 | | Everyday Shooter is another downloadable top-down 2D blaster of the arcadey variety, and could only be described as the 11-fingered inbred offspring of Flow, Every Extend Extra and good old Mutant Storm |
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I found myself with a week off both college and work recently, and my supreme master plan was...to do sweet fuck all. I was to merely relax, sit around in my boxers, eat Tesco chocolate chip cookies, and play videogames all day long. A brief chance to unwind a little, while catching up on all the friggin' games released of late. Maybe a little Quake Wars on the PC...perhaps some Zelda for the DS...hey, I could even finish off those darn PGR4 achievements that have been keeping me awake at night.
Sadly, it was not meant to be. You see, I downloaded Everyday Shooter on the Playstation Network, and have done absolutely fack all for the many days since but play this son of a gun. A mere five quid 2D shooter. Its bizarre sights and magnificent sounds pretty much took over my life this entire time, and now finally rid of it...ish...a good two weeks later, I simply don't know what to do with myself. I feel like a junkie, one day sober.
Everyday Shooting Up
Let's backtrack for a minute though. Everyday Shooter is an ultra-low budget top down shoot 'em up which we're all, I'm sure, growing a fair bit tired of by now. You move a wee dinky ship around with the left stick, you shoot shit with the right, you score points, you die...you know the drill. In fact, on the face of it, Everyday Shooter seems worryingly close to falling victim to its ironic self referential title.
 | | You don't earn points by merely taking down enemies as per usual, each level instead has a specific means of earning that you have to figure out first. Taking it a step further and chaining combos becomes the secret to super high scores...but the fact these "rules" then change on every level keeps it pleasingly fresh |
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Fear not though, doubters of yet another "shmup" clone, this one has a minor twist, as when I say "ultra-low budget", I exaggerate not. Shooter was conceived, built and produced 100% by a single man you see. That's a pretty damn impressive feat, given how nice it turned out. It makes one feel all warm and gooey inside, to see that in spite of recent multi-trillion dollar blockbuster epics like your Halo 3s and your Orange Boxes, the old skool indie spirit is still more alive now than ever. Aww.
Far more importantly, shooter differentiates itself from the crowd in other key areas though, namely by adding a few neat twists to the genre. For one, every level of the game differs to the last. I mean that quite literally; the look not only alters hugely, but the enemies are completely different, the scoring system mutates into something brand new, and the underlying "feel" of the game - not to mention the tactics required to beat it - change drastically too.
Some levels for example, feature a bout of crazed Geo Wars style blasting followed by a boss fight, while others opt for more stationary and sedate offerings. Level two for instance, is comprised of strange viral-like organisms that don't move, merely mutating and growing out of nothingness around you, then conjoining and spitting out turret fire that tracks your every move. How one thinks up crazy looking shit like this, I have no idea, but it sure makes for one inventive ride.
What calls itself one game then, ultimately has content, ideas and sheer variety to fill a good three.
"Games Are...Art"
 | | Some levels have you squaring off against big blocky tank-like structures and their miniscule robot creators, while others go a more organic route with crazy butterfly duders and giant lichen-looking fungus shit. I imagine Mr. Mak partook in quite the wealth of the pot while thinking up some of this nonsense. In a good way |
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Yet the
real reason Shooter stands out from the crowd are its more vain traits. It's a very striking and original looking title, no doubts about it, with levels running the gamut from beautiful, bold cell-shaded cheese, to warped Rorschach test looking mofos, to gorgeously chilled-out arty minimalism and beyond. This extends to the sound of course, which makes up a huge chunk of the game. Built from nothing but simple guitar noodlings laid down by creator Jonathan Mak himself, the sparse, ambient plucks meet rocking hooks and catchy riffs that pleasingly reinvent themselves constantly based on your actions.
We've heard that kinda talk before - particularly from the Q Entertainment crew - but I'd argue Shooter does a much better job of letting you "remix" and alter the music than any before. Every hit of an enemy'll register some kinda note or chord, while blowing away the bigger suckers'll often fire off an entire melody. Those mad fools somewhat let-down by Lumines - perhaps after a less synthesized and more guitar-y take on such a concept - need look no further as a result. The ravers have had their moment in the spotlight for far too long; Shooter sings a far more original tune.
That's awesome stuff, and results in pleasing waves of melody for you to bathe in while you explore Shooter's off-the-wall crowd control gameplay, but I think the other reason I've had such a damn hard time tearing myself away from the bastard are the oh so awesome unlocks. The game is borderline genius in this regard you see, offering tons to earn and nab, from additional lives, to unlockable levels, to even weird filters and crazy visual effects. Unlocking the lot'll take quite the dedicated shooter, and even if it's ultimately just a ploy to keep you playing for longer, hey, it seems to be working.
Fumble
If that were it, I'd be ready to hail Everyday Shooter as a must-download, and a work of artistic bliss...but sadly there are some serious negativos I'm afraid. Primarily, the shooting's sorta iffy. Ya know how Geo Wars, Mutant Storm and even Stardust all had that super responsive 360 degree aiming system? Everyday does not. Instead, your aim is locked to just eight directions.
 | | ES gets so much right, it's a shame that the more simplistic stuff like leaderboards and multi-directional fire is lacking |
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You don't really notice it at first, you merely sense that...something's not quite right. Once you realise though, you can't take your bloody mind off it. You feel castrated. Held back. Kept on a leash. Blowing a path through battalions of weird luminous shapes, while simultaneously weaving in-between those too fast to slaughter feels infinitely more tricky as a result, and that's coming from someone who - not to toot my own horn - is kinda great at these games. Cough. It's just a lot harder to settle in and find "the zone" as a result, and that, sir, is a darn shame.
If I were to pick additional niggling holes, the lack of online functionality would headline the list too. No multiplayer, no leaderboards...and it's a crying disappointment on both fronts. Humph.
Everyday Shooter ultimately comes off fine and enjoyable - not to mention of course, endlessly addictive - but not the work of sheer magnificence it could so easily have been then. Needless to say?
Super Stardust HD will remain the king of the PSN shooters for the time being I guess. Oh well.
Faults an' all, this is still a nice artsy accompaniment to that game however, and well worth a butchers at these kindsa prices. Considering the wealth of full-priced games I've still got to work through right now - with even more arriving on a daily basis - the fact I can't put this sucker down above all else must surely account for something, no? I guess if nothing else, Shooter can join the likes of
Flow as a prime example of the more experimental, interesting and just downright weird games Sony seem so much more capable of pumping out in the downloadable space than Microsoft right now...
...yeah, that god-awful Battlestar game just hit Live this week, can you tell?
