31.08.08

Gravitron 2

Posted in everything, games, must have, shmups at 11:24 pm by the2bears

Gravitron 2 is a great new game from X-Out. It’s one of the funnest games I’ve seen in quite awhile. In fact I’ve got a huge grin on my face from playing this for the last few hours!

Like Oddbob, I’m not usually that good at games with a rotate and thrust mechanic. But this game makes me want to persevere and overcome my dislike. Turns out I can get used to it if the controls are grouped appropriately, left and right arrows to rotate and up to thrust. The only others to worry about are ‘Z‘ for shooting and ‘X‘ for shields.

What is it about the game that makes it so good? Great vector graphics, great sound, and ingenious level design. Just a couple levels in and you face a rotating platform, complete with a subtle machinery sound in the background. It really works well. You’ve got scientists to save, reactors to blow, a terrific (and dangerous) bunch of enemies and a countdown at the end. Great stuff.

I’m still grinning, so take my advice and send X-Out $5 for this. It’s worth far more, there are free expansion packs planned, and who wouldn’t help out the guy who also gave us Gravitron, Prototype, Prototype II, and Blocks ‘n’ Bricks?

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30.08.08

Shred Nebula

Posted in everything, games, shmups at 5:30 pm by the2bears

Entar sent me a link to Shred Nebula. I think the “you’re oh so flashy” look suits an arena shooter much more than a scroller. I’m more interested in how the multiplayer will work though.

Well, speaking of being more interested in multiplayer, here are 2 Developer Walkthroughs on just that topic. I like the unique qualities the ships each possess. Makes it a little like a fighting game, or Senko No Ronde.

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Aerosol

Posted in everything, games, shmups, web at 1:20 pm by the2bears

Aerosol‘s a great idea. It’s a “build a boss” game (site?) where you can challenge other people’s boss designs, or create your own. Complete with rankings and such it’s a cool idea. Kind of like an on-line Fraxy.

It still needs a lot of work, as the developer is well aware. It’s pretty slow, needs more content for the editor, and just remember… click on the Flash window right away or you won’t have any control over your ship. I’m looking forward to seeing this progress.

Arrow keys to move, ‘Z‘ to shoot, and ‘shift‘ for slow, precision movement.

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27.08.08

Joku

Posted in competitions, everything, games, rapid prototyping, shmups at 11:01 pm by the2bears

Joku is Illari‘s entry for the Chain Reaction Rapid Prototyping Session. It’s a very slow paced game, with what might be an excessively long recharge time on your shot. Though that encourages wise use of it! I think with more time the slow pace could be utilized more to create a real sense of stealth and strategy. The sonar look would nicely compliment that.

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Cluster Buster

Posted in competitions, everything, games, rapid prototyping, shmups at 10:46 pm by the2bears

I really would have liked to see jakman4242‘s Cluster Buster get further along in development. The amber monitor look was interesting, and it has a very satisfying and huge explosion when everything chains.

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