“Ripple” is an interesting dual-stick shooter. You can either pick off enemies a few at a time (in relative safety) for small points, or you can you can run around tagging tonnes of enemies and then unload a ripple that destroys them all (for big points). All enemies enter the battlefield with a colour, but turn white as you shoot them. When you activate your ripple super-weapon all white enemies are destroyed and all colourful enemies survive. As you turn enemies white, the screen gets more and more filled with them and the potential multiplier upon activating your ripple gets higher and higher. How far are you willing to push your luck? That risk/reward system is at the heart of the strategy this game requires.
The most surprising feature for me was the ability to design your own enemies, so if you’re an old Star Control addict like me you can edit enemies so you’re fighting Ur-Quans, and other favoured bad guys. While the graphics are mostly understated (mimicking the vector games of old), the overall presentation (menus, etc.) is more impressive and I found the guitar music quite enjoyable. It takes some getting used to a game where you can’t destroy enemies no matter how many times you shoot them, but full marks to “Ripple” for doing something unique for 80 Microsoft Points.
Writings of Mass Deduction 