07

Dec

MiniSquadron: A must have 2d shooter game

Posted by John as Shmups

Minisquadron is one refreshing game that I have played. The game is a dog fighting aerial combat game that pits player’s aircraft versus computer-controlled jets in a limited 2D air space. Players have to fight against ways of enemy planes. Some waves can bring tens of highly advanced aircrafts that will be tough to defeat.

The game play of MiniSquadron is set as an arcade type. Flip 360 degrees, twist, dive, and shoot your way to win! Gain advantage from enemies by collecting lups and special stars. Other physics based elements of the game include your plane that can stall and fall if the plane is flown either too high or hit by the enemy. The tip is to keep your plane’s head down and dive as you fall then you can still regain control and fly upwards to prevent a crash.

The single player game has 8 stages. Each stage has 12 waves of enemy aircrafts to defeat. Enemies are in forms of propeller planes, bombers, and jet fighters, to UFO’s. The enemies are equipped with cannons, homing missiles, spray bombs, and even lasers. As players progress through the various stages, expect to unlock up to 56 aircrafts. These aircrafts provide players with more powerful weapons and faster aircrafts. Players need to meet certain requirements to access the aircrafts. The aircrafts are unlocked only when players achieved a certain score during a wave during a particular stage. Know the requirements on how to unlock an aircraft by tapping it. They can be unlocked when they have achieved a certain score during a wave at a certain stage.

Mini Squadron delivers well-done graphics and music. It brings the classic cartoon-styled 2D shooter to life although it is nothing amazing. The aircrafts have a unique look to them together with their fluid animations. The symphony classical music in the background fits perfectly to the aerial action in an odd way.

Players can manipulate the aircrafts all with the use of a virtual control pad. The controls are fairly simple and responsive. In default mode, the plane will fly straight. Flip your plane into 360 degrees by drawing a circle on the virtual control pad. This feature makes it easier to maneuver to the tail of enemy aircrafts.

The aerial combat action can be intense, especially when going against more than 10 enemy aircrafts during a wave. Dodging bullets and missiles and maneuvering to finish those pesky enemy jets can be really fun. Given that the game rewards you extra score for defeating enemies without taking a hit, any seasoned MiniSquadron player should aim to achieve the highest score.

One of the weaknesses of MiniSquadron is the lack of online high scores and achievements feature that other iPhone games has. It would be great to see how your top score rank in the world. The multiplayer mode in MiniSquadron is only available on local network connection. If MiniSquadron permits global online multi-player then this game would be perfect. It would be really fun to challenge 10 other players to a fight to the finish.

MiniSquadron is a great 2D shooter. Players will enjoy a fun, aerial combat experience thanks to its intense game play. With over 50 aircrafts to unlock and master, the game has a high replay value. It is definitely a must-own game for any fans of classic 2D shooters.


Technorati Tags: , , , ,

No Comments »
03

Dec

Get to know what Defense Grid: The Awakening is all about!

Posted by John as Shmups

Defense Grid: The Awakening is a unique spin on tower defense game play that will attract players of all skill levels.

Defense Grid is like a shooter where you never have to pull a trigger. It is more than a flash game in a lovelier packaging. It is one of the best-designed tower-defense games you can play. A whole line of upgradeable towers are available for you to choose from, complete with unique strengths and weaknesses suitable for different types of aliens trying to steal your power cores and escape with them. The shooter is just as well balanced as it is well polished in look.


Play this tower defense video game developed by Hidden Path Entertainment for Windows and Xbox Live arcade on the Xbox 360. Most tower defense games have been made as flash games with less stellar 2d graphics. Some of these really look good having a sort of interesting artistic look, but none of them have really featured a 3d engine on a same level with Xbox 360. Defense Grid: The Awakening from Hidden Path Entertainment is a graphically slick take on the genre that looks completely at home on the Xbox 360.

Game play
Begin each round with a certain amount of money/resources. You need to buy towers to protect your reservoir of energy from being grabbed by the marching aliens and taken back out the exit. Of course, this is possible with the money available at the start of the game. The strategy in the game starts with the location of your towers as well as the kind of towers and when to buy new towers or upgrade the old ones. As the game progresses and the enemies get tougher, you unlock more tower types and the ability to upgrade them. Depending on the tower type, upgrades will buy you more range, better rate of fire or the capacity to deal out more damage. You can simply pick all three. Keep in mind to carefully balance your resources, so that you can improve your “defense grid” in accordance with the increasingly difficult horde.

It is fairly easy to navigate through the game. You will encounter more aliens that have to be defeated with a certain kind of tower. The maps become increasingly complex as well, starting out with simple routes to your energy cores with plots to place turrets next to them along the way. The larger, more sprawling maps are where the placement of your towers will define the route taken by the enemies.

What makes this game an above average strategy-game is its sleek graphics along with excellent tower and alien designs plus unique challenges for the player thus exponentially increasing the amount of “replayibility”. You can play the basic story mode that takes many levels before you are using all the towers. Another mode is the story challenge that is essentially similar to the basic story mode but poses tougher enemies for you to have fun with. Other modes put a limit on the number or type of towers as well.

Defense Grid: The Awakening has nice, little touches too. Use the bumpers to move fast forward the flow of the onslaught so you don’t get bored waiting for foes to creep along. You can zoom in extra close to view the cool artistic design of the aliens. It would have been better if it could have a camera rotation feature. Watch out for that special weapon attack shown later in the game for that last-ditch desperation move when the boss is about to walk away with your energy core.

For all Xbox fans out there, Defense Grid: The Awakening is worth every cent. The shooter game is the pinnacle of design for tower-defense games not just because of its fancy Gamebryo-powered 3d graphics. The game is simply challenging and complex without altering the same rules that tower-defense games in general follow. Defense Grid: The Awakening is a great, classic game design with added depth and polish to it.



Technorati Tags: , , , ,

No Comments »
Valid &