Astro Avenger 3.5 out of 5!

[NIVO]

     Hello folks, its the New year and its time for a new review. This time up we have Astro Avenger from Divogames( http://www.divogames.com/index.html ). A 3d shooter with enemies you'll hate from the start. Also there are lots of powerups, and yes your gonna need them!

     First off we have to get right down to it; the controls. Of course this is our main focus here, being a control building community, among other things. If you want to dive right in and simply play a game you're gonna have an issue, a mjor issue at that. You cannot advance into the game unless you punch in your name(initials, moniker, whatever). So this means we cabinet folks have to keep our keyboards around. I must also stress that this is only concerning us arcade folks, the average gamer will not have a problem as they would be sitting in front of a desktop and keyboard anyway. Perhaps the authors could devise a patch to allow wntering the initials using your joystick, i think that would pretty much fix that issue right there. Also, the controls are hardcoded in, which means you cant reassign them. You shouldn't have a problem setting up your encoder to play with specific buttons, but something you may want to consider. The game itself plays fine as far as controlling your ship goes. Very quick and responsive, no issues there at all. I actually found myself playing it with  a trackball and liking it more than using a joystick. Definitely adds more of a fun factor this way.

     Graphically this game is on par with any modern 3d shooter out there. Very nicely drawn, great particle effects and explosions, everything you could want and expect in a  shooter. The sound is nicely done as well, the subwoofer helped the "boom" out for explosions and your blasters firing away.

     The enemy A.I. is very interesting indeed. The first level on they are all over you from the get go. They will actually circle behind you and pummel you with laser fire and rocket fire. Thank god after the first round you can buy powerups, because your gonna need em'.

     In summary, I liked the game alot. It was very challenging and quite tough(which I prefer, I hate beating games in 2 minutes). I enjoyed the sound and graphic quality. I just couldnt get past the controls issues, a problem that may be able to be fixed if the authors could possibly address these. I want to take the time to thank Dmitry for his generosity and letting me have a chance to review this shooter for the community here. Everyone give this one a shot and decide for yourself, and get the demo. Game On!



*****BYOAC OFFICIAL 3.5/5 *****


Requirements for the game: