Aces of the Galaxy (Xbox Live Arcade) Review
Posted by John Curry on 06.16.2008
Damn humans are always getting all up in my extraterrestrial grill.
Sierra studios brings us Aces of the Galaxy, a space shooter available on the Xbox 360 Live Arcade. It is becoming more obvious to me that I miss the good old fashioned shooting style space games. Unfortunately, often times in order to get enjoy the games of yesteryear we must give up the graphic advancements that we have been blessed with. At least I thought we did.
With Aces of the Galaxy we are treated to a good old fashioned space shooter which fully utilizes the advanced graphics we have while not burdening the gameplay and enjoyment of the game. Is it the best game on the XBLA? No, but it isn’t the worst thing to show up either.
Gameplay
To begin with there are three difficulty settings for you to choose from, Easy, Normal, Difficult. Once you have selected your difficulty it is time to select your ship. There is no information given regarding the differences between the ships and based on trying out the three ships the only real difference between them is cosmetic. You have three weapons to use on your ship. You have a rail gun that you will use most of the time, torpedo’s that you will use on larger ships, and a set of seeker missiles that you will be able to use on a varying amount of ships depending on how long you hold x and select the different ships. Your only movements that you make are up, down, right , left, and rolling right and left. The ship is controlled essentially by the AI. By this I mean it moves you in the direction the game progresses in. There is no forwards or backwards movement. There are upgrades for your weapons to pick up as you move along which only last a short time and warp buttons which will allow you to control which level you progress to.
Check out the Game Play of Aces of the Galaxy
There are 3 different “Universes” to navigate as you go along, each with their own representations, such as Fire, Ice, and Earth. Each one of these locations has its own progression, meaning if you do not pick up the warp icon in the level you will be forced to move on to the next level in that selected universe.
The premise for the game is simple really. You are earth’s last hope against the Skurgian Empire. You and your small spacecraft will battle hordes and hordes of enemy aircraft in a very challenging environment which forces you to fight massive amounts of enemies while avoiding hitting space junk, asteroids and other obstacles. There are several warps in a level which speed up the game play and make it much more difficult. You can also slow down the enemies with at Temporal Shift maneuver.
The game offers single player mode, two player co-op mode and two player online co-op modes which all work as smoothly as others. The issue I had with the online play was the several times I tried to play online I couldn’t find anyone to play with me. Maybe as this game increases in popularity the availability of people to play with will increase.
Overall, the game is challenging but not impossible. The thing you will find yourself doing more than anything is trying to rack up combo points which are achieved by killing ships in succession. If you enjoy straight old school shooters you will love this game’s addictive difficulty.
Graphics
The graphics are some of the best I have seen on the Xbox system for space shooters. The game moves smoothly without any lagging in either single player or online mode. You will actually be surprised the amount of detail you can make out in this game considering it’s an XBLA title. Trust me when I tell you the combination between the graphics and the game play you will be having some difficulty keeping your eyes from popping out of your head following the action. The load screens on the other hand are simple and have a rather old school Nintendo feel.
Sound
There is really nothing special about the sound at all but that is to be expected in a game where the action is so continuously intense that your mind shuts your ears off to enhance your eyes. This is one of those games that your own music could suit better.
Lasting Appeal and Fun Factor
The lasting appeal for this game is rather long. The single player mode will take you awhile to beat and keep you enthused to continue playing after you beat it. The co-op multiplayer makes this game have an endless lasting power. You can play with any of your friends although it isn’t likely to make this game any easier for you and add the opportunity to play online you will be happy to play for a while to come.
The 411
This game is a great addition to the XBLA and a game that I hope picks up some popularity on the arcade so that we can expect to see some sequels. While fun to play it does grow a little monotonous but not so much that you get up and walk away never to return. You will enjoy this game. If you have a need for some hardcore gaming with a good mixture of difficulty and graphics this game is definitely for you.
Graphics
8.0
Aside from the loading in between levels the game has some very good graphics. The ships are detailed and so are the worlds although there are very little differences between the levels.
Gameplay
9.0
Very difficult and enjoyable. I would have like to have seen some differences between the three ships offered to us in the game but overall still a very good game.
Sound
7.5
This is the game’s weak point as there really isn’t anything special about the music to add to the game.
Lasting Appeal
10.0
Challenging solo missions, available co-op playability both online and off makes this a great game to play alone, with a friend, or a complete stranger across the globe.
Fun Factor
8.5
While a great game in its own right it does grow a little monotonous and I found myself on level 8 before I died once so it is a challenging to the average gamer from the start but to an advanced gamer it will take the upper levels to make you sweat.
