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"[GAME] Who's That Flying?! (PS3/PSP Mini)"

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This thread has been linked to the game 'Who's That Flying?!'.
Thu 09/12/10 at 10:29
Regular
"And in last place.."
Posts: 2,054
A wise old man once said, with great power comes great responsibility. Peter Parker may have been in no mood to listen to his Uncle Ben but the hero of this game was clearly listening. With a job title of Guardian of Earth, you know he doesn’t shy away from responsibility.

Who’s That Flying?! is the 2nd minis games from Mediatonic. With titles of Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess) and Who’s That Flying, with the W, T and F highlighted, you can tell they are a company with a bit of humour to them.

Mediatonic describe their latest offering as “Side Scrolling Shooter Meets Tower Defence”, a statement which will probably make you wonder, W T F! The game comes across as a fast-paced, side scrolling shooter so where does the tower defence aspect come into it? The twist here is that you don’t have lives, you can’t die. Instead, you have to stop the enemies getting past you. Let more than 50 past and it is game over. Simple but refreshing and it changes the way play this game.

The game starts with the trial of our hero. The Galactic Council For Space Justice aren’t best pleased with the performance of Guardian of Earth and demand he explain himself. Earth was subject to an invasion from the Doom Beasts and it was our hero’s job to protect the planet from this alien species. A job, the Council don’t think he did well. In fact, they believe he is at fault for not preventing the invasion in the first place. The story is told via humorous and well presented cut scenes and it will take you as long as the first response from Guardian of Earth to realise how cocky he is. He doesn’t feel he has a case to answer and doesn’t take the trial seriously. He openly mocks the members of the council and despite the fact he seems to have failed our planet, you can’t help but like him.

Each world in the game is preceded by a cut scene. Each of the 5 worlds consists of 3 levels and in terms of the story, they represent the Guardian of Earth’s defence where he recalls his actions. We get to play through the attacks on New York, Tokyo, Mexico and Moscow as well as an attack in space. As with all shooters, it starts off simple and get progressively more difficult.

The Doom Beasts aren’t interested in taking over the planet, they are here to feast and humans are their favourite snack. All that stands between them and the all you can eat buffet is Guardian of Earth. The Doom Beasts attack in the air and that is where the action takes place. Armed with a rapid firing cannon and the ability to fly, it plays very much like a standard side scrolling shooter with the space ship replaced by a superhero. The enemies come in a variety of sizes but it is the small ones, the Ravagers, that you want to watch out for. These are the enemies you have to stop getting past and any that escape are then free to start on lunch. The other enemies come in M, L and XL variety and serve as a distraction and obstacle, a task in which they are very proficient. They will block your shots, return fire and generally get in your way which allows the Ravagers to make a dash for it.

Like traditional shoot-em-ups, the enemies come in waves but unlike traditional shoot-em-ups, the enemies will come towards you and then retreat to wait for an opportunity to get past. And when one of the Ravagers decides to go for it, they accelerate quicker than anything you’ll see in Gran Turismo 5.

This is a game that demands your attention. Allow the bigger enemies to distract you and in the blink of an eye a handful of Ravagers have slipped past. The booing from the observing crowd let you know all about your failure. Let 50 Ravagers escape and it is game over, you are found GUILTY! The crowd aren’t just there to boo though, they will cheer when you destroy the enemies. Guardian of Earth likes that and he likes to put on a show. You are able to get up close and personal with the Ravagers, there is no need to rely solely on firepower when you can grab one and rip it apart. The crowds like that and a good superhero needs to entertain, according to Guardian of Earth. I don’t think Uncle Ben was referring to entertainment value when he spoke of responsibility.

Some of the big guys can only be taken down by a close encounter attack. Guardian of Earth softens them up with some gun fire before going in for the kill. Rapidly pressing X builds up to a finishing move which in turn, also acts like a smart bomb and destroys nearby enemies. The screen can get very busy at times and you need to be aware of the movements of every enemy, sometimes 2 eyes aren’t enough. At times you will want to ignore the big boys and concentrate on the Ravagers, at other times it pays to take out the bigger beasts and make use of the smart bomb effect. Get hit by a projectile and you’ll spiral out of control for a few seconds which presents the Ravagers with their perfect opportunity to slip past. And let me tell you, they make the most of opportunities like that.

Guardian of Earth has some power-ups available but you have to work for them. Chain together your hits and you start building up your power meter. The first power available is a turbo fire which is very effective for aimlessly spraying the screen with bullets. Next up is the super beam which launches a steady beam across the screen and the last power available is the hyper beam, similar to the super beam but bigger and better. Each power up is very effective but only lasts a few seconds so you will want to implement a bit of careful usage, you don’t want to be caught short at a busy point with numerous bigger enemies getting in your way.

At the end of every 3 levels the camera pans out to allow the exceptionally large boss to appear, the XXXXL version. The bosses themselves have a variety of attacks and on their own they aren’t too tricky but the challenge increases ten-fold when you combine the boss with Ravagers to keep at bay and a short time frame in which to beat them boss. And did I mention that the boss can only be hurt by concentrating your fire on certain areas at certain times?

Your results from each level are graded. You are awarded a bronze, silver or gold medal based on the number of Ravagers you let escape. If you want gold medal in each of the levels then you are going to have to become a master at this game, it is very challenging but it is enjoyable and keeps you coming back for more punishment. In addition to the level medals, there are certain criteria based awards, a bit like PS3 trophies but in fitting with this game, they are not going to be handed to you on a plate.

To boost the overall package there are 2 other games modes in the shape of Infinite and Challenge. Infinite allows you to play in each of the cities and see how long you can survive. It’s all about high scores but unfortunately you will only be aiming to beat your own score and those from the developers, there are no global leaderboards here. Challenge mode presents you with 24 individual challenges to beat. It took me a good few goes to beat number one so the title of this mode seems apt.

The game is fast and furious and thankfully the controls are fluid and responsive. The audio is well implemented with a intro suitable to the city you are playing in before progressing on to a catchy, dramatic sounding number for the rest of the level. The city specific intro music is a subtle but a nice bit of attention to detail. The graphics are cartoon style and are well presented. The enemies are varied and have some good imaginative detail.

Who's That Flying?! is a fun, challenging shooter which any side scrolling shooter fan should enjoy. It adds a novel twist to the shoot-em-up proceedings and gives you plenty of value and challenge for the £3.99 asking price. Shame about those global leaderboards though, particularly when the game itself says “High scores are awesome. That’s maths, you can’t argue with maths”.

8/10
There have been no replies to this thread yet.
Thu 09/12/10 at 10:29
Regular
"And in last place.."
Posts: 2,054
A wise old man once said, with great power comes great responsibility. Peter Parker may have been in no mood to listen to his Uncle Ben but the hero of this game was clearly listening. With a job title of Guardian of Earth, you know he doesn’t shy away from responsibility.

Who’s That Flying?! is the 2nd minis games from Mediatonic. With titles of Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess) and Who’s That Flying, with the W, T and F highlighted, you can tell they are a company with a bit of humour to them.

Mediatonic describe their latest offering as “Side Scrolling Shooter Meets Tower Defence”, a statement which will probably make you wonder, W T F! The game comes across as a fast-paced, side scrolling shooter so where does the tower defence aspect come into it? The twist here is that you don’t have lives, you can’t die. Instead, you have to stop the enemies getting past you. Let more than 50 past and it is game over. Simple but refreshing and it changes the way play this game.

The game starts with the trial of our hero. The Galactic Council For Space Justice aren’t best pleased with the performance of Guardian of Earth and demand he explain himself. Earth was subject to an invasion from the Doom Beasts and it was our hero’s job to protect the planet from this alien species. A job, the Council don’t think he did well. In fact, they believe he is at fault for not preventing the invasion in the first place. The story is told via humorous and well presented cut scenes and it will take you as long as the first response from Guardian of Earth to realise how cocky he is. He doesn’t feel he has a case to answer and doesn’t take the trial seriously. He openly mocks the members of the council and despite the fact he seems to have failed our planet, you can’t help but like him.

Each world in the game is preceded by a cut scene. Each of the 5 worlds consists of 3 levels and in terms of the story, they represent the Guardian of Earth’s defence where he recalls his actions. We get to play through the attacks on New York, Tokyo, Mexico and Moscow as well as an attack in space. As with all shooters, it starts off simple and get progressively more difficult.

The Doom Beasts aren’t interested in taking over the planet, they are here to feast and humans are their favourite snack. All that stands between them and the all you can eat buffet is Guardian of Earth. The Doom Beasts attack in the air and that is where the action takes place. Armed with a rapid firing cannon and the ability to fly, it plays very much like a standard side scrolling shooter with the space ship replaced by a superhero. The enemies come in a variety of sizes but it is the small ones, the Ravagers, that you want to watch out for. These are the enemies you have to stop getting past and any that escape are then free to start on lunch. The other enemies come in M, L and XL variety and serve as a distraction and obstacle, a task in which they are very proficient. They will block your shots, return fire and generally get in your way which allows the Ravagers to make a dash for it.

Like traditional shoot-em-ups, the enemies come in waves but unlike traditional shoot-em-ups, the enemies will come towards you and then retreat to wait for an opportunity to get past. And when one of the Ravagers decides to go for it, they accelerate quicker than anything you’ll see in Gran Turismo 5.

This is a game that demands your attention. Allow the bigger enemies to distract you and in the blink of an eye a handful of Ravagers have slipped past. The booing from the observing crowd let you know all about your failure. Let 50 Ravagers escape and it is game over, you are found GUILTY! The crowd aren’t just there to boo though, they will cheer when you destroy the enemies. Guardian of Earth likes that and he likes to put on a show. You are able to get up close and personal with the Ravagers, there is no need to rely solely on firepower when you can grab one and rip it apart. The crowds like that and a good superhero needs to entertain, according to Guardian of Earth. I don’t think Uncle Ben was referring to entertainment value when he spoke of responsibility.

Some of the big guys can only be taken down by a close encounter attack. Guardian of Earth softens them up with some gun fire before going in for the kill. Rapidly pressing X builds up to a finishing move which in turn, also acts like a smart bomb and destroys nearby enemies. The screen can get very busy at times and you need to be aware of the movements of every enemy, sometimes 2 eyes aren’t enough. At times you will want to ignore the big boys and concentrate on the Ravagers, at other times it pays to take out the bigger beasts and make use of the smart bomb effect. Get hit by a projectile and you’ll spiral out of control for a few seconds which presents the Ravagers with their perfect opportunity to slip past. And let me tell you, they make the most of opportunities like that.

Guardian of Earth has some power-ups available but you have to work for them. Chain together your hits and you start building up your power meter. The first power available is a turbo fire which is very effective for aimlessly spraying the screen with bullets. Next up is the super beam which launches a steady beam across the screen and the last power available is the hyper beam, similar to the super beam but bigger and better. Each power up is very effective but only lasts a few seconds so you will want to implement a bit of careful usage, you don’t want to be caught short at a busy point with numerous bigger enemies getting in your way.

At the end of every 3 levels the camera pans out to allow the exceptionally large boss to appear, the XXXXL version. The bosses themselves have a variety of attacks and on their own they aren’t too tricky but the challenge increases ten-fold when you combine the boss with Ravagers to keep at bay and a short time frame in which to beat them boss. And did I mention that the boss can only be hurt by concentrating your fire on certain areas at certain times?

Your results from each level are graded. You are awarded a bronze, silver or gold medal based on the number of Ravagers you let escape. If you want gold medal in each of the levels then you are going to have to become a master at this game, it is very challenging but it is enjoyable and keeps you coming back for more punishment. In addition to the level medals, there are certain criteria based awards, a bit like PS3 trophies but in fitting with this game, they are not going to be handed to you on a plate.

To boost the overall package there are 2 other games modes in the shape of Infinite and Challenge. Infinite allows you to play in each of the cities and see how long you can survive. It’s all about high scores but unfortunately you will only be aiming to beat your own score and those from the developers, there are no global leaderboards here. Challenge mode presents you with 24 individual challenges to beat. It took me a good few goes to beat number one so the title of this mode seems apt.

The game is fast and furious and thankfully the controls are fluid and responsive. The audio is well implemented with a intro suitable to the city you are playing in before progressing on to a catchy, dramatic sounding number for the rest of the level. The city specific intro music is a subtle but a nice bit of attention to detail. The graphics are cartoon style and are well presented. The enemies are varied and have some good imaginative detail.

Who's That Flying?! is a fun, challenging shooter which any side scrolling shooter fan should enjoy. It adds a novel twist to the shoot-em-up proceedings and gives you plenty of value and challenge for the £3.99 asking price. Shame about those global leaderboards though, particularly when the game itself says “High scores are awesome. That’s maths, you can’t argue with maths”.

8/10

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