Futuridium EP Review
PROS
Fantastic fusion of electronica with polygonal visuals.
Challenging gameplay yeilds satisfying rewards.
CONS
Movement is too twitchy.
Frustrating restart sequence.
VERDICT
Futuridium EP is an interesting space shooter with many rough edges. There's depth here, but only the most dedicated players are going to wrestle with the game long enough to discover it.
- Full Review
- App Store Info
Futuridium EP casts you as a lone pilot lost in a dimensional loop. Destined to travel to and fro across a series of small flat surfaces, you must avoid obstacles and shoot blocks to open the a dimensional gate to get to the next area (which is hopefully one step closer to home). It's sort of like Starfox by way of Sliders.
You control your craft by dragging your finger around the left side of the screen. It's a suprisingly sensitive system, with small gestures sending your spacecraft zig-zagging through space. Tapping the right side of the screen lets you pop a one-eighty. Swiping upper corner of the screen lets you flick between music tracks, and switch the camera between first- and third-person perspective. This setup isn't ideal, and can lead to accidental perspective shifts.
You have an energy bar which is slowly depleting. Firing at the blue blocks placed around the stage will not only keep this meter full, but ultimately open the dimensional gateway. Colliding with either blocks or the environment will cause your craft to explode, and cost you a big chunk of energy when you reappear.
You have a weapon that is best to keep firing as you move around. It's great for blasting the blue cubes into blocky bits, but the range on the weapon is difficult to gauge.
While the vector based 3D visuals and the pumping electronica elevate things somewhat, Futuridium EP is not a particularly accessible experience. This is a shame, because under the jerky controls and harsh gameplay mechanics lies something enticing.
Learning the best way to approach a stage, and completing it in as few passes as possible is quite rewarding, but only if you have the persistence to really persevere. This is one of those games that speaks to the old-school gamer, and might be worth a look for the right type of player. If the controls are tweaked, more players might be willing to jump on board.
Screenshots
$0.99
