X-Force Under Attack

A somewhat typical shmup that doesn’t bring anything new, but fans of the genre should give it a shot. There’s no story here. Based on the title image, I'd assume you're once again the final hope against the invading force from space. The team consists of four different pilots. They fly the same type of fighter plane, but each has its own paint design and weapons. Pilots also have varied stats that influence their health, damage, and speed. It makes little difference which one you choose because you upgrade the fighter, not the pilots. The gameplay consists of conventional shoot'em up elements. You have your main weaponry as well as limited super attacks such as lasers, missiles, and the ever-reliable bomb. These can be purchased before a mission and a maximum of three of each type can be carried. I really like the auto rapid fire option, which eliminates the need for button mashing. Stars are the game's currency. There are a lot of them because they drop from each defeated enemy. Because they must be collected by flying directly into them, it would be wise to invest in a better magnet that would draw stars to you. You'll be drowning in stars once you've taken care of that. In the shop, you can upgrade a variety of things. Aside from increasing the damage of your main gun and improving your armor, you may also enhance the damage of all three super attacks and lengthen the duration of another three power-ups that appear only during missions. Drones, super shots, and shields are only active for a short period of time, therefore each upgrade boosts your chances of survival. The game consists of ten missions. None of them stick out, and they're all very dull. You're simply annihilating enemy units that rarely cause you difficulties. Most perish after a few shots. Sometimes you'll receive a surprise, like a laser or asteroids firing at you, but they'll signal the shot so you can avoid it. The music is fantastic, but the sound effects should have been better. Enemies simply explode in a casual manner with little to no sound, and the game lacks spectacle. There are no true bosses at all. You only get space platforms packed with turrets that you must meticulously destroy wave after wave. After upgrading the magnet and main guns, you should be able to complete the game in a few of hours. The game is neither challenging nor lengthy. The achievements are reasonable because you only need to complete all of the stages and upgrade everything.