Got a short stack of games in today, so I played each of them a little: Tiger Road, Impossamole, Dead Moon, and Final Soldier.
Final Soldier is great! Man, I can't get enough of this one. I only made it to Stage 4 on my first credit, and then I started getting sloppy, but I'll get farther after a bit of practice. Great power-ups, good music, lots of action -- definitely going to become one of my favorite shooters. I know this game is related to Blazing Lazers (GunHed) somehow, and it makes perfect sense -- the graphics, music and control all feel really similar, in a good way.
Impossamole is exactly what I was expecting: a somewhat below-average platformer. All the complaints I've read seem accurate; crummy hit detection, awkward "bouncing" after getting hit, and less-than-stellar controls. Right off the bat, I don't like the rocks that fall from the ceiling; it seems that if the game gave you just a few more pixels worth of space before they shake loose and fall, you could actually use some strategy and skill in dodging them. As it stands, it seems like by the time you get close enough for one to fall, you're already too close and it's gonna hit you.
Tiger Road seems interesting. I seem to get hit by some enemies with no way around it. Maybe I just haven't figured out how to dodge effectively yet. I like the graphics though.
Dead Moon seems okay. I think I expected it to be better. Some of the power-ups feel kind of samey, and all the sprites are huge, so there's not a lot of room to maneuver. Enemies are kinda boring-looking, and the sounds are weak. Still, I did have fun playing through the first 3 levels before I switched it off to try another game. I looked in the manual, and it says there's only six stages. Unless the last few get really tough, I don't envision this game posing much of a challenge. I've definitely played worse shooters, but this one's not bowling me over.
Gonna get back to Final Soldier now.
