Heavy Barrel

Heavy Barrel is an overhead run-and-gun arcade game by Data East from 1987. Terrorists have taken control of the underground control complex of a nuclear missile storage facility, and it is the player's job to infiltrate the base and kill the enemy leader. The player starts with a laser pistol with unlimited ammo and a limited supply of grenades. Upgraded weapons and grenades are made available in the game either in plain sight or in crates that must be unlocked with keys. In addition, the crates can contain bullets or one of the six parts of the Heavy Barrel superweapon. Like SNK's Ikari Warriors, the original arcade version featured 8-way rotating joysticks. The name of the game comes from a weapon in the game. The Heavy Barrel consists of six parts and is an energy cannon that can destroy any enemy in the game with a single shot (except for the boss and possibly another boss, which requires two shots). The gun has a wide arc of fire and can be fired as fast as the player's trigger finger allows. After thirty seconds, however, it is exhausted and the bearer reverts to his previous weapons. The weapon is best used to overcome difficult bosses, and can be built multiple times in a single game (probably three or four times). In a game with two players, the one who collects the sixth piece will be equipped with the heavy barrel.