Mutant Storm Reloaded thrusts the player into the thick of space shooting action as they take on hoards of weird and wonderful creatures or should I say mutants. With 89 levels to blast your way through and several levels of difficulty, does Mutant Storm have that special quality that makes arcade games great for short bursts of entertainment?

Gameplay

Mutant Storm Reloaded has 3 modes of play which are Adventure mode which sees your craft level up after clearing a number of stages without being hit. Tally mode which lets players choose a level with the aim of beating it with the highest score. The last mode is a two player offline mode.

The basic premise of the Mutant Storm is to control a spacecraft whilst destroying any enemies that warp on to the screen and thus clearing the level then moving on to the next. Each level is different in terms of the area you can move around and features enemies which get progressively tougher to destroy the further you progress. Players use the left thumb stick to move and the right thumb stick to shoot; the direction of fire depends on which way you move the stick. Levels can and will get very tough but luckily players are able to use smart bombs or pick up randomly dropped power ups such as homing missiles, enhanced laser, shields, 3-way lasers etc. These are crucial to success although sometimes trying to grab one as it floats around the screen can cause an early death; so caution is required at all times. It becomes quite clear after an hour or so play that the priority for the player is to try and destroy the more dangerous foes first especially when there are perhaps loads of lesser enemies trying to get you as well. In fact I found that positioning is a major factor in being successful because not only do you often have to circle around groups of enemies whilst firing into them; but also lining up your shots so as to hit two groups of enemies at the same time really does become an effective strategy.

The Adventure mode aspect of the game is very challenging because if you can survive a level without being destroyed then you build up a percentage meter which shows how close you are to reaching the next difficulty (or coloured belts in this case). Once you have survived enough levels to reach 100% then you will unlock the next level of difficulty which can be selected when you try a new game or continue with your current game until you die. Also every 10 levels a checkpoint is reached meaning you don’t always have to start a new game from the beginning each time you wish to play.

Mutant Storm is all about score and in this respect players can view the scores of other players and compare them by looking at the world leader boards. Increasing your score is something you can do by beating the game with the 3 lives and any bonus lives you get (although the game returns to level 1 again once you beat the last level) or by upping the difficulty and trying to clear levels as quickly as possible and without being hit so as to build up a score multiplier. Either way it’s challenging to try and best your previous score on subsequent plays.

Mutant Storm is a fast paced shooting game that does require some quick thinking and also a little knowledge of the levels helps. My only gripe is the fact that between each level you get a loading screen which admittedly isn’t long but kind of breaks up the action a little too much for my liking. I guess on the latter levels having a few seconds breathing space might actually be a good thing.

Graphics

The graphics used offer some psychedelic whirls and effects as the game loads and plays. The screen is always awash with plenty of colour from your enemies and the areas outside of play. Often the screen is filled with vast numbers of enemies and as you would expect the game runs smoothly throughout. For an arcade game and compared to some of the older titles, Mutant Storm looks rather nice by featuring some interesting enemy designs and of course impressive shooting effects.

Sound

The music is almost as psychedelic as the visuals and features a strange airy feel mixed with some beats. The sound effects are very good and make all the right sounds that you would expect from gunfire to enemies being blown to pieces. The sound effects are simple but in the premise of the game work very well. Mutant Storm is a game that is worth pumping up the volume for that full arcade experience; plus it sounds cool anyway.

Longevity

Beating all 89 levels in the adventure mode will take quite some time even though some levels can be completed within seconds. Things do get rather tricky even on the lowest difficulty and even attempting to unlock the extra difficulties is a task in itself. The tally mode lets players choose the difficulty as you take on one mission at a time and there fore allows players the chance to improve their scores. The main pull of the game is to simply try and attain as high score as possible and so if you have a competitive streak then there is always something to work towards. Mutant Storm will keep you engrossed especially if you play for short periods until you start getting very good with the game and can make your ships last. The two player mode adds some longevity to the game but sadly there is no option to do this via Xbox Live.

Overall

Mutant Storm Reloaded is definitely worth a play and offers some neat old school arcade game play which will keep you engrossed for quite some time. Trying to unlock the various difficulties is extremely challenging and can cause frustration for those prone to getting worked up over games. The loading is a little annoying at times but overall doesn’t hamper a stylish yet psychedelic experience that is full of shooting and lots more shooting. If you are in doubt, then simply download the demo first to get a taste of the action. Mutant Storm Reloaded is a solid arcade game.