Resogun PS4 Review

Resogun Playstation 4 Review

24th Nov 2013 by Maya Mayfield




Resogun comes from the creators of the awesome Super Stardust HD, but with a unique take on the classic arcade style shooters made famous in the late 80's and 90's. You are one of the last remaining hope for humans against an alien race called the keepers, who are going around abducting mankind. It is up to you to destroy everything you see and save us all from extinction.
Mastering Resogun may appear fairly straightforward at first on easier settings, but there is a learning curve adjusting to the games controls and movement. The right analogue stick can be used to shoot down enemies either on the left or right, while the left stick moves the ship in different directions. Combat and movement was both smooth and fluid, as we avoided enemy fire while countering with fast return fire of our own.

There are five different stages on Resogun, each with their unique sets of challenges to achieve.  The game changes from its cylindrical style of play during boss battles, adding another exciting twist and dynamic view to its overall play. There are two modes to choose from when you first begin, arcade and single player. In single player mode you will be allowed to practice on much harder levels that you may otherwise struggle with if you had initially chose arcade mode. You also have three different ships to choose from each with their own unique abilities. The first aircraft Nemesis is super fast, relying heavily on boosts to manoeuvre past enemies than firepower, while the second ship Ferox is a little more balanced and probably our recommend choice for first timers unfamiliar with this particular genre of shooters. The third ship Phobos is much slower than the previous two, but offers a lot more fire power and enhanced overdrive capabilities.

Each ship comes with its own attacks and upgrades, so it is worth going over the games stage with different aircrafts to unlock other bonus points and rewards.

The boosting ability can be one of your strongest weapons amidst your personal arsenal, and if used correctly can be the difference between survival and annihilation. If you hit enemies while using the nitrous, it will extend the length of the skill, enabling you to destroy links of enemies. You can rack up a lot of points destroying the keepers aircraft, but reaching these multipliers will require a non-stop chain of carnage. If you break the action you will be returned back to one and have to start over again. Using a well timed boost to close in on enemies
 can help you maintain your multiplier and increase your points.

Using the overdrive will enable your ship to deploy a giant beam killing all  in your way as you gather large points for your effort. If all that overdrive wasn't enough for you, flicking the R2 button will release a massive bomb powerful enough to annihilate all in its field. As you manoeuvre through different planets, you will also have to rescue ten human beings from the clutches of the evil keepers. It is worth rescuing humans and returning them back to HQ, as doing this can add massive boost to your ship's weapons, speed, shields and upgrades. There are several ways to free humans from aliens, and a lot will require you to destroy special fleets of drones.

Combining all the various tasks in Resogun, from destroying the keepers aircrafts and rescuing humans will require your undivided focus and attention, especially as you progress through the later stages of the game.
Resogun's difficulty settings can be adjusted, allowing novice and veteran gamers to both equally enjoy the game at their own pace. Set the game to easy mode and you will breeze through the levels, as enemy ships move slower and bosses are overpowered faster. As the level of difficulty changes, so do your enemies. Prepare to face a tougher battle from the Keepers, as they dodge your attacks and counter back in Veteran mode.

Resogun can be played with friends online, adding another level of excitement in co-op play. Unfortunately there is no local multiplayer feature which we thought could have been a great addition for friends coming round to your home for a game. The entire world is built out of voxels and every tiny little piece can be blown up. Watching these voxels explode in Resogun is quite a sight to witness especially when viewed on full HD.


The sound effects are fitting to the action displayed on screen and each explosion feels heavy. Make sure you are also paying attention to the information on the DualShock 4 controller as important details will be updated regularly via the pad.

CONCLUSION

Resogun was extremely enjoyable to play and we thoroughly had a blast going through each stage rescuing humans and giving those alien Keepers a run for their money. The game felt like a cool trip, the action is complimented with the fast pulsating dance tracks perfectly matched to the fast action shooter. Regardless of the limited local multiplayer feature, and simple online co-op mode, we think Resogun is a great first launch title on the brand new PS4.


OVERALL SCORE

4/5