ESPGALUDA II Review

By , on April 12, 2010

ESPGALUDA II
Download on the AppStore
5 out of 5

PROS

  • Insane action gameplay.
  • Bright over-the-top special effects.
  • Enough gameplay modes to cover almost any gamer's skill level.

CONS

  • Much of the great artwork is lost in a haze of weapons fire and explosions.
  • Currently only available on limited platforms.

VERDICT

It's rare to expect a game of this quality to make the transition from the Arcade to the iPhone so smoothly, but ESPGALUDA II has lost nothing from the 2005 classic.


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ESPGALUDA II by Cave is the real deal when it comes to 'bullet hell' shooters and despite being five years in the making for this adaption, nothing is lost from the 2005 Arcade original. This is the sort of game that makes regular shooters look like a stroll in the park and despite its fierce looks, this is a game that can be enjoyed by gamers of all levels.

ESPGALUDA II opts for several control levels with left and right hand variants to give players a fighting chance to learn the game's more advanced concepts. Touching anywhere on the screen allows you to move your ship, with several buttons on the side of the screen providing access to the shield, weapon swaps and super abilities. The controls are slick and provide excellent fine-detail movement which is critical to avoiding some of the more wicked bullet patterns.

Almost no detail is lost from the arcade original which was just as spectacular to behold then as it is now. All of the graphics are rendered 2D sprites that are luscious to watch (and subsequently blow up). Sadly, being a true 'bullet hell' game you'll have little time to appreciate the artwork even when it's not obscured by waves of weapon fire or bonus points. For those worried that they'll not be able to get a foothold on this dense action, the game has 3 different difficulty levels each with access to 3 different control schemes for an iPhone only mode and the classic Arcade mode.

ESPGALUDA II for the iPhone is as good, if not better than the arcade release and for this alone it's a must buy.

Screenshots

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