Score: 10
"Grows on you like a bad habit..."
date: September 15, 2007
So I started this game on normal, gave it a run-through and, like many, found that the later levels got be quite challenging... But by that point I was thoroughly hooked. I beat Normal and went back to give it a hand on Crazy, spent what felt like a good hour on the last level alone and finally succeeded, and from all that play time I have got to say this is an extremely challenging and fun play experience that grows on you like a bad habit.
Initially I was also in the boat of people who found the "earthquake" effect annoying (and thought it was some sort of bug) but I only noticed it on the last level with crazy difficulty where it less messed with my aim than with my head as I attempted to adjust to the camera angle. On that note I didn't even notice the zoom function till my second run through, where it was quite helpful for zooming to the buildings I wanted to destroy while moving towards them.
The weapons all had a distinct feel and, even though there were only 5 (including the eye-lasers) the system made it so that no one weapon was strictly better than another; as though the flamethrower was typically the most efficient pick up if there were several rocket spawns around it they would often be the better choice for some fire-button mashing and quick building deconstruction. Very nice job on their design.
The baddies were also well designed. It felt as if several elegant, yet simple, ideas arose and you applied them to maximum effect. It was nice that while killing them was not theoretically necessary for success on the higher difficulties progress would be impossible without the steady stream of upgrades they offered up.
On a final note the difficulties seemed well scaled. With a good progression of challenge within the difficulty which helped to keep gameplay fresh.
All-in-all I loved this game; from the style, to the challenge, to the sheer enjoyment it offered up it was a fun excursion to a gaming style I never devoted much time to; yet it left me wanting to go find some other good 8-bits in this genre and make a day of it...
Can't wait to see more of your work!
September 16, 2007
Author's Response:
Great review! You have made a professional analyze of this title. I spent a lot of time trying to make the game learning curve as soft as possible so to try to keep a progressive challenge for the player.