From classics like Capcom's
1942 and Taito's
Raiden series, to more modern classics like
Ikaruga and
Radiant Silvergun, the vertical shoot'em up (shmup) has a long and storied history. Some of it good, a lot of it bad, much of it fun. The latest entry into the fray is a modern remake of a mobile classic,
Sky Force Anniversary, from developer Infinite Dreams. And what a beauty it is.
Sky Force Anniversary is a widely cross platform remake/evolution of the original
Sky Force, a game that was released in the late '90s for Palm OS devices, and later Windows Mobile devices. It was a superb shmup, one of the best available for mobile devices at the time, with excellent graphics and smooth gameplay. It was eventually translated to iOS and Android devices as the now defunct
Sky Force Reloaded, increasing the graphic quality and retaining the solid gameplay.
Last year it transitioned to
Sky Force 2014, a game whose upgrades were controlled with a currency system that could be earned in-game or purchased through IAP, a move that wasn't entirely popular with long-time fans of the game. With the move to desktop devices, Infinite Dreams has kept the upgrade system, but dropped any hint of IAP while simultaneously amping-up the amount of currency to collect in-game, making this a pure premium experience once again.
Upon starting a new game, you are dropped into battle with mostly-upgraded weapons, giving you a chance to get a feel for the controls, get an idea of the style of gameplay, and even try your hand at taking out a boss character (don't worry if you die, you're meant to). There is a loose story here, involving a baddie known as General Madness, but like the points in
Whose Line is it, Anyway?, it doesn't matter. You'll be too busy trying to stay alive to worry much about any supposed political intrigue going on in the world around you.
Sky Force is divided into a number of levels or missions. The main goal of each level is to make it through the hordes of enemies alive to face the boss at the end. Destroy the boss, and you can move on to the next level. But, each level also contains four additional objectives. The first is to destroy at least 70% of the available enemies. The second is to one-up the first, and destroy 100 percent of the baddies. The third is to rescue all of the stranded pilots on each level. The final objective is to come out of the level unscathed. Completing all of the objectives will unlock a harder difficulty for the level, with the same four objectives to meet while trying to make it through a more hellish version of what you just conquered.
In order to master the missions, players require a combination of skill, ship upgrades, and a level of memorization of the different enemy patterns. It will be just as important to dodge the barrage of bullets as being in the right place at the right time to take out an entire wave of planes or ships to hit that 100 percent mark for the level.
Destroying enemies will net you certain types of loot. For the most part it will be stars, the currency you will collect in order to upgrade your ship. Flashing enemies will get you in-level upgrades to the firing rate of your main cannon, giving you a temporary upgrade to your firepower. You can also grab a power-up that will replenish your ship's shield. All are important to your progress in the game, so it is imperative to collect as much as possible.
One interesting change in gameplay deals with the stranded pilots on each level. One of the goals is to rescue all of these pilots. In the original game, you had to be careful blowing things up on-screen, because if you weren't, you could accidentally shoot the pilots on the ground before you got the chance to rescue them. But, if they did survive your barrage of bullets, all you had to do was fly over them and they were collected. With this version of the game, you no longer run the risk of gunning the poor guys down if you keep your finger mashed on the fire button.
But now, you need to hover near them for an amount of time while filling a small circular meter before they are rescued. Usually, you are trying to stay near enough to them to collect them while simultaneously dodging enemy fire, adding another level of difficulty to the game. And, if you aren't able to get to a pilot before they get too close to the bottom of the screen, you won't be able to stay near for long enough to collect them. There goes your bonus.
Along with the normal indicators on screen (shield level, upgrade level, points) there is also an indicator for each of the four additional objectives for the level. As you complete each objective, they turn gold. But, let's say you are unable to rescue one of the stranded pilots during the level. At that point, the indicator for that particular goal will gain a red circle with a slash through it, showing that you are unable to complete that goal during this go-around on the level. This is actually very important. For example, if you are faced with a choice of destroying a wave of enemies, or missing some to rescue a pilot, and you notice that you cannot complete the rescue goal any longer, you can skip that pilot and work on the 70 percent and 100 percent goals instead.
As you can see, this game is designed to make you tackle each of these levels numerous times in order to not only collect stars to upgrade your ship, but also to complete all of the goals. Normally, this type of forced replayability scores negatively with me, but this game is so much fun and just so gorgeous to look at, it makes me want to come back for more and more. While it won't run at its maximum quality level on an early 2008 MacBook Pro, it still looks darn good and plays smoothly at a decreased graphic level. In fact, you will be hard pressed to find a better looking vertical scroller on the computer today. A tall order for an indie developer that it has delivered in spades.
Sky Force Anniversary is a game that you need to experience for yourself. It exudes quality, both visually and in gameplay execution. For
$10 regular price on Steam, it is easy to recommend this, even if you aren't a fan of shmups. Come fly the not-so-friendly skies and blow things up. You know you want to.
Who is Sky Force Anniversary for?
Fans of the original, shmup fans, and gamers who love to ogle over drop-dead gorgeous graphics while fighting for their lives.
Who is Sky Force Anniversary not for?
Gamers without a twitchy trigger finger. There's little time to react to what's going on around you especially in the later levels. It's kill or be killed here, soldier!
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