So, one of the essays I found useful in the Escapist was the one on shmups. Specifically, the link to Torus Trooper.
This game is very nice. Fighting on the inside of a tube feels like the most natural thing in the world. But this game is also very "pure". There's no power-ups, no crashing into walls. There's not even any homing bullets or things that change velocity. The whole game consists of dodging bullets and shooting people, at as high a speed as you can manage.
It's got some interesting dynamics! For example, never play it on the lowest difficulty setting. In all the other modes, the ship moves at just the right speed to avoid waves of bullets in a zen-like fashion. In easy, however, the ship moves wrong, and you actually have to keep track of every bullet. Pain in the ass.
I didn't know there was a charge-shot. I hate the fact that games like this insist on having one. I don't like to use it, because it's primary purpose is to kill bullets, and I don't have a hard time dodging bullets. I had a great time without it: the zen-like maneuvering is what I'm after, screw the specialty weapons.
Anyhow, play it.
5 comments:
Illinx satori.
If it gets no hits on Google at all, it shouldn't be considered a valid reply, don't you think?
There are at least 50 relatively popular game design/dissection theories. I don't have them all memorized. I recognize the term, but not the meaning.
You get point bonuses if you use the charge shot well. I also found it useful tactically once in a while, but you have to plan ahead.
As for bullet evasion, maybe I just went too fast, but it seemed to me that getting hit had as much to do with luck as my skill. I thought rRootage did better in the zen-like maneuvering department.
I know the charge shot is useful - I just don't like to have to use it.
I find this better than RRootage. It doesn't seem like luck to me.
Yeah, Callois is maybe a bit abstruse, but illinx is a cool word and describes this game perfectly. When you're 6000mph + spiralling in an endless corkscrew, thats some serious vertigo there. Great pick Perko.
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