Starmageddon, a Flash-based Action Shooter

Starmageddon is a flash animation action shooter created by Newgrounds.com programmer Vibe13. Additional audio for this submission was credited to zeropage. Graphics for this submission were credited to Daniel Cook, iron-plague art, tyrian art, and hard-vacuum art. Sound effects were credited to remo. This action shooter was submitted to Newgrounds.com on February 19, 2010 and won a Daily Feature award on February 20, 2010 as well as a Weekly 4th Place award on February 24, 2010.

Game Background

Evil aliens have once again decided to invade Earth. Your goal, as usual, is to defend the Earth against these alien invaders.

Gameplay

The objective of the game is to defeat the enemies and get through each stage alive. Completing a stage will typically involve surviving until the end, then defeating the boss that appears at the end of the stage.

When you first begin the game, you can choose between two types of controls. You can either use the mouse to move around, or you can use the arrow keys on your keyboard to maneuver your ship.

Depending on which set of controls you pick, you can also access the shockwave button by either clicking or pressing M or Z. The shockwave destroys enemy bullets and damages enemy space craft.

At the bottom left hand side of the screen you can view a meter that indicates the armor of your ship. Getting hit by ships or bullets will decrease your armor.

At the bottom right hand side of the screen you can view the meter that indicates whether or not you can activate your shockwave. The meter needs to be full for you to use the shockwave.

As you defeat enemies, coins and other types of currency like diamonds will be dropped for you to collect. The amount of currency you collect can be used to purchase upgrades for your ship to make your time easier destroying and surviving the enemy waves.

The types of upgrades can be seen at the stage selection screen. You can:
-upgrade the firepower of your primary weapon
-add a gun to your ship's behind
-add guns to the sides of your ship
-add bullet spread to either front, back, or side guns
-add diagonal guns to the front
-add diagonal guns to the back
-increase the speed at which you automatically fire bullets
-increase the range of your shockwave
-increase the length of time that your shockwave lasts
-decrease the amount of time it takes to recharge your shockwave
-increase the damaging ability of your shockwave
-add or increase the power of a money magnet attached to your ship
-increase the armor of your ship

There are a total of 13 levels for you to complete.

Game Review

Starmageddon is a fun little Space Invader-styled action shooter. The idea of having auto-fire continuously on may be appealing to some who are too lazy to press a fire button themselves. For others, this may be a bit annoying, depending on the degree of gameplay you enjoy. The number of upgrades and levels also make this game rather quick and enjoyable for a work or study break.

Starmageddon scores a 7/10 for its good value of entertainment. A more innovative idea would help this submission score higher.