Blast Em! (PC) (2014)
Overview: A simple side-scrolling shooter where the goal is to stay alive and collect as many coins as possible.
Relevant Links:
Blast Em! Website
Blast Em! (Steam Store Page)
Blast Em! (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
20160116:
After reading through the mixed reviews on Steam, I decided to give the game a try.
Gameplay:
1) Move around with the mouse. 2) Shooting is done automatically. 3) Shoot enemies and collect coins. 4) Coins = score.
5) Power-ups deduct coins, but are helpful. 6) One-shot death. Good luck.
Set-up:
At first I tried playing the game on the Steam Controller. I spent a while playing around with the configurations. While equivalent to a laptop touchpad, both the Steam controller and laptop touchpad don't hold a candle to the quick and precise movements of a mouse.
Thoughts:
Pro:
+ Simple mechanics
Neutral:
~ The game's appeal comes from its difficulty
Unknown:
? One of the Steam reviews I read mentioned a bug, but I did not encounter such a bug.
Comparison:
My first thought after playing Blast Em! is that it's simple and repetitive, but the fun it provided was short-lived.
There are, however, many simple and repetitive games which I find have a greater addictive flavor, such as Canabalt (2009) and Super Hexagon (PC) (2012). So what sets one endless game apart from another endless game? Quality? Randomness? The addiction of achieving a high score? I have no idea.
Recommendation:
While I would not go out of my way to buy the game, if you, like me, already own the game, then I would recommend giving the game a short spin.
Overview: A simple side-scrolling shooter where the goal is to stay alive and collect as many coins as possible.
Relevant Links:
Blast Em! Website
Blast Em! (Steam Store Page)
Blast Em! (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
20160116:
After reading through the mixed reviews on Steam, I decided to give the game a try.
Gameplay:
1) Move around with the mouse. 2) Shooting is done automatically. 3) Shoot enemies and collect coins. 4) Coins = score.
5) Power-ups deduct coins, but are helpful. 6) One-shot death. Good luck.
Set-up:
At first I tried playing the game on the Steam Controller. I spent a while playing around with the configurations. While equivalent to a laptop touchpad, both the Steam controller and laptop touchpad don't hold a candle to the quick and precise movements of a mouse.
Thoughts:
Pro:
+ Simple mechanics
Neutral:
~ The game's appeal comes from its difficulty
Unknown:
? One of the Steam reviews I read mentioned a bug, but I did not encounter such a bug.
Comparison:
My first thought after playing Blast Em! is that it's simple and repetitive, but the fun it provided was short-lived.
There are, however, many simple and repetitive games which I find have a greater addictive flavor, such as Canabalt (2009) and Super Hexagon (PC) (2012). So what sets one endless game apart from another endless game? Quality? Randomness? The addiction of achieving a high score? I have no idea.
Recommendation:
While I would not go out of my way to buy the game, if you, like me, already own the game, then I would recommend giving the game a short spin.
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