AstroWings2 - space odyssey [Universal][Shmup][by PLAYBEAN]

[Bytebrain]

Originally Posted by gunxsword

Technically, everything in this game except resurrection is obtainable through normal gameplay.

However, seeing as how upgrade costs increase by 500 coin per level, health and bomb costs 100 coins per purchase and enemies drop 1 coin per kill, it's hard not to think that IAP is being forced down the player's throat.

Plus, stages take some minutes to complete. This only makes the grinding more time-consuming than I'd like it to be.

Purely gameplay wise, this is a pretty good shmup. Just expect some high priced item + grind if you're not skilled enough to whittle down the boss' HP without extra firepower.

Thank you for your impressions. Much appreciated.
I'm gonna try it out, but I'll probably hit that pay-wall, and put it aside then. What a shame...

[RCranium666]

Yeech. Left 1* review on app store. Look at that. I'll add more here later. Thanks anyways Sanuku.

Update1:

Ok, played again and upping my rating to 2*. You can use your own music in game. Backgrounds are good. Ship models are good though only boss animates and only a little. Bullet variation and color good. Even on easy setting game is hard. Biggest minus is frame rate. On ipad3 fps is below 30 imo. Game is salvageable. Will continue to update once I'm able to upgrade weapons/ships.

Game is equivalent to 1st gen shmup on ipad1. Inferior to best of that class e.g. Assault Squadron. Super Laser is closest comparison.

Damn, just noticed there's a lite version! Try it first.


Update2:

Was able to upgrade weapons to laser and as you know, I'm a sucker for beam weapons. Rating now 2.5*. I foresee a 3* rating if previous flaws corrected. I still see this as an average gen1 shmup. As mentioned before, graphics and gameplay on Phoenix HD and Shogun are far beyond this game. Of course the Cave games are included in the top tier.

[Royce]

It's terrible what they've done here. No matter how much I may dislike an app, I usually don't feel ripped off if it's only a doller or two. Tonight I feel ripped off. The purchase health mechanic combined with very bad IAP balancing (ridiculously unbalanced for a paid game) makes this an instadelete. It's a shame because with the multiple ships, upgrade systems, and some decent gameplay elements there's a solid foundation for a shmup. The developer had to actually put some serious effort into making this not any fun to play because it should have been a much better game.

[SumoSplash]

I am playing the lite version and I don't think this game is bad at all. It's far better than the plethora of other shitty shooters on the App store I've played (excluding Phoenix HD and the Cave shooters, of course).

[RCranium666]

Game has been updated. Frame rate seems to have been improved. Will post more later.

[SumoSplash]

Originally Posted by RCranium666

Game has been updated. Frame rate seems to have been improved. Will post more later.

Yeah, I immediately noticed that when you move your ship it turns side to side, which I don't think it was doing originally.

Based on the YouTube link below, at 25-30 seconds in you'll notice that the blue spread shot is four streams wide without the shot that fans out wide. I am wondering how this is possible since every level that I upgrade the spread shot leaves me with the one shot that fans out to the side.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEzqjwiBoNE

And has anyone been able to get past Upgrade Point 10 on the Lite version?

[SumoSplash]

One example of sloppiness that I find common with shooters which AstroWings2 has also fallen victim too is how weapons that fire intermittently do not originate from the object they are being fired from when you move the ship quickly. For example, when the side weapon pods are equipped and your move you ship side to side quickly, the lasers they emit will appear and fire in empty space as opposed to being fired from the pods themselves as they move. The lasers can't keep up with the movement of the ship. This also goes for the green lasers that fire from the back of the ship.

Yeah it may sound particular, but it just seems like something that keeps happening in a lot of the shooters I play. Weapons that fire constantly (or near constantly), like the yellow laser, don't have this issue since they are being continuously emitted.

[RCranium666]

Originally Posted by SumoSplash

One example of sloppiness that I find common with shooters which AstroWings2 has also fallen victim too is how weapons that fire intermittently do not originate from the object they are being fired from when you move the ship quickly. For example, when the side weapon pods are equipped and your move you ship side to side quickly, the lasers they emit will appear and fire in empty space as opposed to being fired from the pods themselves as they move. The lasers can't keep up with the movement of the ship. This also goes for the green lasers that fire from the back of the ship.

Yeah it may sound particular, but it just seems like something that keeps happening in a lot of the shooters I play. Weapons that fire constantly (or near constantly), like the yellow laser, don't have this issue since they are being continuously emitted.

I haven't noticed the problem with the weapons but I did notice the ship animation. Fps increase helps a lot. I now give it 3*. It's a tough shmup without being bullet hell. Still underwhelmed though. At least I can have a little fun with it. The music is really annoying!

[SumoSplash]

Originally Posted by RCranium666

I haven't noticed the problem with the weapons but I didn't notice the ship animation. Fps increase helps a lot. I now give it 3*. It's a tough shmup without being bullet hell. Still underwhelmed though. At least I can have a little fun with it. The music is really annoying!

It isn't necessarily a 'problem' in terms of the weapons but more so something I notice as a consistency with shooters that use weapons with a sporadic firing rate. Equip a pod and/or a green laser and move your ship back and forth quickly, then keep on eye on how the laser does not shoot from the pod itself, but rather it appears at the location the pod just was. The firing rate for the laser is set, but does not match the quick movements of the ship. The laser should emit from the front of the pod no matter where it is on the screen.

I personally don't mind the music, but the sound of the pod laser is obnoxious, as it was in the first AstroWings.

Did you happen to look at the YouTube link for what I was talking about?

[RCranium666]

Final update: Downgrading to lowest possible due to introduction of new game without improving this one. 1 freaking *.