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XG Blast
XG Blast takes us back to those classic
arcade shooters which has the gamer controlling a space ship against an
endless hoard of the enemies. With DS in hand and access to a variety of
weapons, players control the spaceship Aknathen (Egypt reference?) where
you have been called to investigate a strange space anomaly.
Unfortunately on the way, you are sucked into a wormhole and end up in
another dimension that is filled with a plethora of alien entities, all
hell bent on your destruction. The mission is simple, blow them all to
hell, solve the anomaly and return home.
Reminiscent to those classic retro
arcade games with those top-down views, this arcade fighter takes us
back to a simpler time and interesting enough, this title actually has a
interesting story. Apart from being called to explore this space
anomaly, your ship is also carrying a prototype weapon called the XG
Blast which of course will save your skin on more than one occasion. In
hindsight, the game feels like Asteroids meets Geometry Wars with
similar arcade mechanics as you make your way through a variety of
different stages, boss fights and an almost unlimited number of enemies.
With a super easy learning curve,
ensuring that all gamers will be able to pick this up and start playing,
XG Blast is the pure definition of a mindless shooter as you blast your
enemies to kingdom come. Of course there are two catches, your ship has
a limited number of energy for shields and you can only use your
prototype when there is enough energy. Thankfully this is monitored by
two graphs on the top screen to assist with your gameplay.
As the game progresses, so does the
difficulty of the game which becomes the apex of the title where some
gamers will fight on and others will put the game down in frustration or
shame.
With all arcade games, there is no save
feature and if you lose all your lives on a level, you need to restart
the level from the start. Probably targeting the casual game market, XG
Blast is addictive as it is frustrating and there are some unlockable
features as you play which assists in the motivation of completing the
title.
Amazingly enough, the game contains a
decent multiplayer mode that has you playing either a game of Deathmatch
or a co-op mode against this endless alien hoard. Unfortunately,
additional cartridges are needed to play this feature but if you have a
friend who has the game, it's definitely worth checking out.
Graphically, the title is rather basic
with standard Nintendo DS arcade graphics that although is nothing
spectacular, it does get the job done. Some of the backgrounds are nice
as are the polygon like enemies that you engage. The same can be said
about the sound which suits the game perfectly with those retro sound
effects. Music, pure MIDI all the way!
In conclusion, XG Blast is a good arcade
shooter that doesn't try to be too clever on the DS and features some
classic gameplay for those that enjoy this genre. An easy learning curve
and some interesting unlockable content that works well on the Nintendo
DS. If you're a fan of classic games such as Asteroid or Galaga or more
recently, Geometry Wars, than you may want to check this title out. |
