radiangames Crossfire (XBLIG, 2010)

radiangames Crossfire
Developed by Radiangames
Released for XBLIG (7/2010)

radiangames Crossfire is the developers' second release for XBLIG. Crossfire is an refreshing take on the coin-op arcade classic Space Invaders. It plays quite similar, with your ship locked and only able to move side to side while trying to clear out the enemies. The twist with Crossfire is that you are able to warp at any point, which will send your ship upside down on the top of the screen. It's an interesting mechanic and the game is built around it competently. Once you get the hang of it, it's good fun warping out of the bullet barrages you'll encounter while destroying the enemies. The graphic style is simple but works well for this style of game and reminds me of the kind of stuff you'd see on vector monitors back in the day. As you destroy the enemies they will drop ammo for your superweapon. Occasionally you'll find power capsules that boost your firepower or boost your speed. The infamous UFO that flew across the top of the screen in Space Invaders is here too, and when destroyed will drop either a slowdown or super-ammo power up. The enemy designs are unique and varied, some requiring a bit of strategy to defeat. There's around fifty stages to clear and the game never overstays its welcome. Two-player local is available as well. Retro gaming fanatics and Space Invaders fans should check this one out. radiangames Crossfire would later see an update titled Super Crossfire released for PC and Macintosh in 2011. It was also released as Super Crossfighter on iOS devices in 2014.

Final Verdict: radiangames Crossfire is a great update to the classic Space Invaders formula. Simple, original and a blast to play.

Related Links:
radiangames Crossfire - GameFAQs
radiangames - Official Site

radiangames Inferno (XBLIG, 2010)

radiangames Inferno
Developed by Radian Games
Released for XBLIG (9/2010)
Also on Ouya

radiangames Inferno is a twin-stick shooter where you are given maze-style levels you are allowed to explore as opposed to the common fixed screens of most other games in the genre. The best way to describe Inferno is a tribute to the arcade classic Gauntlet with twin-stick shooter controls. The maze-like levels will have areas locked off unless you've picked up a key to get through. Many of the levels reward the player for exploration with hidden areas to find. The graphics are a bit abstract, but the controls are so tight and the action so smooth it never bothered me that I was basically shooting at what look like bubbles and very strange looking ships. The threat level of each enemy can be easily assessed just by looking at their color. The explosions and particle effects when blowing your foes up are top notch. Defeated enemies will drop currency that can be used at shops to unlock upgrades for your ship or to buy power-ups. Every other level or so you'll gain an upgrade point that you can apply to the attribute of your choice. radiangames Inferno offers up thirty levels and once you've completed them the game offers a new game + mode where you can keep your unlocks and maximize your ships power. The game also supports up to four-players local. Highly recommended for fans of Gauntlet and/or twin-stick shooters!

Final Verdict: radiangames Inferno is a top-tier twin-stick shooter on XBLIG. It removes the quarter munching aspects of the arcade classic Gauntlet while maintaining the kind of action that made it so great!

Related Links:
radiangames Inferno - GameFAQs
radiangames Inferno - radiangames Official Site

radiangames Ballistic (XBLIG, 2011)

radiangames Ballistic
Developed by Radiangames
Released for XBLIG (1/2011)
Also on iOS/Macintosh/Ouya/PC

radiangames Ballistic is the seventh and final release from the developer on XBLIG. Ballistic plays like your traditional arena twin-stick shooter. The main game features an infinite number of waves filled with frenetic blasting action. If you've played any of Radiangames previous entries then the presentation will be familiar. The menu designs, sounds and in-game graphics are very consistent throughout the whole series. The enemy design is definitely the weakest aspect of the game, as you'll be shooting at circular enemies of varying shapes and colors. Once the shooting action begins you'll hardly have time to care about what you're shooting and the core gameplay delivers the goods in Ballistic.

The controls are extremely responsive and you're given a few weapons you can choose from, plus a power-shot modifier activated by hold the right trigger. This shot is limited so you'll want to save it for when you really need it. Every ten rounds, you're given another upgrade point which you can use to power-up one of nine different enhancements to your ship. In addition to the waves mode, there are also five challenges where you have a time limit to rack up your highest possible score. This title supports two-players and is a good time, but of course multiplayer is local only. radiangames Ballistic gives you a lot of bang for your buck and is a very polished twin-stick shooter.

Final Verdict: radiangames Ballistic is an excellent twin-stick shooter featuring excellent controls and some decent replay value.

radiangames Crossfire 2 (XBLIG, 2010)

radiangames Crossfire 2
Developed by Radiangames
Released for XBLIG (12/2010)

radiangames Crossfire 2 is the developers' sixth release for XBLIG. The game looks and plays almost exactly like the original, with new stages and some new enemies as well. Crossfire plays similar to Space Invaders, with your ship locked at either the bottom or top of the screen and the ability to move only left or right. The unique gimmick in the Crossfire series is that you can warp back and forth between the top and bottom of the screen at any time. The game is designed nicely around this mechanic, with enemy layouts that will require some fast switching to take out without sustaining damage. In conquest mode the game offers sixty waves of blasting action. There are checkpoints every ten waves, making it easy to put down and come back later without losing much progress. Every two waves, your ships health is restored and you are taken to the upgrade screen where you can choose which attributes you'd like to apply your upgrade points to. This mode also offers two-player co-op, and once completed you have the option to restart with all of your upgrades intact in conquest plus mode. You also have score attack mode, where you have thirty stages that repeat with the difficulty increasing each time until you're inevitably wiped out. The game also has leaderboards to keep track of high scores. radiangames Crossfire 2 isn't drastically different than its predecessor, but it does improve in enough areas to justify its existence and its still a blast to play!

Final Verdict: radiangames Crossfire 2 is a solid sequel and a nice twist on the classic Space Invaders formula.

Related Links:
radiangames Crossfire - Xbox Overview
radiangames Inferno - Xbox Overview
radiangames JoyJoy - Xbox Overview
radiangames Fluid - Xbox Overview
radiangames Fireball - Xbox Overview
radiangames Ballistic - Xbox Overview
radiangames Crossfire 2 - GameFAQs
radiangames - Official Site

radiangames Fluid (XBLIG, 2010)

radiangames Fluid
Developed by radiangames
Released for XBLIG (10/2010)
Also on Ouya & iOS

radiangames Fluid is the fourth release from the developer on XBLIG, and features a similar presentation to previous offerings. The game plays similar to Pac-Man, though your movement isn't as confined as the stages and is a bit more open. The idea is the same though, collect all  of the pellets on the map while avoiding the enemies. Like in Pac-Man, there are power-ups you can pick up that temporarily give you the offensive ability to take out your enemies, but the duration is limited. An enemy will spawn for each pellet you pick up and will trail you around the level trying to put an end to your run. Levels are thoughtfully laid out, some of them containing arrows that will boost your speed in the pointed direction making some maps handle almost like a race track. The full game contains thirty-five levels and keeps tabs on high scores. Fluid is a very speed-run friendly type of game, with a timer keeping track on each stage and a rank given according to your finishing time. radiangames Fluid is yet another solid entry in an already excellent lineup of titles from this developer on XBLIG.

Final Verdict: radiangames Fluid is a nice twist on the classic dot-munching Pac-Man formula and is definitely worth the dollar asking price!

Related Links:
radiangames JoyJoy - Xbox Overview
radiangames Inferno - Xbox Overview
radiangames Fireball - Xbox Overview
radiangames Crossfire - Xbox Overview
radiangames Crossfire 2 - Xbox Overview
radiangames Ballistic - Xbox Overview
radiangames Fluid - GameFAQs
radiangames - Official Site

radiangames Fireball (XBLIG, 2010)

radiangames Fireball
Developed by radiangames
Released for XBLIG (11/2010)

radiangames Fireball is the developer's fifth release for XBLIG. The menu/graphics design is very consistent across all of their titles and it all looks quite polished. Fireball plays a lot like pacifism mode from Geometry Wars 2, so anybody who enjoyed that mode may want to take a look at this game. You have no direct method of attack, instead you must guide the enemies to explosive mines which you trigger just by getting near. You have a boost meter which you can use for a burst of speed which will aid when a quick escape is necessary. Defeated enemies drop pellets which will recharge your boost meter.

Overall, Fireball is a very basic game but it does what it sets out to do well. The game has eight waves to play through in addition to five challenges. The game declares that the full version contains true online leaderboards, which is quite a programming feat on XBLIG if this was indeed true. While radiangames Fireball feels a bit lacking when compared to some of the developers previous entries, I still enjoyed the time I spent playing it. I'd definitely recommend the Crossfire series or Inferno over this one, unless you're absolutely nuts about Geometry Wars pacifism mode and need more of that.

Final Verdict: radiangames Fireball plays like a more fleshed out version of the pacifism mode in Geometry Wars. If you loved that mode you'll likely enjoy Fireball.

radiangames JoyJoy (XBLIG, 2010)

radiangames JoyJoy
Developed by Radiangames
Released for Xbox Live Indie Games (5/2010)
Also on iOS/Ouya

radiangames JoyJoy is a simple twin-stick shooter with a lot of polish and was the first release on XBLIG from developer radiangames. It has a very simplistic graphic style that I find very pleasant, likely due to all the really light pastel colors. This game mixes up the twin-stick formula a bit by having numerous different weapons you can switch between on the fly. You can also find upgrades for your weapons dropped by enemies. You also have a special attack you can charge and unleash. At the main menu you're able to choose from campaign, challenges and modifiers. Campaign mode is what you'd expect, clear levels to advance and see how far you can get. There are checkpoints every couple of waves up until wave 21, so you can come back and start off somewhere near where you left off. Challenge mode is exactly as advertised, containing various challenging scenarios for you to attempt to survive. The modifiers menu has a bunch of cheats you can enable if you don't feel like losing. Like stated previously, radiangames JoyJoy is a very simple twin-stick shooter, but it's very polished and I'd say easily among the better efforts of this genre available on Xbox's Indie Games marketplace.

Final Verdict: Twin-stick shooter fanatics give radiangames JoyJoy a go, you're sure to have a good time with this one.

Related Links:
radiangames JoyJoy - GameFAQs
radiangames JoyJoy - Official radiangames Site