The Xbox Live Indie Games Marketplace provides an excellent toolset and experience for those looking to educate themselves about game development. It also offers the flexibility to allow enthusiasts and industry veterans the opportunity to create their own titles as well. The Last Pod Fighter comes from the former, Fighter9 Studios, which is a team of students studying computer science or film and hailing from the University of Utah. It would be wonderful to see more universities take advantage of the platform and others like it to advance students’ knowledge of the development process. Fighter9′s initial outing, The Last Pod Fighter, presents an entertaining and impressive experience within the space shooter genre.
Those of you who have played the Star Wars Rogue Squadron series on the PC or Nintendo 64 will instantly feel at home. The control scheme is extremely fluid and standard for that of the space shooter, but offers increased maneuverability in the form of instant 180′s and barrel rolls to dodge incoming attacks. A key button that I missed during my initial playthrough was the button that allows for players to change targets on the fly. When I came across the first boss, I constantly found myself bombarded by smaller fighters as their circled around me like vultures picking at their prey, and short on rockets to damage the boss, I was just counting down the moments until my demise. My second playthrough revealed that changing targets was pivotal to success for the level.
Players begin each stage by combating small, agile fighters as they accumulate score and collect power-ups such as health, rockets, and speed boosts until the clock at the top of the screen winds down in preparation for the boss, or the capital ship to arrive. The current wave of enemies must be destroyed before the capital ship can be targeted. Your standard armament of lasers do little to bring down the ship’s advanced shields, therefore you must rely on missiles or tactical upgrades such as the nuclear bomb to damage the bosses.
The Last Pod Fighter exhibits sharp visuals in the form of both dynamic explosions and captivating models. The colors are bright and diverse, which allows them to stand out among the purple and black canvas of space. On the aural front, the soundtrack is nicely done, and is reminiscent of the retro-rock chiptunes commonly found on the platform; the explosions going off add to the immersion, as does the surround sound from blasters, which I found useful when tracking enemy fighters.
My concerns with the Last Pod Fighter are limited, at best. The first of which is the lack of a save feature. When it takes 10 minutes to get past the first stage, it was disheartening to die on later stages only to be brought back to the main menu and have to do it all over again. Furthermore, there is only one level, and each incremental stage simply adds new enemies and bosses. Staring at the same background image time and time again can quickly grow old.
The Last Pod Fighter is very well polished and beautiful title, despite what the score says. The lack of a save feature is frustrating, as is only having one level background, and that is what directly is responsible for this. Still, gamers would be well served to drop one dollar on this title – the smooth controls, vivid visuals, and intuitive lock-on system offer an entertaining experience.
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The Last Pod Fighter was provided for review by Fighter9 Studios and is available for 80 MS points. Visit the Xbox Live Marketplace to download a free demo.
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