Allane

I think I'm going to start including some small videos of the games I review. I'll post one for this in the comments once I get back to a computer that does better at recording.

This review as about an indie game called "Really Big Sky." It's the sequel to a game by the same studio (Boss Baddie), "Big Sky." It's also the same game as the old one, but with quite a few more game modes. I didn't play the original, but it does have a retro game mode that's basically the old one.

Overview: Basically, this is a bullet hell space shooter. I believe the game most like it is Gradius/R-type, two games I haven't played, so this was my first. You're in space. There are a bunch of enemies out there. Go kill them. Don't worry, your ship is expendable.

Gameplay: One of the actually enjoyable parts of this game. Despite being made with an incredibly small budget (They used Multimedia Fusion 2 to make the game), it's actually quite fun. The enemy generation is based on how well you've done in the past and is completely randomized each time. Thus, the game moves away from randomization and moves toward how well you can react and think on your feet. You have four actions (basically): shoot, spin, move, and drill.

The spin moves literally creates a vortex around your ship that blows ANYTHING inside it to smithereens and you can bounce around on the screen while you're using it. Unfortunately, it drops your shields (so enemy lasers can hit you), and doesn't protect you from those annoying asteroids, planets, and bosses.

Drilling is an interesting part of this game. The aforementioned planets, asteroids, and bosses (some of them) can be drilled through. The planets typically have powerup pads inside them to empower your ship for that session. Asteroids are usually thrown in while you're fighting regular enemies; they can kill your enemies AND kill you unless you drill through them or just avoid them. But while you're in drill mode, you can't fire, so you have to choose whether you want to drill through an asteroid or avoid it while still firing. One benefit of drilling is that the asteroid will protect you while you're in it, and when you come out, your main weapon will be fully charged.

Speaking of your main weapon... If you stop firing, the generator will back up with energy, and so your first initial shots will be really powerful and move really fast, then the ensuing shots will be smaller, slower, and deal less damage. If you gather enough "starbits" that drop from enemies when you destroy them, you'll unleash some sort of doomsday laser that obliterates all non-invulnerable enemies and bosses in your way (which can save your ass if it happens at the right time).

The game is really fast-paced too, so getting blown up is easier than it would seem.

Graphics: As I said, it was done with a relatively low budget. The maximum resolution is 1280x720. However, I personally like the visual style and I think it looks great no matter how bad it actually is. It runs pretty smoothly too, but most of the time there are just little lasers all over your screen that can make things hectic.

Sound: The other thing that I REALLY like about this game. Every game you play is narrated by a some guy with a Cockney accent. Some of the things he says can be rather comical, and he just adds to the flavor of the game. But the soundtrack for the game is excellent. I normally don't have a taste in techno or whatever the music is that they use, but all the songs fit the game perfectly.

Game Modes:
There are 12 game modes: Classic (Main game), Countdown (2 minutes), Marathon (go as far as you can), Peaceful (Practice), Pacifism (You can't shoot or spin, but you can drill and move), Boss Rush (Boss Rush), Hell (Just try and survive), Naked (No shields or powerups), Nightmare (Difficulty increases exponentially), Retro (The original Big Sky), Arcade (The main game, but faster and harder), and Remix (all the game modes, separated by wormholes).

I mainly play Classic, but the other game modes are fun when you're looking for something to do. Pacifism is especially interesting, and difficult!

And I guess while I'm at it, the game keeps track of all your stats, and even has a hidden super-stats page that has a record of pretty much everything you've done.

Recommendation? Well, it's a 10 dollar game. I enjoyed it, but haven't put too many hours into it because of other games, but it hasn't gotten boring yet, just sometimes frustrating. If you have 10 dollars and don't have anything else to buy and are looking to buy something, try it out. As I said, I'll post a video once I'm at a capable computer.