Resogun

Guns, Flashing lights, Big Explosions and Little Green Men? What drugs am I on ? 

Resogun was one of the first Downloadable titles that was released for the Playstation 4 when it launched. The game is set around the idea that mankind is dying off and you are a pilot that's protecting the last bastion of humanity as the people evacuate. Now that we have the story out of the way we can talk about the gameplay. 

Like every other game of the genre Resogun consists of the player moving left to right and shooting everything insight. The difference? the artistic destruction that the game offers and that is it in 3D destructive environment. The game looks 2D at first but what the game does is that it keeps the camera angle at the same position in relation to the player. As a result it's easy to forget that the structure at the center of the game is a 3D structure. Everything that is in the game is made up of small cubes and when destroyed an explosion deconstructs the object. While the enemies are collapsing so is the background structure in the center. Every game ends in the form of an explosive firework display that destroys everything in the center of the game while the player escapes. This all creates a rather satisfying setting that couldn't be achieved to the same extent on the PlayStation 3.

And...... KABOOOM!

What good is a scrolling shooter if you only have to fight drones though. So yes there are boss battles that will likely kill you when the ending is so close you could almost see the scoreboard. Each boss is different but their difficulty doesn't necessarily increase with each level. Every boss has their own attacks and annoyances.One boss shaped like a cube is made of of, you guessed it, smaller cubes but this time they are loosely connected and move around. Each shot destroys some cubes and the boss becomes smaller and smaller but his danger never dwindles. An attack that can prove effective against the player from this particular boss is his ability to form small whips out of it's cubes and twirl them around keeping the player out of shooting range. 

On the other hand there's a boss who uses a different tactic against the player. Instead of keeping the player away the vulnerable sections that allow the player to defeat it are hidden at it's center. There are three circles that make up the boss and the whole things spins around the map after the player. The only way to beat him is to destroy small openings on each circle and fly through them until you reach it's core. With the boss still moving however the dangers only increase with flying into to but without high risk there is no gain. A notion that carries on throughout the game.

One of the latest updates adds the ability for players to upload content that they create. This content is made by using a ship editor that can be accessed through the main menu. As the game uses cubes for everything making a ship becomes a relatively easy process providing you have some imagination. In a 3D room you move around the cursor and the camera to select the space in which you want to place a cube. While doing this you also select the colors you want otherwise you will end up with a purely while and dull design. I took a bash at the ship editor briefly to see what it was like and I created, well I don't know what I created but you are able to fly it I think. 

What is it?.... Who knows.....

While you maybe thinking that using purely cubes and nothing else could be restricting I have below an image of me flying the TARDIS.

Your argument is mute my friend

Still not convinced with the ship building feature ? here's a picture of the Normany SR2 because I can.

That isn't a good picture I admit but it does show what can be created with a little imagination from the player. If you are however blighted with a lack of imagination in how cubes can fit together then you need not fret. There is a list where cube eccentric gamers have made designs and put them online for anyone to download. 

From a TIE Interceptor to a 3D Yoshi, all is available for you to fly and save humanity with. 

Resogun maybe part of a large family of scrolling shooters but I will finish by saying this. No other shooter does it with such artistic destruction as this one and backed up with the power of the PS4, it sure is pretty. 

7/10