Shoot ’em ups will keep me company until the hour of my death. They were one of the first genres I ever played in the arcade, and it’s one of my most played genres for pleasure to date. Whether it’s a bullet hell Cave joint (which has become even more prolific on iOS) or a traditional, technical shooter, I’m always willing to turn my monitor on its side to play at any possible resolution. Less screen real estate on a mobile device seems like a problem, but touch controls almost always come through and deliver, and that’s definitely the case with Hectic Space 2 ($2.99).
As a sequel, Hectic Space 2 really delivers more of what fans enjoyed in the first, but anyone can just pick this one up and not feel like they missed anything. The action is controlled by sliding a finger down the left side of the screen to move up or down, and touching the right to trigger a power-up. Otherwise, your standard shot will fill the screen automatically, so all players have to do is aim it. Moving your ship is fast and responsive, which is useful for when tons of enemies appear and attempt to blast you into oblivion. It feels weird not being able to move from left to right, but I got used to it after a short period of time.
Much like Contra though, power-ups instantly alter the trajectory of your laser to make things more interesting. It may adapt a wave pattern, or trigger the lowest shot to seek out enemies like a homing missile. It makes for some really cool fights, especially when bosses fill the screen with bullets. It’s not the toughest shooter on the block, but it’ll test your mettle on a constant basis, especially if you opt for the hardcore gametype. I especially like how easy it is to tell bullets apart, and the old school retro art style is not only endearing, but soft on the eyes. The same goes for the electric soundtrack and muted sound effects.
There’s quite a bit of content to peruse through, including a full arcade story mode, hardcore, and a boss rush, which unlocks after acquiring rank 13. While arcade is straight-forward, hardcore grants players less hearts to work with, and basically amounts to a traditional hard mode. The IAP system is a tad confusing at first, but mostly works. The entire game is free, but if you opt for more, it’s there. For $1.99, players can remove ads, which seems like a waste as the ads themselves aren’t all that intrusive anyway. I played multiple games and during actual gameplay, nothing really bothers me to the point where I felt like I needed to buy an ad-free version. The only reason you’d really want to go this route is if you felt like the developers needed compensation.
On the other hand, you can also buy more hearts and continues if you’d like for $0.99 each, which basically amounts to a cheat code. Said unlocks are permanent, and grant two hearts at the start of every game, or one more continue, depending on your purchase. The Hardcore mode is basically cheapened at that point, and it’s not really needed. Plus, players can unlock new upgrades anyway by merely playing and leveling up, which not only includes the aforementioned bonuses, but new power-ups as well like an additional shield or timeslow power. You can also choose to continue after death by way of ads In other words, the game is fairly versatile and you don’t need to spend any money to enjoy it.
Hectic Space 2 is a rare game in that it looks like it doesn’t amount to much, but it actually offers up a shooting experience on par with many big development studios. You also can’t really argue with the monetization scheme, and the way that progression is handled, so you always feel like you’re earning something new. If you dig old school horizontal shooters like Gradius and R-Type, give it a go.
