Zero Bullets - Creative Flash-based Action Shooter

Zero Bullets is a Flash animation action shooter created by Newgrounds.com user donix. The song used in the submission is titled Space Fury'by and was created by another Newgrounds.com user, Cuzone. Additional audio included in the submission is credited to Dynamedion. This action shooter was submitted to Newgrounds.com on January 22, 2010 and won a Daily 3rd Place award on January 23, 2010.

Game Background

The sacred black stone has been stolen by the enemy. While on a mission to retrieve the desired treasure, your group was attacked by a strong radiation storm created by the enemy. In the aftermath, all that was left was you. Your main functional weapon is a bullet-catching shield. Learn to master its power and defeat the enemy to reclaim the sacred black stone.

Gameplay

On the right side of the screen, you have two vertical meters that you should keep an eye on. The top vertical meter indicates how much time you have to wait until the secret weapon is ready to be used. Press Spacebar to activate the secret weapon. The second vertical meter indicates how much health you have remaining.

At the top left hand corner of the screen, you can view the level you are currently on. To the right of this value, you can see how many credits you currently have.

The enemies will come from all sides. Because of your shield, the enemies' bullets will not harm you. However, crashing into an enemy can hurt you and damage your health meter. Your shield can only hold a limited number of bullets. Once the shield can no longer hold bullets, enemy bullets will pass through you. You will still not be harmed by the bullets.

At the end of each level, you will be shown a report of your previous performance. You will be shown the following details:
-enemies created
-credits collected
-ship hits
-total credits awarded

Credits earned from levels can be used to purchase upgrades. The upgrade shop is accessed automatically after each level. At the upgrade shop, you can purchase the following upgrades:
-increase the maximum health value of your ship
-increase the number of bullets your shield can hold
-increase the acceleration of your ship
-increase the damage you cause by firing back bullets
-increase the power potential of the secret weapon
-increase the speed at which the secret weapon's meter fills up

There are a total of 12 levels, plus a locked level that can be played if you play at td.net.

Game Review

Zero Bullets is a creative take on the action shooter theme. Unlike most other shooters, you initially have no bullets and must collect enemy bullets to fire back at the enemy. The addition of the secret weapon was helpful in completing the game. However, though there are a variety of enemies, the game does become rather repetitive. The inclusion of upgrades helps alleviate the repetitiveness to some degree. A more varied track arrangement could help improve the game.

Zero Bullets scores a 7/10 for good entertainment value.