Shoot-and-Go
Everyday Shooter is just that, a simple shooter that can be played for as little as five minutes or as much as an hour. This title found its fair share of success on the PS3 and PC, and the simplistic yet engaging formula seemed to be tailor-made for bite-sized, portable gaming. As such, Sony Computer Entertainment has brought the title to the PSN for download on the PSP. While the game is largely successful in its implementation on the handheld, there are a few issues that make this the weakest version. Nevertheless, having a top-down shooter on your portable is perfect for waiting at the doctor’s office or taking a quick rest from work in the break room.
Everyday Shooter was originally released on the PlayStation 3 in October of 2007. The game is a classic top-down shooter in the vein of Robotron 2084 with a modern flair like that of Geometry Wars. Tying the game together and distinguishing it from the plethora of others that abound is the game’s musical component. While blasting through wave after wave of enemy formations, players are treated to cannon and explosion effects that are actually guitar melodies that nicely fit in with the unique background music. What’s more, each of the eight levels sports distinct designs and interesting backgrounds that are rewarding for players to progress through.
Everyday Shooter for PSP allows players to play in the Normal (campaign) mode, which takes players through the various levels with a limited amount of lives. Normal mode provides a steep challenge that multidirectional shooter fans will enjoy. Collecting point pixels for successfully dealing with an enemy wave will not only increase your point total, but it will also allow you to open up unlockable conditions and extras from the main menu. Additionally, unlocking extras allows you to play levels in the Single mode, which lets you take on individual levels rather than having to slog through the game from the beginning every time. Unfortunately, unlocking them means this feature isn’t initially available.
Consequently, this is one of the game’s biggest problems. While getting through Normal mode with limited lives is a great challenge, playing the same initial levels over and over again and collecting enough pips to acquire more lives gets boring. Players will have to log a lot of hours with the game before getting good enough to open up the last few levels for quick play in Single mode. For a game that is best played in 10-15 minute bursts, this is an unfortunate design choice. Contemporary gamers may not have the patience to constantly start from the beginning – we love checkpoints!
Without a doubt, the combination of unique music and interesting level themes is what makes Everyday Shooter feel so unique. Unfortunately, some of the high-quality presentation is lost on the PSP port. For starters, though visuals are still crisp and chained explosions are fun to watch, the small screen of the PSP makes it very difficult and tiring to distinguish all the onscreen action. This is especially the case after playing for long stints. Also, the beautiful musical presentation gets a hatchet job when listened to through the PSP’s speakers. Consequently, a good set of headphones are imperative if you want to hear the title as it was meant to be enjoyed.
Fortunately, gameplay is still largely enjoyable despite the visual and aural challenges. Blasting through baddies is very addictive, and chaining together kills in a multitude of ways through the distinct levels is a lot of fun. On the downside, the PSP has only the tiny analog nub and four face buttons with which to control the shooter. Though the analog nub and D-pad work well while maneuvering your ship (pixel), the face buttons essentially halve the amount of directions in which you can shoot. This doesn’t break the game, but it does make it somewhat less enjoyable of an experience than it was on the PS3.
Finally, there is a decided lack of innovation in this title. This is a straight port to PSP, so there is nothing new brought to the title. I would have loved to have seen some ad-hoc and infrastructure multiplayer support for this game. Also, a few other portable-friendly mini-games and/or modes should have been included to round out the experience.
Considering that nothing new was added to the title and that the game’s problems are somewhat exacerbated by the PSP’s limitations, this is definitely the weakest version of the title yet. Still, Everyday Shooter is an enjoyable experience worth the $9.99 download price for more than just top-down shooter fans. In fact, despite its many flaws, it’s a game that manages to translate relatively nicely as a portable experience. If you’re looking for a light game that provides a good deal of challenge while you blow through its levels, Everyday Shooter for PSP is one to keep in mind.
RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 3.4 Graphics
While the interesting visuals are still crisp, everything looks quite tiny on the PSP’s screen. 3.4 Control
The controls work well, but they have been somewhat hampered due to the lack of dual analog sticks. 3.4 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The music is as nice as ever, but headphones are a must in order to truly enjoy the title. 3.7 Play Value
Despite the game’s flaws, it is still a lot of addictive fun. Still, more innovation could have been lavished upon the title. Instead the game highlights the weaknesses of the PSP rather than taking advantage of its strengths. 3.5 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.
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