Steel Empire

Steel Empire Description

The 2D shoot 'em up. There's something special about this ancient genre which allows it to keep on coming, while other disciplines fade away. Certainly, the pure twitch, instinctive fight-or-flight gameplay delivers an experience rarely to be found in other games. Gamecube and PS2 still see the occasional exponent of this noble art, but the 16 bit, sprite based nature of the GBA makes it the perfect stage for re-issues of shmup classics from the SNES/Megadrive glory days. With this in mind, Zoo Digital brings you Steel Empire for the Game Boy Advance. The strikingly styled, World War II graphics throw you into a world half destroyed by the fiendish Motorhead Empire. Stop what's left of the planet from being bound into eternal servitude by this nefarious organisation, as you battles clouds of enemy fighters, huge airships and other airborne mechanical nightmares. As you'd expect from any half serious shooter, you can accumulate a range of power-ups in the form of customisable ship upgrades, and a selection suitably devastating weapons. There are also satisfying smart bombs for when you're feeling a little bit overwhelmed by the start-to-finish, merciless onslaught. Borrowing heavily from the fertile imagination of Jules Verne, the game first appeared on the SEGA Megadrive back in the early 90s. There are two ships available for selection, a nimble fighter and a lumbering airship. Though if you plan on getting anywhere in the game, the fighter is the only serious choice. A worthy addition to the ever expanding catalogue of GBA shooters, new and old.