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Developer: Oniric Games Publisher: Oniric Games Genre: Action > General Released: Aug 09, 2006 Players: 1 |
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Alien Shooter seems to have set the bar for isometric run and gun shooters and it's a bar few can meet. I should declare at the outset that AS is one of my favourite indie games. Comparisons with Project Xenoclone are inevitable and the unfortunate name of this game doesn't help. PX opens with a comic book style story, telling a familiar tale of creatures let loose on some isolated base with only one man to save the day. Reading it I couldn't help think, “I've seen this all before”, but hang on, where are the multiple weapons, the slow moving screen filling shambling horde to mow down and the 2d sprites?
The developer seems to have added a few new ideas to the mix; perhaps I should stop being so jaded and look a bit deeper. For a start everything is rendered in 3d, admittedly it's a little dark and the character animations a touch stiff, but still. The enemies are much fewer in number than AS, but faster and tougher, genetic aberrations scuttling in and out of the light. Instead of a selection of familiar machine guns and shotguns we have the futuristic energy rifle. Unloading into the enemy just won't do, instead each monster is a specific colour, either blue or red and to hurt them you have to shoot with the opposite coloured energy blast (either left or right mouse button). The last time I saw something like that was the seminal shoot-em-up Ikaruga.
Top marks to the developers for trying something new and taking a risk; I wish I could say it paid off. It doesn't sound like deciding between the red or green trigger would take much thought, but it seems it does. In Ikaruga the enemies come on in predictable patterns and groups, giving you just that fraction of extra time and space to assess the threat, recognize it and respond. Whether it's four red then four blue, or alternate red and blue or all red, you see what is coming, you load the thought process needed to respond and then you execute. Do it right and the result is poetry, not just button bashing but real skill and you get the reward of slaughtering the enemy and confirming your skills. The problem with PX is the enemies are fast moving, there is no pattern to their attack and if you back off to take a break then many of the recently vaporised are mysteriously alive again right behind you. As one coloured enemy moves across the path of another you will waste shots and have to alternate constantly between red and blue. Some monsters don't even stay the same colour while you are shooting them!
This is an isometric 3D game, which means depending on the angle of the camera there will be walls you cannot see over. If that wall has a door in it or a pickup next to it then you won't be able to see it. To get around this the player can push the mouse cursor to the edge of the screen and spin the camera around. The result is a constant need to re-orientate the camera and you'll frequently miss doors.
To up the challenge some monsters have been given missile attacks, not an uncommon idea. Used sparingly it would make an enemy to be feared and provide a periodic challenge, perhaps limited by making the projectile move slowly or only in a straight line. In PX it seems like every other corner hides three or four missile firing monsters, whose projectiles move almost as fast as the player and actually home in! There are even varieties where the exploding projectile leaves a temporary pool of death, staining the ground for you to walk into.
Each level is built as a maze with a different mission objective. Usually this involves exploring, locating keys and using switches to open and close sets of gates. I know that kind of thing is as old as the hills, but done well it can add extra life to a shooter. In later levels there are even logic puzzles to solve and obstacles to slide back and forth. The problem is it all tends to be very hard. The mazes are complex and there is no map and no save points. Instead of two or three keys to find there will often be ten or fifteen. Instead of a switch opening a single nearby gate, they will sometimes open one while closing another somewhere else. All of these factors mean you have to go over each level very carefully and often retrace your steps to fathom the layout. Not only is this tiresome, but the re-spawning monsters mean you cannot clear out one area and then move to the next, there is no let up.
Destroying a red creature depletes your blue energy and vice versa, but luckily a dead red creature leaves behind matching energy. Each level is evenly populated with red and blue creatures so in theory you shouldn't ever run out of energy. In practice you frequently run out of one or both, leaving you almost impotent. Luckily there is a “smart bomb” that destroys everything within a short radius and it recharges slowly so you can use it whenever it is fully charged. This is a band-aid that stops the problem being fatal. Running around unable to fire while desperately waiting for the bomb to charge up is not fun.
Graphics
Each level is rendered in 3D with offices, fences, machinery and vehicles forming believable scenery. It isn't amazing but it's certainly well done.
Sound
The sound effects did their job and the music was acceptable, nothing stood out as exceptional.
Gameplay
This game is very hard and very different. If someone is looking for a challenging shooter with new ideas then this could fit the bill.
Value
There are no multiplayer options, editor, extra modes or additional downloads. I couldn't find any information as to the number of levels and I hit a brick wall of difficulty after about 6 hours. If you like a very challenging game then it could be good value.
Concept 
Taking something like Alien Shooter and adding more thoughtful puzzles and challenges is a great idea in theory. The risk with trying anything new is that it doesn't work or alienates people expecting something familiar.
Fun
There is no difficulty level and I found the game very hard. At its core it should have at least had the simple fun of blasting hordes of enemies, but the weapon system made even that frustrating.
Overall -
The bottom line is the game's difficulty is incredibly high and I'm not convinced by the implementation of some its “new” ideas. If you want something more cerebral than Alien Shooter then perhaps this game has something for you. For the rest of us I'd say give it a miss. I really wanted to like it, because we have to try new ideas to move game genres forward and this game is trying to do that, but it's just so damn hard.
The developer seems to have added a few new ideas to the mix; perhaps I should stop being so jaded and look a bit deeper. For a start everything is rendered in 3d, admittedly it's a little dark and the character animations a touch stiff, but still. The enemies are much fewer in number than AS, but faster and tougher, genetic aberrations scuttling in and out of the light. Instead of a selection of familiar machine guns and shotguns we have the futuristic energy rifle. Unloading into the enemy just won't do, instead each monster is a specific colour, either blue or red and to hurt them you have to shoot with the opposite coloured energy blast (either left or right mouse button). The last time I saw something like that was the seminal shoot-em-up Ikaruga.
Top marks to the developers for trying something new and taking a risk; I wish I could say it paid off. It doesn't sound like deciding between the red or green trigger would take much thought, but it seems it does. In Ikaruga the enemies come on in predictable patterns and groups, giving you just that fraction of extra time and space to assess the threat, recognize it and respond. Whether it's four red then four blue, or alternate red and blue or all red, you see what is coming, you load the thought process needed to respond and then you execute. Do it right and the result is poetry, not just button bashing but real skill and you get the reward of slaughtering the enemy and confirming your skills. The problem with PX is the enemies are fast moving, there is no pattern to their attack and if you back off to take a break then many of the recently vaporised are mysteriously alive again right behind you. As one coloured enemy moves across the path of another you will waste shots and have to alternate constantly between red and blue. Some monsters don't even stay the same colour while you are shooting them!
This is an isometric 3D game, which means depending on the angle of the camera there will be walls you cannot see over. If that wall has a door in it or a pickup next to it then you won't be able to see it. To get around this the player can push the mouse cursor to the edge of the screen and spin the camera around. The result is a constant need to re-orientate the camera and you'll frequently miss doors.
To up the challenge some monsters have been given missile attacks, not an uncommon idea. Used sparingly it would make an enemy to be feared and provide a periodic challenge, perhaps limited by making the projectile move slowly or only in a straight line. In PX it seems like every other corner hides three or four missile firing monsters, whose projectiles move almost as fast as the player and actually home in! There are even varieties where the exploding projectile leaves a temporary pool of death, staining the ground for you to walk into.
Each level is built as a maze with a different mission objective. Usually this involves exploring, locating keys and using switches to open and close sets of gates. I know that kind of thing is as old as the hills, but done well it can add extra life to a shooter. In later levels there are even logic puzzles to solve and obstacles to slide back and forth. The problem is it all tends to be very hard. The mazes are complex and there is no map and no save points. Instead of two or three keys to find there will often be ten or fifteen. Instead of a switch opening a single nearby gate, they will sometimes open one while closing another somewhere else. All of these factors mean you have to go over each level very carefully and often retrace your steps to fathom the layout. Not only is this tiresome, but the re-spawning monsters mean you cannot clear out one area and then move to the next, there is no let up.
Destroying a red creature depletes your blue energy and vice versa, but luckily a dead red creature leaves behind matching energy. Each level is evenly populated with red and blue creatures so in theory you shouldn't ever run out of energy. In practice you frequently run out of one or both, leaving you almost impotent. Luckily there is a “smart bomb” that destroys everything within a short radius and it recharges slowly so you can use it whenever it is fully charged. This is a band-aid that stops the problem being fatal. Running around unable to fire while desperately waiting for the bomb to charge up is not fun.
Graphics
Each level is rendered in 3D with offices, fences, machinery and vehicles forming believable scenery. It isn't amazing but it's certainly well done.
Sound
The sound effects did their job and the music was acceptable, nothing stood out as exceptional.
Gameplay
This game is very hard and very different. If someone is looking for a challenging shooter with new ideas then this could fit the bill.
Value
There are no multiplayer options, editor, extra modes or additional downloads. I couldn't find any information as to the number of levels and I hit a brick wall of difficulty after about 6 hours. If you like a very challenging game then it could be good value.
Concept Taking something like Alien Shooter and adding more thoughtful puzzles and challenges is a great idea in theory. The risk with trying anything new is that it doesn't work or alienates people expecting something familiar.
Fun
There is no difficulty level and I found the game very hard. At its core it should have at least had the simple fun of blasting hordes of enemies, but the weapon system made even that frustrating.
Overall -
The bottom line is the game's difficulty is incredibly high and I'm not convinced by the implementation of some its “new” ideas. If you want something more cerebral than Alien Shooter then perhaps this game has something for you. For the rest of us I'd say give it a miss. I really wanted to like it, because we have to try new ideas to move game genres forward and this game is trying to do that, but it's just so damn hard.
By: Mark Featherstone
Posted: Wednesday October 25, 2006
Posted: Wednesday October 25, 2006
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