Many of you will remember that Mutant Storm Reloaded was released on the Xbox 360 back when it launched. The title received average scores across the board, slightly higher depending on how much the reviewers enjoyed shmup’s. Fast forward two years and we have Mutant Storm Empire appearing as this week’s XBLA title. Developer and Publisher PomPom Games brings this second entry into the series at the reasonable cost of 800 MS points.

Gameplay:

Upon downloading and booting up the title, I was treated to a finely tuned and beautiful looking shmup. In Mutant Storm Empire you use the left stick to pilot a little high tech fighter craft through swarm after swarm of enemies a la Geometry Wars. Blasting your way through the game you rely on your trusty laser weapon which the aiming is controlled by the right stick. Your ship also has a “super” weapon that can be activated using the right trigger. The Super Weapon is very powerful but unfortunately can only be used in small doses per level section. Your fighter craft itself has 6 shields (lives) and if you lose those shields the game will end with your destruction. The shields and Super Weapon all recharge after completing each of the many individual sections that make up a level.

Mutant Storm Empire differs from the original title in that some of the stages consist of multiple rooms (sections), which you move through. Generally you will clear all the enemies in a room and then move on to the next section of the level through an open door … this gives the game a much more fluid feeling than the original title in which each level consisted of a single room. As mentioned above this also plays into the strategic dynamic of the game --- namely knowing when to use the Super Weapon to save yourself. Given that the Super Weapon and Shields will recharge after completing a section, it’s often tempting to open up with the Super Weapon if you think you are close to the end. It can be pretty upsetting to realize you’ve used all your Super Weapon juice, especially when the action that you thought was hard, heats up even more (bullet hell!).

Graphics:

Put simply, graphics are stunningly beautiful. Mutant Storm Empire is a very visual title offering some pretty awesome sights to see as you blast through the game. The alien creatures are extremely detailed, yet there are still a huge variety of bugs to destroy. Even when the action gets frantic with a ridiculous amount of bullets and enemies on the screen, the game still runs at a silky smooth pace with absolutely no slowdown at all. Honestly, the game is worth the price of admission just based on how beautiful it looks in action. It’s not the confusing mess of beauty that you get in titles like Geometry Wars and E4, but rather beauty based on really awesomely drawn backgrounds and enemy design.

Sound:

What little there is the background sound has a somewhat ambient feel to it that matches the game environments. The sound effects of your lasers as they impact into enemies is satisfying – although it can be somewhat deceptive as despite all the damage you hear yourself doing, your fighter still gets swarmed under. Explosions in the game sound great, as do the other myriad of sound effects.

I thought more of a music track might have been nice but not having it doesn’t really take away much from the title.

Longevity:

The game offers 4 Worlds, with each World consisting of 4 Levels for a grand total of 16 Levels. Most of the levels are broken into smaller sections you battle your way through. There is also a combo system built into the game which will undoubtedly give hardcore shmup players extended playtime.

The combo system works fairly simply … shoot the same type of enemies and you build up combo bonuses in your combo bar. This combo bonus bar continues to build up, only depleting if an enemy hits you. As well you can earn multiplier bonuses by finishing levels without using your Special weapon.

On top of this there are 5 different difficulty levels with each difficulty offering increasingly lucrative bonus multipliers.

Finally the game offers 2 modes, one “adventure” mode the other called “tally” mode. Adventure mode is the standard game, with your final point score ending when you die. Tally mode differs from Adventure in that you can replay unlocked levels from Adventure mode, and your high score for each level is cumulative. So if you play one game and get a high score on Level 1, that high score will add on to your high score on level 2 … which may have been reached in a previous game. Essentially all your high scores are added together to give you a total running “Tally” score for the game.

No doubt this will fuel furious competition on the leaderboards, and also between individuals who share a console.

As if all this were not enough, the game also features multiplayer support, both local and over Live for co-op fests in which both players attempt to outscore each other. Sadly in multiplayer the Special weapon is disabled, which takes away some of the strategy … however, Mutant Storm Empire is the type of game you’ll enjoy running friends through who have not experienced the title.

Overall:

Mutant Storm Empire is a really graphically unique looking shmup and offers a ton of replay value to fans of the genre. Hardcore shmup fans will be playing Tally mode for months to come, attempting to get the ultimate score for the leaderboards. Casual gamers will enjoy the unique visuals of the title, and multiplayer will keep the game played for those late night “just want to shoot something” fests.

All in all the title is a great value at 800 points and improves on the original Mutant Storm Reloaded both graphically as well as in the longevity department.

For those of you unsure, you can be assured of a unique visual experience probably unlike anything you have experienced, with replayability added on due to the built in local and live multiplayer support. As for those of you who were fans of the original or enjoy shmups in general, this XBLA title is a no brainer.

Great job PomPom, games like Mutant Storm Empire is what XBLA is all about.