Starscape Revives 2D Space Shooter

ViperG writes "A small development team known as Moonpod has developed and self-published Starscape, a top-down 2d scrolling PC space action game. You can download the full game for a modest fee of $25, or just try the demo out for free. I haven't played a game this fun since the good old DOS days. If you don't want to take my word for it, read Avault's review." Other readers also point to positive reviews from StaticGamer and from NetJak for another worthy indie game.

Comments

Best PC and Console shooters?

[randomlogik]

As a kid I was always fascinated by vertical and horizontal shooters. Being stuck with no console at home and only an Amiga and a 286 gave me not too many choices.

I ended up playing Buck Rodgers on Amiga a lot, that was a lot of fun. And some weird Galaga clone on the PC. A while after that I got a copy of Raptor for PC... anyone remember that one? That was a fantastic vertical shooter for the PC.

More recently Ikaruga on Dreamcast and Gamecube (yeah for some reason I have both versions). Which is a painfully hard game to master.

Whats everyones favourite PC and Console vertical shooters?

question:

[larry bagina]

shouldn't this story go in the ads.slashdot.org section?

Small Rockets

[Andy Smith]

If you're into 2D shooters then you might want to have a look at Star Monkey or Ultra Assault by the UK-based developer Small Rockets.

Both games have demo versions available, although the demo of Ultra Assault plays for a very short period of time (a minute?) and has a counter ticking down in the middle of the screen, so it's very difficult to experience what the game is like because you simply can't play enough of it. Star Monkey doesn't suffer from this problem.

Both of these games use 3D graphics but are presented as top-down 2D shooters.

(Obvious disclaimer: I'm not associated with Small Rockets in any way.)

Re:Small Rockets

[Andy Smith]

A game called "Star Monkey" just sounds like fun :)

I think it's a ridiculous name that doesn't fit the game at all. The game is a tough, military-themed shooter and "Star Monkey" sounds like a jokey game for kids. Doubtless quite a few people have given the game a miss because of its name, and they'll have missed out on a winner. (Plus the developers will have missed out on a sale.)

Re:Small Rockets

[Kethinov]

If you're looking for a good free one then I suggest Subspace/Continuum. It's free and has been going strong for years.

Re:Small Rockets

[Reapy]

It's free and has been going strong for years.

If you want to call that mess "going strong"...

If you give it a try, please come in and try SVS (standard VIE settings) zones, rather then the insta kill zones that seem to be so popular. SVS suffers from a lack of players, but the gameplay is infinatly more rewarding then the super zones once you get it down.

Where's the Movie Tie-In ??

[quinkin]

I just don't get it.

It's a game....

...but it isn't based on a cr*p Hollywood film.

Does not compute.

Q.

Celebrity endorsement

[August_zero]

I got turned on to this game a few months back, and its great if you like old school shooter type game play. It manages to mix a very tight shooter with some strategy and resource management. Your not only out to destroy the enemy, but you also have to gather resources, research new technologies and defend your mother ship. Imagine X-Com Interceptor in 2-d and actually good .

For $25 you could buy this game, or some crack. Both are addictive, but Starscape will last you a lot longer than the crack will and it's a lot more fun too.