to the series Time Crisis, which is about as far as the similarities go. You play as a U.S. Ranger shooting up the Middle East. The story is so incredibly boring it’s not even worth listening to. The beads of information you get will be from reading sometimes lengthy paragraphs between missions. The game itself takes about 90 minutes to two hours to complete. Luckily, the developers made the smart decision to add a four-player local cooperative mode into the mix.

Visuals:

“Heavy Fire: Shattered Spear” visuals belong in the last generation. Nothing is polished here, and the character animations are dull. It seems as though the developers tried to use an excessive amount of lens flares to cover up the muddy textures.

Audio:

The audio in “Shattered Spear” is nothing to get excited about. The gunfire is lacking, and the voice-overs are so dull they’re laughable.

Gameplay:

“Shattered Spear” is a poor on-rails shooter. The Xbox 360 version does not support usage of the Kinect, and the mapping of the controller makes you want to scratch your head. What other first-person shooter makes you aim with the left analog? Also, there’s only one control scheme. The PS3 version supports PlayStation Move, which could potentially fix the control issue. The PC version, on paper, should be the easiest to control.

Your weapon is always on the screen, but it only succeeds in blocking your view.

Throughout the game, there are several quick time events that are so easy they add absolutely nothing to the experience. There are a few missions involving vehicles, such as an AC-130 and a tank; these missions are the most entertaining of the bunch.

“Shattered Spear” features an upgrade system in which you can gain better weapons and grenade capacity as you progress through the campaign. The upgrade system is bare bones, but a welcome addition nonetheless.

The co-op mode of “Shattered Spear” is the best part. The game supports four players on one screen at the same time, the on-screen weapon from the single-player is gone and every player has a different-colored reticle. Playing “Shattered Spear” alone is a dull experience, while playing with friends will give you the opportunity to bond over the lack of ambition used to make this budget title.

Round Up:

Heavy Fire Shattered Spear is a poorly made budget on-rails shooter that is clearly trying to cash in on the superior Modern Warfare games. The controls are weak, the gameplay is pathetic, and the game can be completed faster than it took to write this review. Co-op is the best part about this game, and playing alone is not a noble option.

Don’t buy this game; there is nothing about “Shattered Spear” that is worth $20.