Astro Fighters 2

Some games carve their own niche by defying genre norms. Astro Fighters II is not one of them. The game pushes the player toward the middle of the screen by bringing enemies in from the bottom and top of the screen. That alone I guess isn't too bad, but there's no buffer zone where enemies will not shoot at you, and they'll shoot well before entering the screen. This means if you're close to the top or bottom of the screen, it's quite possible to get killed seconds before even seeing the enemy appear. The "normal" ship speed feels 4x faster than the "focus" attack speed, which doesn't feel very good to control. Going from the slow focus speed to normal speed feels very jarring, like I don't have full control of the ship. There are a ton of other minor things like the visual indication of shot direction is being way too subtle, way too bright and bloomy bullets, the game over screen persisting for like 10 seconds without letting you back out, the odd mechanic of subtracting score for using the slowdown ability. The list goes on. None of that would make me refund a game, after all, it's an inexpensive indie game and the dev is entitled to their choices. No, I'm refunding because …

The demo for this game came out some time ago now and it really left me wanting more of this game. Astro Fighters 2 challenges the player to resist the temptation to keep levelling up and instead sacrifice better damage points for the safety net of enemy bullet cancelling smart bombs and spread shots. You could go all out and take the level up (to a max of level 5) but the enemy will also increase their level meaning they fire more often and shoot faster bullets. This strategic element would be enough to make the game stand out as a classic shmup but on top of this there are also a wide variety of special collectable items which can be stored (2 slots), switched around (slot 1 will be activated) and activated with the left bumper. This adds further depth to the gameplay. Do you spam the power up items when you get them or think ahead to the next bullet spurting mid-level or end-level boss? The choice is the players and this is a brilliant design choice allowing me to attack the enemy however I feel like it. Most shmups have you hugging the bottom of the screen but this game forces you to linger near the centre as enemies (and bullets) can come in from the bottom of the s…

Since threats are never completely wiped out, the second part reveals that the enemy has returned in greater force. Your well-earned retirement is therefore cancelled, and you are called back into action. That is all the justification this shoot ’em up with bullet-hell mechanics needs. This genre revolves around dodging what feels like an impossible number of bullets that can appear on the screen at the same time. Because of that, your hitbox is extremely small and positioned at the center of your aircraft. For greater precision, you slow down when firing, and you can temporarily slow down further with a separate button, although this reduces your overall points. That might not matter if you are not aiming for the highest score. Your offense comes from the main weapon, which can fire either forward or backward with the press of a button. It starts off weak but can be upgraded by draining a special bar. The bar fills by collecting medals from destroyed enemies or by grazing, a mechanic unique to bullet-hell games where you fly dangerously close to enemy bullets. Grazing fills the bar much faster than collecting medals. Upgrading your weapon increases your damage, but it also stre…

Even though this is usually not my genre, I found myself really getting into this game in the short time I spent with it. Keep up the good work! [b]FULL VIDEO - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiaNxPimuN8[/b]

Having a lot of fun with this! Great shooter. Challenging as hell though! Love the system where you have to choose between levelling up, using bombs or spread. Keeps you on your toes. Highly Recommend!

I have been playing this game solid for the last few days since purchase and it is definitely worth the hype. Enemy designs are brilliant and the pace of the action fits perfectly in a wide screen ratio and this is very rare for the genre! Could not put this game down once I got into it and unlocking achievements / game modes feels satisfying. Highly recommend this game if you are into shmups with interesting mechanics, special items and score boards. Quality game!