AstroAvenger II from Sahmon Games is a sequel to their hit game, AstroAvenger. While I usually approach sequels with a bit of trepidation, I was eager to see what Sahmon would do with it. The original was exciting and fresh; does Sahmon deliver on the sequel?

The opening trailer for is a gorgeously rendered movie involving a firefight within an asteroid field. Right away this sets the tone and mood for the game as being a highly paced action shooter, and thankfully the game allows you to instantly jump into the action. You aren't presented with the need to create a profile, or visit a hangerbay loaded with weapons and ordinance to outfit your fightercraft for the first sortie.

As with most shooters, the action happens in waves separated by the outer space equivalent of the Ye Ol' Shopkeeper made available for purchasing various upgrades for your ship. There are 5 worlds in the game broken down into 10 levels each (for the grand total of 50 levels for those who panic when they see numbers). During every 10th level, you encounter the Boss battle for the particular World you are in. As you move through each level killing baddies, some ships will deal out the temporary power-ups to help you along. Some grant you total shot immunity, while others help to improve the amount of resources available to you when the level is finished. Besides surviving the onslaught of alien gunfire, your primary task is focusing on how much energy your weapons are consuming. As you upgrade your weaponry, there is an associative cost of how much energy is now consumed with each round of fire. This also varies between the different weapons available for purchase (as you might expect). The weaponry ranges between high and low energy consumption, high and low damage per shot, along with a wide or narrow "area of effect". As you might expect, your total survival in the later levels relies on your ability to actively juggle between weapons during combat depending on the situation using the number keys. Your spent energy also recharges itself, but never as fast as you want it.

Despite the amount of fun I had playing this game, there were a few details that I feel could stand some tweaking. During the upgrade phase between each round, you have the option of spending your available pool of resources on droids. I was a bit letdown by all of the droids I purchased, and I question the value of any of them. When I did purchase them initially, I was under the impression that they were permanent bots that would help your ship along. Sadly, they can be hit by enemy laser fire, and thus don't last long at all once the action of the level starts picking up.

While I realize that the game intentionally focuses on forcing the player to juggle between weapons for better energy resource management, I would have also liked the option of being able to purchase upgrades to some equipment itself to increase that rate of regeneration. You are able to purchase new ships when you can afford it, however I found that there wasn't really that much of a difference. Granted I was focused on not dying at the time, but my movement rate felt the same, along with how quickly / slowly the energy was regenerating.

On a final "teaser" note, as you progress through the levels various pieces of a Superweapon drop from some of the ships. I'll leave it to the reader to enjoy the experience of gathering all the components of the doomsday device and seeing its use in the game.

Graphics:
The artwork is gorgeous and lovely to look at even while your ship is being pummeled by hails of laser bolt fire from every angle. The user interface was presented in a surprisingly sharp way (for a shooter) and was nice and light on navigation. Reminded me somewhat of the polished UI system of Starcraft for some reason.

Sound:
The audio tracks in this game are outstanding, and in some places, the ebb and flow of the arrangements match the action in the battlefield which provides a high level of quality enjoyment. A minor comment but there didn't seem to be any "boss buildup" tune as you approach / encounter each boss.

Gameplay:
There's nothing terribly groundbreaking about the gameplay, but not every game out there needs to redefine a genre in my opinion to be successful. This is a high-action, fast paced shooter that provides your "shooter fix".

Concept:
Again, without trying to sound like a broken record, this is a game using the old tried-and-true formulae for shooter games. However, I'm not trying to make it sound as if it's a run of the mill entry either; quite the opposite.

Value:
This title provides quite a bit of value by far. Lots of action, high explosives, boss battles, weapon upgrades, and an engaging soundtrack; it's got it all. Turn off the lights, get on the headphones and crank up the volume; this one's gonna be an all out barn burner!

Overall:
You haven't bought it yet??!