TR-12

Classic top down rogue-like bullet hell gameplay although very basic. You aim at pixels, shoot and dodge. As the game progresses you are able to pickup power-ups granting you buffs and that is honestly all there is. Simple but effective. Graphics are pretty minimal but that's honestly all it needs. Very clunky at times, controls seem to be a little delayed for me but it could just be me since i am very sensitive to the slightest input delay. Fully tested with keyboard, no controller test done at this time. The soundtrack on the other hand, is one of the things i do appreciate, it gets you in the mood and it's catchy, at least to me. Personally the game feels unfinished, don't get me wrong it feels good to play but it's like something is missing, which isn't all too bad but at this point i wouldn't consider it a full game and more like a demo of some sort. Now i played alot of bullet hell games, mainly coming from the Touhou series here so the bar is pretty high to even get a comparison. At this point and time this is a rather shallow puddle in what could be potentially a decent game. Although, and i have to admit, it does give you that feeling of nostalgia of certain other titles…

TR-12 brings back memories of the good ol' Contra and Smash TV games on the NES and SNES with its retro vibes. Even the opening story with its simple animations and small cut scenes with no voiceovers or text are reminiscent of the Ninja Gaiden or Double Dragon cut scenes. I'll start with the strongest aspects of this game: The sound design and game mechanics. First The music is intense and right away and immediately gets you in the mood to try and survive 20 minutes of Enemy waves. It is climatic and brings to life the chaos around you. The sound effects give you that satisfying feel of every enemy you destroy with every shot you make. There is something so satisfying about being able to hear the sounds when plow through a thick wave of enemies with a rocket launcher. So fun! You can tell a lot of love went into the sound design. As for gameplay, I can see how this game can easily become addicting with lots of replayability. The powerups are great, and reminded me of Contra and Smash TV. But there are also some unique ones that are crucial to evading the enemies. The portals are also a unique mechanic that is a nice touch and is actually critical to having any chance of surviv…

So I have put just over 2 hours of game play into TR-12, and there is some nice things in this game, and some fixes to improve on. To give a general idea, it's a Top View 16 Bit style continuous shooter where you got waves of enemies coming after you. You also get powerups that temporarily give you a buff. The game progressively get's harder the longer you survive. It's made like an old Arcade game you would play back in the 90's and keep feeding quarter after quarter playing it. The Pros -Simple Design -Decent Soundtrack -Retro Style -Re-playability The Cons -Lack of Menu Options (No Controls Menu, No Video or Volume Controls, No Exit From Game (Had to use ALT-F4 to quit)) -Clunky Controls on Keyboard (It should be tied to the Mouse for turning, and firing). Have not tried it on Controller so I cannot say anything about that. If I had to rate this out of 5, I give it a 3/5 Rating.

Playing this game was very enjoyable, reminding me of great arcade style games from the 1990's and 2000's. The game play is smooth and seamless. The many different types of power-ups and weapons allow the player to employ numerous strategies to survive the full 20 minute timer and encourages players to get competitive on the scoreboard! The only difficulty I found was when firing weapons at the enemies, you are not able to fire in a full 360 degree motion. Other then that, a solid game and I'd reccomend as an excellent choice for gamers looking to re-live their earlier days of playing games that could be picked up at any time with any skill level and have some spontaneous fun. Awesome job!