What do you give to the dual-stick shooter fan who has everything? You give them “Robofish”, a twin-stick shooter game that takes a page out of the classic “Shoot’Em-Up Construction Kit”‘s playbook: let people customise virtually everything.
And I do mean almost everything. The tweaks let you create what the developer promises are billions of possible weapon combinations (and playing around with the weapons customiser suggests that they’re correct). There are trade-offs, though, as more powerful weapons, and ones that fire faster, push your ship to the point of overheating more quickly. You must carefully balance your priorities, but that made me enjoy it more rather than less as it keeps the game competitive no matter what you do.
And we’re not just talking shot speed and power here, but even what the shot looks like. The changes don’t end with that, as the game lets you re-skin your Robofish, purchase add-ons, upgrade speed, boost shield, enhance health, and more.
It has a campaign mode (16 missions, including 4 bosses), plus a unending survival mode for the masochists looking for more replay value. So what kind of game is it, actually? A vertically-scrolling two-stick affair, one of a few dual-stick shooters that takes you of the arena and nicely leaves you feeling like you’re actually getting somewhere. An easy, easy recommendation for 80 Microsoft Points.
Here’s what the developer (Venesectrix) has to say about the game:
“Set in a colorful underwater environment, Robofish is a dual-stick shoot ‘em up for all ages. With over a dozen ways to customize a weapon and even more upgrades available, players can create billions of possible weapons! Robofish’s campaign mode contains sixteen levels, and for even more destruction, players can test their custom weapons against an unending onslaught of enemies in survival mode!”
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