Omega Five: good

I love the new XBLA game Omega Five.

It is a great mix of retro shmup and next-gen je ne sais quoi. The levels are flat, side- (or vertical-) scrolling, and the graphics are lovely. Gameplay is pretty standard: collect shit to power up your super-weapon, switch between three different types of guns, dodge the death pellets that your enemies spit at you, etc.

One of the several things that makes Omega Five cool is that you aren’t in a spaceship; you get to pick a character who has different skills and styles, much like a fighting game. You hover through the air. Of the two characters available at the start, Ruby seems to be the easier one with whom to play; Tempest is more stylized (and cool) but tougher to get a hang of. What excites me (in a geeky, innocent way, you pervs!) is that there are at least two more characters (or… maybe… three. For a total of FIVE! Omega Five! I get it!) you can unlock by beating the game. One of them only uses melee attacks, I heard! Just a rumor.

The two characters are quite distinct. Ruby is faster and her weapons traverse the entire screen. Tempest is slower but has a force field that slows bullets that enter its range. His weapons are more interesting too. One of them is green water. The other is silver crap. They shoot out in more of an arcing pattern and are more powerful than Ruby's. Can't wait to unlock more.

As it should be, this game is hard. Enemies are creative and varied, and there is much strategy in planning your attacks via powerups and weapons selection. I have only gotten to the very beginning of level three once, after about ten tries, using all my continues.

So, this is a great game. Spend money on it.

Huff out.