Blast those rocks!
For lovers of twitch shooters and arcade classics comes this neat and enjoyable take on the timeless Asteroids formula. It's pretty much the same game, just with slightly slicker visuals and a few other bits and bobs, but it retains that elusive one-more-go factor and provides some entertaining, if short lived, action for shooter fans. Unusually for such a game, this one adds some story and background into proceedings, with a charming fellow named Saul narrating the tale and who describes what's going on and how things came to be in a series of short scenes in between levels. This doesn't add much to the overall experience but it's a nice touch. The core gameplay is essentially the same as Asteroids, and sees you controlling a dinky little spaceship with the aim of blowing up bits of space debris and hostile aliens, all while fighting against an inertia-based physics system which adds some challenge. You can upgrade your weapons with enhanced cannons and explosive devices, while there are four difficulty levels and one hundred levels to complete. As far as its intentions go, Swarm is a pretty successful little game. It doesn't try to reinvent the wheel or do anything radically new with the formula, but as a shooter with little more point than being a high score chaser, it certainly does the job. The visuals are simple but effective, while Saul's narration is a welcome break from the action. The gameplay is fast and furious, with a touch of strategy, so if you've got a couple of hours to kill, you can do worse than try this.
