Today's game is Galaxium by Marios Karagiannis.
Overall Score: 4 / 5
Galaxium is a Galaxy-Wars like space shooter. You have a spaceship, (you're in spaaaaaaace) which shoots bullets continuously. You move around on the screen, trying to kill as many alien ships and space debris as possible, while protecting yourself from damage.
The gameplay is fun and addictive, the enemies vary enough and are challenging enough that you don't get bored of them very easily. The graphics of Galaxium are actually quite notable. When you blow up an asteroid, it creates a nice little lensing effect, (somewhat like what the ASHPD makes just after you shoot a portal.) I enjoyed that touch and attention to detail. The enemy ships are also well designed, and look menacing.
However, someone on the art department might want to rethink the color scheme of those asteroids. Ahem. They look like potatoes. If you squint just right, they also look like those chocolate chip cookies I baked at 3am on a Friday night.
On the flip side, the powerups I got during gameplay were mostly 'speed powerups'. Firstly, I was not sure if it was the speed of the bullets or the speed of the spaceship that is being refered to, here. Yes, the effect is that subtle. Secondly, I would have much preferred having more bullet powerups than speed powerups. Third, why do I have to tap with a second finger to apply the powerup? It didn't seem like they expire, so they should just auto-deploy.
Unlike the two previous games I reviewed, Galaxium Free does not put an active ad control during gameplay. Thank you for that. At least some sense prevails. (If you don't like the ad in the menus either, you can get rid of it for $0.99).
There is a bar of icons at the bottom, whose function is not quite clear to me. They are probably powerups, but I have no idea whether I can click them, or they are just indicators. Also, after you complete a chapter, your health does not seem to regenerate, and there are no health powerups, so gameplay can be short.
This might be a childish complaint, but the points system has too few zeros at the end. I don't want to get 6 points per spaceship, I want 600 thousand. million. Jokes apart, I think this is a good game and you should try it out. 4 stars out of 5.
For a parting thought, while I like this game, (no really, I do,) there is an inherent issues with games like Galaxium, Air Hockey and, say, Fruit Ninja on a touchscreen device. Your fingers get sticky after a while and you can no longer glide them over the screen with precision. So I usually end up using a handkerchief or a paper towel to wrap around my finger before I play. I am not exactly sure how to solve this problem either, and till then, I'd rather play such games with a mouse and keyboard.
Galaxium Free is available for free from Zune Marketplace or the developer's website. An ad-free, paid version is also available on Zune Marketplace.
Overall Score: 4 / 5
The gameplay is fun and addictive, the enemies vary enough and are challenging enough that you don't get bored of them very easily. The graphics of Galaxium are actually quite notable. When you blow up an asteroid, it creates a nice little lensing effect, (somewhat like what the ASHPD makes just after you shoot a portal.) I enjoyed that touch and attention to detail. The enemy ships are also well designed, and look menacing.
However, someone on the art department might want to rethink the color scheme of those asteroids. Ahem. They look like potatoes. If you squint just right, they also look like those chocolate chip cookies I baked at 3am on a Friday night.
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| Galaxium gameplay. One of the asteroids is being blown up. The second asteroids looks like a potato and makes me hungry. An alien ships looks on the scene with resigned nonchalance. |
Unlike the two previous games I reviewed, Galaxium Free does not put an active ad control during gameplay. Thank you for that. At least some sense prevails. (If you don't like the ad in the menus either, you can get rid of it for $0.99).
There is a bar of icons at the bottom, whose function is not quite clear to me. They are probably powerups, but I have no idea whether I can click them, or they are just indicators. Also, after you complete a chapter, your health does not seem to regenerate, and there are no health powerups, so gameplay can be short.
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| Gameplay of Galaxium. This is the boss, and there have been two bullet upgrades. |
For a parting thought, while I like this game, (no really, I do,) there is an inherent issues with games like Galaxium, Air Hockey and, say, Fruit Ninja on a touchscreen device. Your fingers get sticky after a while and you can no longer glide them over the screen with precision. So I usually end up using a handkerchief or a paper towel to wrap around my finger before I play. I am not exactly sure how to solve this problem either, and till then, I'd rather play such games with a mouse and keyboard.
Galaxium Free is available for free from Zune Marketplace or the developer's website. An ad-free, paid version is also available on Zune Marketplace.
