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When you sit down to play a vertical scrolling shoot ’em up, you can usually expect a frantic affair with bullets being sprayed excessively at anything that moves – be it aliens, spaceships, or army aircrafts. The developers behind Retaliate, Romans I XVI Gaming, don’t want to stick to such a rigid concept however, in the hopes of delivering a twist many have seldom seen before.
Can Retaliate present a clever idea that breathes fresh life into a genre full of clones, or will its big twist actually be a big flop?
With two game modes on offer in Retaliate, let’s focus on Story mode initially, which is where the unique selling point is introduced immediately. As a spaceship pilot, and hero to all mankind, you need some new weapons in order to take down that enemies who are causing trouble. Unfortunately, an evil old man – that looks like a cross between Colonel Sanders (the chicken shop king) and Dr. Robotnik (arch-nemesis of Sonic) – has seized every weapon in the entire galaxy. All the shopkeeper can offer you as an alternative is an expensive shield, but before disappointment arises, you realise that this shield is like no other and might be the key to ending the elderly chap’s reign of terror.
The narrative isn’t important and is actually less exciting than my words make it sound – yes, really – however, that’s fine. It’s the shield that deserves all the attention, for it’s a vital component in both an attacking and defending sense.
No matter the game mode, you’ll be thrust into vertically scrolling action without any ammo, the ability to activate the shield, and limited to lateral movements only. As enemies appear on-screen, they’ll naturally approach you and those that fire bullets will certainly try to hit you. Thankfully, the shield can withstand direct contact with a ship, thus killing it, but better than that, it can absorb bullets. Any bullets absorbed are collected for your own use to actually fire back at the pesky baddies.
It’s a very cool idea, however it takes some getting used to as the shield depletes over time and must regenerate. You almost have to play Retaliate like a rhythm game, with precise button pressing and releasing to ensure you’re prepared for the next barrage. Throughout the six main levels – as well as two boring obstacle-avoiding exercises at certain junctures – new enemy types enter the fray. Although they aren’t the most creative in terms of aesthetics, their weapons are more than welcome.
In the opening gambit, measly bullets are the only things you can absorb for your arsenal. It’s not long before missiles, homing missiles, mines, lasers, and more are heading towards your hoover-like shield. The missiles are especially fun as large numbers of enemies could be wiped out with a well-placed targeted launch. The most interesting acquisition is that of a kamikaze style attack, which sees you charge up the screen, destroying anything that dares step into your path.
Even with such weaponry, it’s not easy to reach the end of the Story as running out of lives leads to the termination of the run. There are no retries, no checkpoints, so when you’re done, that’s it. It’s tough, but not impossible and the enjoyment increases as each weapon is introduced. Aside from the aforementioned timing, strategic management of your ammunition is also an important factor. The biggest pitfalls for a premature end come courtesy of the bosses, simply because they are bloody relentless.
At the climax of each level, you go toe-to-toe with a giant metal ship that has a computerised face on it. The further you progress, the more tricks these bad boys have up their sleeves to try and blast you away. Expect attack after attack, with the small mercy being the strict patterns they follow; if you can ride the storm long enough, you’ll know what’s next. They are bullet sponges though and if you lose a life, the ammo is gone too, so you have to accumulate again to cause harm to the opposition. Sadly, the boss appearance is the same at the end of each level, but it’s unsurprising as the enemy designs and backdrops are quite generic – it could be any space-themed shooter.
Outside of Story, there’s the Arcade section. Here, Trials is perhaps the best offering as it essentially lets you jump into a version of the six main levels with the task of defeating every single enemy. Due to having infinite lives and the opportunity to dive straight into levels where the better weapons are present, it’s a great way to actually experience everything Retaliate has to offer and get some practice in.
There’s also an Endless mode, where it’s a case of pushing on and garnering the highest score without any lives to fall back on. The Classic mode is similar in regards to having no extra lives, but depending on the difficulty setting, the shield duration and vertical scrolling speed are altered. Both of these are one and done, unless you wish to register a big score on the online leaderboards.
There are a couple of other aspects worth mentioning, like the lacklustre customisation options. You can choose from a mere handful of different looking vehicles and change the colour of it, as well as the colour of the shield. It’s not much at all. I feel like the developers have missed a trick in not having additional unlockables, or introducing differing attributes, to encourage progression and the use of the other ships. Another, slightly worrying thing, is that when the scrolling is sped up on rare occasions, it’s so fast that it may cause you to feel a little motion sickness. It’s just something to bear in mind.
On the whole, understanding and getting to grips with the mechanic using regular bullets is good, but it’s even better once you have lasers, missiles and such within your grasp. The gameplay is challenging enough to keep you trying multiple times to succeed in Story mode, while the Trials are a fun way to help you hone your skills. Visually, Retaliate is disappointingly bland, with samey bosses and dull backgrounds. On top of that, the below par customisation options and the other Arcade modes, will have an effect on longevity.
Ultimately, Retaliate replaces mindless bullet spraying with a more considered approach of ammo absorption, and it works rather well. There’s certainly no harm in adding it to your list of potential purchases in the shoot ‘em up category.