When will those pesky aliens learn? Ripley took it to them on four separate occasions, and Will Smith has practically built a career out of exterminating them. Their stunning lack of reconnaissance allowed them to invade a planet comprised of 70% of their secret weakness in Signs (good thing for them they didn’t invade during hurricane season), and their puny immune systems couldn’t handle the 5 nonillion single-celled organisms that make their home on Earth in The War of the Worlds.
Bacteria and water have their places, but nothing is quite as satisfying as sending E.T. straight to hell by blowing holes through his wrinkled body. If you’re of the same mind, than you’re probably going to have a lot of fun with Explosionade. There you go, that’s my review: it’s awesome. Succinct, and to the point.
I wasn’t expecting much of a story from a game entitled Explosionade, and I didn’t get much in return. There is a robot, some sewers and a whole lot of shooting. The story isn’t terribly important, but occasionally the dialogue between levels is worth a chuckle.
The action, on the other hand, is magnificent. It took me a few rounds to get a feel for the controls, but once I did, I was impressed with the amount of different ways to turn aliens into puddles of goop. Aside from the obligatory machine gun, the steel beast comes equipped with unlimited sticky bombs and grenades that bounce off walls. Even the force field can be used to fry the little buggers, which each manage to melt or explode in gruesome manners.
After playing so many indie games, my natural inclination was to use the right thumbstick to fire in any direction, and while this is an option for playing Explosionade, I really preferred aiming with the left stick and using X to fire. I felt a lot more in control this way, and it reminded me more of Metal Slug or Contra.
By far the most interesting attribute of the mech is its shield. Aside from simply generating a protective bubble, the shield can also turn the mech into a springy bouncy ball of carnage. Activating the shield right before hitting the ground causes the mech to bounce high in the air, allowing it to reach new areas or propelling it towards a boss in order to deliver the gift of delicious explosive sticky bombs. The bouncy-ball ability of the mech was an unexpected surprise, and it really gives the game it’s own feel beyond the typical 2D shooter.
The levels themselves are very self-contained, and the game’s structure is similar to that of Bubble Bobble, in which the whole point is to clear a stage and keep moving downwards. Each micro-level almost feels like a training room, in which you have to figure out the best way to use your tools to get to the exit. I liked playing through the game at a very methodical pace, aligning my shot and picking off enemies one at a time. While I didn’t break any speed-demon score records, I liked feeling as if I was this lumbering hulk that was slowly chewing through the swarms of enemies.
The creatures themselves are standard Mommy’s Best Game’s fare, which is to say they are highly-detailed, colorful monstrosities that often seem to be rooted in nature. Some of them appear to be mutated versions of bats that attack you with deadly fireball guano. There is a good deal of variety in how the enemies behave as well, which adds to the aforementioned strategy. Some are aggressive; others hide behind energy shields and wait patiently for death.
My only gripe with the game is that its inherent design makes it feel more like a sequence of rooms than an actual structured game. The main character just keeps dropping down further and further through a seemingly endless sewer, and there is very little to explore or discover. There are some hidden objects to find, but they only serve to restore life or award points. Then again, it’s called Explosionade, not Adventureade or Explorationade. It’s more a compliment to how sound the general mechanics are that I wish they could be more fully explored in more of a Metroidvania-style game with power-ups and a sprawling world to go along with the copious amounts of explosions.
As it stands, Explosionade settles for something a bit less ambitious, but nevertheless impressive and enjoyable. Its the perfect way to kill an hour or two (especially with the offline co-op), and with forty levels chock full of creatures that need killing, it’s a fantastic value at a buck.
Visit the Xbox Live Marketplace to add a free demo of Explosionade to your Xbox 360 download queue.
Explosionade was provided for review by Mommy’s Best Games. It is available for 80 MS points ($1)
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