Radiant HD for Android
Hexage, Ltd.
Rating:
5 Stars
Amazon blasts in with another free game, Radiant HD, as the free app of the day for Feb. 26, 2012. This game is all about nostalgia and retro mystique clearly drawing inspiration from the classic Galaga series. It mixes in some modern aspects and graphics that are a fantastic tribute to the games of yesteryear. If you’re a fan of retro gaming, this is a modern take on it at its absolute finest.
The Fun Stuff:
Despite running on far superior devices, the developer still chose to go with pixelated images to add to its nostalgic charm. They also give off a vibrant neon glow similar to the graphics in Geometry Wars. Even the ‘cut scenes’ are rendered in the same way they would be had the game been developed 20+ years ago. They’re very brief, often have cheesy and predictable dialog, and are forgo voice-acting altogether. All of it feels right at home and you probably won’t even miss them while you have your head wrapped in Radiant HD.
The gameplay is some of the best on the Android platform. Most games attempt to utilize both a joystick and fire button. Radiant HD ignores these all together by introducing auto-fire and requiring you only to control your ship. The joystick is also scrapped in favor of general touch zones. Touching the left side of the screen moves you left and touching the right side moves you right. It’s intuitive and comfortable, seeing as your thumbs are already resting in those areas while playing the game.
As a nice addition, Radiant HD allows you to upgrade your weapons either by earning credits or picking up power-ups while playing. It breathes new life into the game without being enough to actually ruin it.
The Frustrating Stuff:
The only thing that really seems out of place in Radiant HD is the fact that the game has been made somewhat easier. Not by the aforementioned power-ups, but rather by the fact that your ship doesn’t blow up when any of the enemy ships fly into you. Instead, they apparently fly above or below because your spaceship is completely intact after they pass. This might be because of the more compressed screen space on a phone. The arcade cabinets had much more height to them allowing plenty of time to shoot things or move out of their way. After a while, this feature will probably grow on you in the later levels.
The most disappointing aspect is the lack of a save feature. Everything has to be played in one sitting. This means that if you suddenly need to check an email or Google something, the second you hit that ‘home’ button on your phone, all data is lost. Hopefully, this feature will be added in at a later date, but until then this game is only worth playing if you have some time on your hands.
Bottom Line:
Radiant HD is a blast from the past which is extremely well done. Those who grow up playing any of the arcade classic vertical shooters will be thrilled with the new life this game breathes into an otherwise dead genre. By all means, get your hands on this today for free if you can. If you’ve missed the sale, it’s well worth forking over the $1.99 if you’re a fan of these types of games. It’s well designed and so much thought was put into each and every detail. You’ll become so immersed in its world, you’ll get confused trying to figure out where to put your quarters.
Radiant HD was created by Hexage Ltd and is Amazon’s free app of the day for 2/26/12. It typically sells for $1.99
Anthony Ortale writes news and reviews on behalf of Examiner.com. He does so much gaming in his spare time, it’s practically a full time job! If you like what you read here, please subscribe to his articles! You can also follow Tony on Twitter, or become a fan on Facebook! If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email Tony any time at ortale.anthony@gmail.com, he would love to hear from you!