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Saturday 9 February, 2008
Ok, wow. I messed up with this one.
GAMEPLAY:
I played the tutorial level to get a better feel for how the game works, which is really what I should have done from the beginning, and it is so much more fun now.
It turns out it's really easy to get extra lives and kill multiple enemies at once, as long as you know what you're doing. Enemies that are lines up when you kill yourself explode in a chain reaction, that can sometimes take up the entire screen. You control how fast the enemies come at you by collecting "quickens," and the more enemies on screen, the easier it is to get combos. Every boss has a complex strategy, and every level has a new look, enemy, and feel.
Yeah, I messed up.
So after figuring out how to play this game and actually enjoy it, I was able to make it all the way to level 5. It looks like there's a level advancement tree, and it shows you your location on it at the end of each level, but I don't know how to get to the alternate levels. It's tantalizing, though, and definitely looks like it will add to replay value.
After playing a bunch of the arcade mode, I tried some classic mode. It played like the final version, except you can't charge explosions or disconnect yourself from them. I also unlocked some levels for playing nonstop on, but not as many as I unlocked in arcade mode. Oh well, I'll figure that out later.
DESIGN:
Every Extend Extra is an incredibly unique game, that takes the concept of killing off waves of enemies without exploding and turns it on its head. Although the core gameplay wasn't readily apparent, once I actually figured out what to do it was great.
One of the greatest parts of this game, besides the fresh gameplay, is the constant rewards. Whenever you blow up a chain of enemies, you're bombarded with flashing lights, rising numbers, and the satisfying "extended" from the games narrator. And the tempo of the lights and beeps matches with the rhythm of the level's music. The game has been mostly described as a type of music game, and although the music doesn't really affect the gameplay, it does feel like you're affecting the music. It changes tempo the more quickens you collect, and the screen is constantly gyrating to the same beat as the music. It's all really engrossing.
This game really shows you that there is still a lot left to be done with the shmup genre.
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