Review
Release Date: 05.16.2007
Platform:
Xbox Live ArcadeDeveloper:
Microsoft Game StudiosPublisher:
Microsoft Game StudiosReviewed by
Justin Fassino on 6.28.2007
| Review Rating: 8/10 | User Rating: 7/10 |
Editor's Note: Price was taken into account when calculating this review score.
In the past, 2D shooters have been a primarily single player affair. The challenge was to clear the game or get as many points as possible. So how does a 2D shooter migrate from that formula to the multiplayer-heavy Xbox Live arena?
Well, it starts by shifting focus to a game that is best enjoyed with other people.
Aegis Wing is simple by shooter standards; there are no main gun power-ups and no ship additions to earn. Instead,
Aegis Wing is a light-hearted, simple side-scrolling 'shmup that really gets into gear when teamwork is involved.
While you can play by yourself, what you get is a very mediocre game without much replay value. Enemy variety is incredibly low, the four bosses spread across the six levels are minor alterations of one another, and your ship is so small it's hard to make out any detail. You could also finish
Aegis Wing in less than an hour.
Enter one or more friends, and the dynamic changes: now the game is about covering your teammate, picking up one of the four different super weapons based on how it will help you survive any given situations, and hooking up with your buddy to unleash some fury. Imagine a combination of a
Gradius game and Voltron: while it's possible to fly separately and do your thing, you can also connect your ship to your teammate's. Let him do the flying and dodging while you use the left analog stick as a 360 degree turret and blast enemies. While your new amalgamated space ship is slower, your super weapons are more powerful and take up more of the screen. Add in a third or fourth player, and you can form the megazord of
Aegis Wing ships. You won't be able to zip around the screen, but who needs that when your Hercules Beam can annihiliate an entire squad of bogeys?
Indeed, the achievements are built almost exclusively around multiplayer scenarios, like getting through a stage without firing a bullet (you'll need a generous partner for that one), or linking up with three other wingmen at once. Even better, you can play the game locally with some friends or via Xbox Live with other aspiring galaxy heroes. And that's how the game is enjoyed best. Crank up the difficulty to insane, and a fair amount of bullet dodging skill is required to go along with your reduced life count.
As a game,
Aegis Wing isn't particularly noteworthy, other than the incredibly fun multiplayer mode. As a free game,
Aegis Wing is a can't-miss title. It's good for a quick 30 minutes of fun any time, and while the music is something out of a Roger Rabbit movie, it adds to the light-hearted, social nature of the game. The level backgrounds are actually quite impressive, too, so while visual panache isn't the game's strong point, at least it isn't ugly.
For a free game, we could certainly have gotten a lot worse. Kudos to Microsoft for releasing an intern project on the Live Arcade for no charge.
Aegis Wing is one of those games you'll play for a week, ignore, and then come back to now and again and have it always remain fun and worthy of your time.
Second Opinion
Reviewed by
Richard Brownell
Review Rating: 6
While
Aegis Wing does have some redeeming qualities in the form of innovative and fun gameplay in its multiplayer mode, the single player campaign is just plain boring. Unlike many shmups, there is no real incentive to learn the layouts of levels or enemy and bullet patterns. There is no optimizing of power-ups. And while the graphics are nice, they are nothing too special.
Aegis Wing being free makes it a must-download amongst the many for-pay games of Xbox Live Arcade. But after playing through with your friends a couple times, you'll find yourself wanting to go back to the XBLA shooters you actually spent money on like
Geometry Wars or
Assault Heroes.
