Resogun: Review Turning Space Shooters on their Side Housemarque | Playstation 4 | November 15, 2013 Do you like twin stick shooters? Do you enjoy fixed blasters, such as Galaga or Centipede? Are you happiest when completing a bullet hell section of a level unscathed? Well, then you are in luck, because Resogun contains elements of all these genres, and players of all skills can enjoy the space frenzy. There is no story presented except for the “Save All the Humans” message in the beginning of each level and players jump into a ship immediately and experience gameplay. Each of the five stages is a side scrolling circle that players fly around to eliminate all foes. Enemies appear in phases, and by comboing kills, rescuing humans and picking up powerups the score multiplayer increases. The stages are capstoned with a boss battle who is so large that the height extends to accommodate his barrage of attacks. The three selectable ships use the same control scheme but have different pros and cons. The Nemesis is great for boosting but the overdrive is lacking, the Phobos hits hard but lacks agility and the Ferox is a good balance. Once the fifth stage is completed, players can go for a higher score or a more challenging difficulty. What is a Critical Hit! Gameplay is quick and fast paced. There is never a dull moment as you fly around each stage, even when there are no enemies on screen there is the pressure of losing a high multiplayer hanging overhead. As phases progress, there are additional humans to save, enemies to defeat and powerups to discover. There is a constant theme of movement and motion throughout the level. If you stand still, you are more likely to perish from a stray bullet than pushing forward (or around…depending on how you look at it). Newcomers can enjoy the game on Rookie setting but hardcore players can be challenged through Hero mode. Resogun does an amazing job of using the same controls, setting and enemies to scale difficulty for any player. Even on Rookie, the one hit death and various enemies on screen can be chaotic but through a generous amount of lives, bombs and infinite continues, players can hone their skills eventually to avoid armageddon. Resogun is fun while playing alone, but even better in co-op mode. The difficulty does not scale for a second player. If you are just barely unable to beat the final boss on Veteran, then adding a buddy online can make all the difference; plus having someone keep the fight going for when a revenge bullet takes you out makes the sting of defeat a little easier to swallow. The game is beautiful; there are a plethora of objects on the screen at all times and multiple enemies in various flight paths. During my playthroughs, there was never a hint of slowdown and everything ran smoothly. The load times are almost non-existent and even when playing with gamers across the world the game was experienced without hiccup. What is Not Very Effective… There are Keepers, who are marked enemies which captured the humans. Only by defeating them, can pilots rescue the hostages and earn rewards. There are a few phases where the game requires a specific multiplier on the Keeper phase or for the enemies to be killed in a marked order. There is no explanation as to what each phase requires and players must either learn through trial and error or independent internet research. Status Summary Resogun is the best polished and dynamic game from the next-gen launch titles. It makes great usage of sound effects, tight controls, multiplayer and addictive gameplay mechanics. There is no true story present, but gameplay is king during every section. If you prefer large open world games or character driven stories, than this title will not blast into your gaming library. If you enjoy fast paced gameplay, streamlined levels and challenging trophies than this is one game that you will want to pilot. Score: 9.5 /10 + Jump-in and Play + Multiplayer Options + Scaled Challenges + Hundreds of On-Screen Objects + No Technical Issues Trophy Analysis The Platinum for Resogun is not for the faint of heart, only 2.9% of players earned it. There is a trophy for completing the game on Veteran (though not the hardest difficulty), for beating the game on Experienced without using a continue and saving all the humans on each level. Fortunately, these can be earned in single player or multiplayer. A second person is critical for winning without using a continue, because as long as one player survives each stage, the trophy counts. Saving all humans is made much easier due to the fact that it does not have to be in a single playthrough of the game (you must save all 10 on each level at least once in any mode). There are a couple challenge specific trophies such as creating a 15 multiplier combo or reaching the end-boss in a level by only using boost that are difficult but not impossible (especially if you already have the skills to beat a level on Master). Even if aren’t chasing the Platinum, you’ll probably earn 14 of 34 trophies just by beating the game on Rookie. Level Up, Friends!
