TJ Okeeffe
HALLELUJA! Small game with a big heart! I’m actually really pumped by this game as it’s just magnificent, it’s everything an indie game should be, well presented, fun and uncomplicated. AIPD is slightly bonkers but a game the whole family can enjoy and have a crack at as it has the option of 4 play co-op.
AIPD doesn’t give you any history of the game, dialogue, no storyline just straight into the action which for me was a little disappointing as i always like a point to a game, even a brief flirtation with a storyline to wet the appetite, a name for the pilot would have been nice, something! Anyway…
AIPD basically wants you to survive round after round of enemies getting gradually getting harder as you can imagine, but with each round offering a different challenge. You pilot your police spacecraft equipped with weapons and modifications of your choice to unleash moronic uncoordinated assault on drones, transports and destroyers to name a few in this eagle eyed gameplay. Set in space flying round an illuminated arena almost, Tron inspired theme, you take control of your craft and destroy everything in it’s path. The best way to describe this game is to compare it to a scene out of the Matrix. Enter Captain Mifune who was leading his army of APU’s shooting seven bells of horse manure out of the squidys flooding into the Dock trying to eliminate mankind for good, this is what this game made me feel like, pure destructive power with a swift pull of the right trigger!
“Enter Captain Mifune who was leading his army of APU’s”
It’s been a while since i have come across a game which has made me sit up and take notice, but AIPD is a very addictive game from the off. The user interface is very well presented and easy to navigate, visually it’s very pleasing on the eye with very eccentric neon colouring and the old school electronic soundtracks draw you into the atmosphere straight away.
Before you get to enter the arena you have to choose your load out which first up is selecting your weapon and of course you only get the basic weapon to start with and unlocking more once reaching the required stats to unlock the next. You then choose a modification which really depends on your playing style, my preference is ‘automatic’ which instantly uses any power ups, floating perks, ammunition that you may pick up, this modification is very handy when playing the hardest difficulties as you can concentrate solely on destroying enemies.
Right let’s get down to the nitty gritty, the gameplay is very easy to pick up as the controls are far from complex. Left trigger is used for secondary weapons you pick up like multiple rockets, torpedoes and so on. The right trigger is for your primary weapon that you choose before you enter the arena, with the analog sticks being your aim, direction and movement controls. One control you will need to take note of which I didn’t pick up straight away is clicking down on the right analog stick which makes you use any power ups you pick up for your ship.
The perks that float around are found when you destroy targets and they leave a power up behind which contains any number of perks ranging from missile ammo to frost which allows you to fire continuously without your primary weapons overloading (essential for hard levels). Whilst you have got to grips of firing in the right direction and learning what’s what, you will notice that your health doesn’t regenerate over time or even when you start a new round! When i first played AIPD and got through to the next round you are presented with some multiplier bonuses to choose from as a reward which will be applied to your multiplier as soon as you start the next round. Don’t be fooled though, not all of these multipliers are there to benefit you. I didn’t take notice of what they meant at first as I was rushing to get into the next round so keep an eye out.
There is 5 game modes to choose from, to be fair there all pretty similar as you can guess as the game is pretty straight forward, 15 rounds then a boss and so on. One game mode that does stick out is “Hostile Space” which pretty much speaks for itself, as you face numerous changes to the environment such as intense laser beams shooting across the screen which will seriously put you in danger of not surviving the next round. Other changes include when the arena starts to shrink putting yourself up against it as it is much more difficult to maneuver and destroy other targets. Unfortunately this game doesn’t offer anything for the multiplayer fans as i feel like that’s the only thing missing for me. A game that doesn’t offer too much in the respect on content, story and so on, a chance to interact with others through xbox live would’ve been greatly received.
