Retaliate DX

RGCD, 2021 £TBC digital, £TBC cartridge

Demaking games from mobile platforms to the Commodore has become increasingly popular, and Retaliate DX is the next candidate on the block. Originally released in 2019, it has been spruced up and sent out in deluxe physical form for our delectation.

As the last survivor of the battle for Io, you are nursing your injured craft back to a base near Mars but suddenly find yourself under attack again. Unfortunately you

are completely

“Keep practicing, you will improve” – the game over message rings true to a large extent with this game. The central premise of catching bullets is clever, but the first few games will prove tricky. There is some attempt to spruce up a basic static-screen shooter, but it could never live up to the recent Soul Force for looks. Catching the orbs from the big spaceship makes a difference, but it felt unfair to me when the “unlimited bullets” option ran out so quickly. I kept playing to write this review, but I did not find it compelling enough to play more.

Patience is a harsh mistress, and playing Retaliate is certainly one way to achieve this because early doors you are going to get spanked hard and often. Persevere and there’s a remarkably strategic and reactionary shooter to enjoy, and one that I felt warranted coming back to play repeatedly. However even after mastering the basics it’s still frustrating to have a game end with one mistake — I would have much preferred to see a similar mechanic to the original Sonic titles, where a hit robs you of all your ammo, and if you get hit with no ammo in reserve, then it’s game over. Try it and see if you like it, it could end up being quite Marmite. out of ammunition. Fortunately your ship is equipped with a shield that can absorb enemy fire and turn it into ammo of your own! Engage and capture enemy projectiles and missiles, and then use them to destroy your foes.

Your shield can also be used to destroy enemies that collide with you, although it only has a limited availability before requiring recharge and you won't score as many points as shooting the enemy.

You must also be wary of asteroids and mines hurtling towards you that require multiple shots but can be destroyed with a single missile.

There are a number of different craft to unlock, each with varying characteristics, that may suit your playstyle in the fight, a fight where you only have one life available. Can you make it back to Mars in one piece?

Well, if it wasn’t for the novel way of getting ammo, i would say there isn’t much to Retaliate DX. It’s an interesting mechanic that is simple enough but when things get busy it’s easy to get confused and die. With one life to play with, it becomes a real challenge to make progress as a result but it is addictive. There’s lots of nicely coloured sprites and it throws a lot of them at you although I found the asteroids rather unnecessary as they are easy to weave through regardless of level. Ultimately Retaliate DX is OK, a fairly standard shmup but with an interesting feature. PRESENTATION 65% Plenty of detail but slightly confusing menu system, with basic in-game presentation. GRAPHICS 65% A few decent sprites but not enough variety SOUND 66% Music and sound do the job OK. HOOKABILITY 63% The unusual mechanic is negated as it proves frustrating to get into. LASTABILITY 59% Persevere, and there are new ships to unlock and four difficulty levels to conquer. OVERALL 65% An innovative idea that may not hook ardent shoot ‘em up fans.

I would say that a shmup where the enemy doesn’t shoot at you (much) wouldn’t be all that good a game but Plekthora proves a challenging exception to that rule. There isn’t much time to think as another wave or structure hurtles at you courtesy of some lovely smooth scrolling and some nice parallax too (although we really have been spoiled by Sarah’s productions). Plekthora plays well enough delivering the pace and action of a decent shooter; good graphics, sparse (but effective) sound, excellent presentation and a nice variety of power ups which really make the difference to your firepower if you survive long enough to use them. Best learn the patterns and you should do OK. There was a variety of enemies but I did find myself wanting more as some repetition began to creep in.

I really like Plekthora, certainly a fair bit more than the other lads. I love a good high score game, and I’m really impressed with the way this one is set up. The score multiplier makes this really addictive, and once you see the way your score climbs as the multiplier increases, you’re hooked. This mechanic also allows you to be successful whatever your playing style, whether you go all out to collect stars as quickly as possible or play cautiously and score more slowly, it’s going to work for you. This is an excellent high score game and is Sizzler material for me. PRESENTATION 80% Useful options including the starting number of lives, but we did note some spelling errors. GRAPHICS 82% Effective parallax scrolling and some decent sprites. SOUND 60% Fairly standard shooting FX and jingles, with a lovely Star Wars-style door “pssht”. HOOKABILITY 86% A playable shoot ‘em up that is easy to get into. LASTABILITY 81% The scoring mechanic rewards skilful players. OVERALL 80% An enjoyable blaster that will last.