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LUFTRAUSERS (VITA)
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Publisher: Devolver Digital.
Developer: Vlambeer. Released: March 2014. Genre: Shoot 'em up. Other versions: PS3; PC. Posted 18th December 2014. By Alan Passingham © 2014 |
As you get older and begin to do daft things - like settling down and having kids – having time becomes an all important factor in maintaining ones daily gaming regime (and review writing regime). There is no longer any need for discernible plot; story-telling becomes a cumbersome chore to follow; lengthy cut-scenes can just do one; and remembering the correct sequence of buttons to mash in order to move your avatar ‘left’ begins to take the p!ss. All this means only teeny-boppers really get the chance to play Dragon Age: Inquisition. Older gits, who have about five minutes to entertain themselves daily (which is shared between gaming, breathing and taking Captain Picard to warp speed), have no spare capacity for such extravagance. They need a quick adrenaline blast of single-button blowing the shit out of stuff mayhem that requires an inkling of skill to keep them sane between nappy changes and doing the washing up.
Thank the monkey Gods, therefore, for fun little titles like Luftrausers with its average game length of about two-and-a-half minutes! Playing like a hybrid of Defender, Asteroids and Wings of Fury this fun little shooter whips out its credentials via manic gameplay, quick satisfying blasts and an elegant more-ish grip that just will not let go. It starts off so sedately though. A tiny customisable jet springs into action in an empty monochrome sky of yellowy-blandness. Suddenly, it’s joined by a single enemy, which one blows off the screen with aplomb. Next it’s a couple of fighters. Followed by a boat, and yet more fighters. Then a battleship shows up, more boats, a few more fighters, possibly a submarine and before you know it the screen has become littered with firepower that makes for a sermon in bullet-dodging hell. It doesn’t help that most of the enemy pilots are kamikaze nut-jobs that often prefer to ram your jet for chuckles.
Thank the monkey Gods, therefore, for fun little titles like Luftrausers with its average game length of about two-and-a-half minutes! Playing like a hybrid of Defender, Asteroids and Wings of Fury this fun little shooter whips out its credentials via manic gameplay, quick satisfying blasts and an elegant more-ish grip that just will not let go. It starts off so sedately though. A tiny customisable jet springs into action in an empty monochrome sky of yellowy-blandness. Suddenly, it’s joined by a single enemy, which one blows off the screen with aplomb. Next it’s a couple of fighters. Followed by a boat, and yet more fighters. Then a battleship shows up, more boats, a few more fighters, possibly a submarine and before you know it the screen has become littered with firepower that makes for a sermon in bullet-dodging hell. It doesn’t help that most of the enemy pilots are kamikaze nut-jobs that often prefer to ram your jet for chuckles.
A bit of the old mixed with a dash of the new, then.
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"Tea Break", two words that signal salvation for every working Brit
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Rather than seduce the player with gradual increases in difficulty, via levels or stages, developer Vlambeer decided instead to throw the kitchen sink at the player as soon as possible. This means sorties quickly become frantic tests of survival as more and more willing enemies invade the screen in an attempt to tear you a new one. But whilst the players flying endeavours are cut frequently short the compelling nature of testing ones skills against such an onslaught, as well as improving the score multiplier to obtain ever higher scores, ensures that having another go soon becomes having at least another 20 goes. Of course it helps that Luftrausers is easy to pick up and play. A single fire-button is all that is required and whilst some deft skill and reflexes are required to truly handle the jets ability to rotate through 360 degrees and quickly change direction where necessary, it’s really not that complicated to handle.
Score highly and customisable components are delivered to your base with which the main jet can be appended with different firepower, armour or engine output. This is a neat touch and prevents the basic shoot ‘em up principle from getting too samey. The variety in the strengths and weaknesses of each component means chopping and choosing until players find the combination that best suits their method of play style. Like to skim the sea carrying out bombing runs of battleships? You can do that. Prefer the classic multi-directional shot approach? You can do that to. Hovering in freefall whilst vaporising all around with a constant stream of laser beam your cup of tea? Well, that also works. Sh!t at games and prefer the nuke option that lays waste to everything on screen upon death? Yes, there is even a method of play for total w*nkers as well.
Score highly and customisable components are delivered to your base with which the main jet can be appended with different firepower, armour or engine output. This is a neat touch and prevents the basic shoot ‘em up principle from getting too samey. The variety in the strengths and weaknesses of each component means chopping and choosing until players find the combination that best suits their method of play style. Like to skim the sea carrying out bombing runs of battleships? You can do that. Prefer the classic multi-directional shot approach? You can do that to. Hovering in freefall whilst vaporising all around with a constant stream of laser beam your cup of tea? Well, that also works. Sh!t at games and prefer the nuke option that lays waste to everything on screen upon death? Yes, there is even a method of play for total w*nkers as well.
He's just a normal scientist. It's okay. Just don't look in his eyes
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The joy of explosions and numerical units bouncing around a screen
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Whilst the variety of customisation adds a layer of longevity to proceedings the application of simple missions to each sortie is a more mundane affair. Coming across as an attempt to add depth to the gameplay all it ultimately does is reward failure – which is fine for players chasing trophies, but a little off-putting when it comes to those seeking a proper old school challenge. Luckily, Luftrausers is not constrained by the inclusion of missions and works just as well for older gamers capable of setting their own personal objectives. It’s certainly challenging enough to see how long one can actually survive the onslaught of bullet death for more than five minutes. Additionally, taking down an airship is no mean feat once it enters the fray and is the single in-game ‘mission’ that actually feels like an achievement once carried out. Read as: it’s as tough as eating through a tar-covered tennis ball! And there’s always the objective of bettering that high score. Maintaining the score multiplier for long enough whilst weaving, shooting and dodging enemies requires skill and determination.
At heart Luftrausers is a simple old-school shooter but with some tidy modern refinement. The swish horizontal and vertical scrolling, along with just so much going on on-screen belies the otherwise basic monochrome visuals. The pumping music is sophisticated, yet equally emulates the chip-tunes of old. If you can get past some of the other shitty modern aspects, such as being rewarded for sucking at games or the odd Naziesque style of the relatively short cut-screens, then Luftrausers adds up to a tidy little package of tropical-fruit bubbalicious. It does nothing overly special, but look past the initial rigidity of design and a flexible, fiendish title for older games lies underneath. On the Vita at the very least, Luftrausers will suck you in and keep you entertained for much longer than expected. In other words, a great game for the commute to work for all you Dads out there!
At heart Luftrausers is a simple old-school shooter but with some tidy modern refinement. The swish horizontal and vertical scrolling, along with just so much going on on-screen belies the otherwise basic monochrome visuals. The pumping music is sophisticated, yet equally emulates the chip-tunes of old. If you can get past some of the other shitty modern aspects, such as being rewarded for sucking at games or the odd Naziesque style of the relatively short cut-screens, then Luftrausers adds up to a tidy little package of tropical-fruit bubbalicious. It does nothing overly special, but look past the initial rigidity of design and a flexible, fiendish title for older games lies underneath. On the Vita at the very least, Luftrausers will suck you in and keep you entertained for much longer than expected. In other words, a great game for the commute to work for all you Dads out there!
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VERDICT
Visual: 6/10
Audio: 7/10 Gameplay: 8/10 Longevity: 6/10 OVERALL: 7/10 |
PIXEL SECONDS: LUFTRAUSERS (VITA)
Delivering quick-fire action in super-short bursts, Luftrausers appears an ideal fit for retro aficionados on the go. A 2D shoot ‘em up that necessitates that both altitude and angles of firing must be mastered in order to survive the frantic, multi-directional encounters, it’s a well-crafted title that makes for an enjoyable – if rarely wholly satisfying – gaming experience. It wins points for its attractive, minimalist visual style, whilst the challenging gameplay offers an instant hook, as you attempt to withstand a barrage of fire for anything up to a couple of minutes. Provided you can cheat death long enough, you’ll be fending of the attentions of jets, gunboats, and submarines as the action reaches dizzying proportions. Repeated scoring runs and milestones act as a means of earning new booty, but here Luftrausers starts to become a little more divisive. The need to utilise new kit ensures a few much-needed new takes on the formula, but whilst some of the weapons and bodies are fun to use, others are a bit pants. The daunting difficulty and often-uncomplimentary or ineffectual ‘upgrades’ can severely curtail scoring potential, and whilst several hours of practice should in theory leave you well prepared to make big high-score runs, the reality is, as often as not, you’ll be nowhere close. Consequently, unearthing all the unlockables becomes an arduous task as the excitement factor starts to wane. Luftrausers is a decent shooter, but Velocity has more staying power. [6] – Tom Clare © 2015
Delivering quick-fire action in super-short bursts, Luftrausers appears an ideal fit for retro aficionados on the go. A 2D shoot ‘em up that necessitates that both altitude and angles of firing must be mastered in order to survive the frantic, multi-directional encounters, it’s a well-crafted title that makes for an enjoyable – if rarely wholly satisfying – gaming experience. It wins points for its attractive, minimalist visual style, whilst the challenging gameplay offers an instant hook, as you attempt to withstand a barrage of fire for anything up to a couple of minutes. Provided you can cheat death long enough, you’ll be fending of the attentions of jets, gunboats, and submarines as the action reaches dizzying proportions. Repeated scoring runs and milestones act as a means of earning new booty, but here Luftrausers starts to become a little more divisive. The need to utilise new kit ensures a few much-needed new takes on the formula, but whilst some of the weapons and bodies are fun to use, others are a bit pants. The daunting difficulty and often-uncomplimentary or ineffectual ‘upgrades’ can severely curtail scoring potential, and whilst several hours of practice should in theory leave you well prepared to make big high-score runs, the reality is, as often as not, you’ll be nowhere close. Consequently, unearthing all the unlockables becomes an arduous task as the excitement factor starts to wane. Luftrausers is a decent shooter, but Velocity has more staying power. [6] – Tom Clare © 2015