In Warp Fighter your goal is to shoot down as many enemy planes as you can without dying in the process. You control one plane while wave after wave of enemies try to destroy you in the air. The game is only mildly fun, suffering from control issues and poor use of screen real estate.
The only thing you need to do in this game is shoot down enemy planes and missiles being fired at you. However, this simple concept becomes much more difficult when you can’t see what’s going on. This is the first major problem with Warp Fighter. While flying around, enemy planes will quickly appear on screen, but you don’t have enough time to react to them in order to shoot them down. You’ll wind up crashing into the planes more often that actually firing at them. The screen seems too small to catch all the action. To give the developer some credit, there are arrows placed around the screen to warn you that an enemy plane is nearby, acting like radar. This helps, but you’ll still crash into planes more times than you’ll want to.
A major plus for the game is the extensive customization options available. You can select one of three control options to suit your level of play. Easy controls will show two huge arrows on screen to turn the plane left or right. Medium controls are free touch, allowing you to touch anywhere on the screen to turn in that direction. Hard controls utilize the accelerometer, so the plane will fly in whatever direction you tilt your device. This is my preferred control mode, as it seems like the most efficient method of controlling your plane. However, even with all these options, you’ll never feel truly in control of your plane. Controls will always seem a bit awkward as you unsuccessfully try to get your plane to face exactly where you want. Firing is accomplished by tapping anywhere on the screen. You can change your method of firing as well, choosing from constant, alternate or long fire.
You will need to shoot down a certain number of planes to advance to the next level. During each level you will encounter a variety of planes, helicopters and missiles trying to destroy you. There are also power ups that will be dropped from parachutes that will give you added health. Also, when the moment is right and you are fully charged, you can unleash a huge electronic super bomb that will destroy anything nearby. Of course, it would be nice to actually see more than one plane take that hit. Again, there just isn’t enough action on screen.
The developer states that the game is “dedicated to enthusiasts of ‘80s shoot ‘em up games.†So, the graphics may be the way they are on purpose. However, even if it is supposed to replicate eighties gaming, it isn’t very appealing. For me, the graphics make the game unpleasant to play. On the other hand, sound and music are done very well.
Warp Fighter is a very basic arcade shooter that doesn’t really bring anything special to the table. At most, it’s a mildly fun game that won’t last very long on your device. With better graphics and improved gameplay, I would say check it out. However, as is, I cannot recommend making the purchase.
