Alien Zombie Megadeath

Developer: PomPom Games
Steam Release: Oct 2011
Hours Played: 7.9
Similar To: Explosionade / Muffin Knight / Super Mutant Alien Assault / Poof
Rating: 2/5 Parsnips



GAMEPLAY
AZM has six main game types involving jet-packs, dropping bombs and rescuing babies but you mainly leap around on five to ten platforms while shooting waves of aliens. The battlefield generally covers just more than one screen so you’re forever scampering left and right to destroy spawning enemies at the peripheries while picking up the big crystals to increase your multiplier and running over shards to get points. Most levels last around 3-5 minutes but some take a lot longer. You get three lives but the less lives you lose in a level the more bonus gets added to your score at the end. There are a variety of power-ups to collect including powerful laser missiles; a 3-way missile launcher; guided missiles and a slow-mo capsule - each giving about five seconds of satisfying fun. 
 

BALANCE & PACE
Each level has four secondary objectives that earn you medals. From the outset, some of these goals are clearly impossible like reaching scores that are unattainable or destroying UFOs that don't exist. But worry yea not for the UFOs are unlocked as you go deeper. You play through up to 80 levels which are mapped out in an orbit-style circular map at the level-select screen. You may return to earlier levels whenever you wish but multiple attempts to get two or more elusive medals is not uncommon. This can have you going backwards and forwards repeatedly in an attempt to figure out where that next medal will come from. Nevertheless, with many well-designed and varied side-missions, denoted by red circles rather than blue, there is always something new to aim for.
 

PRESENTATION & DESIGN
With a clanking, industrial ambience in the background, navigation through the menus can only be done with a keyboard or controller. The Help & Options path leads to plenty of further menus and these give clear and thorough information about such things as the score system and how to play. Navigating around the cumbersome level-select screen is restrictive and awkward due to the circular design. Still, although no trial-blazers, you can't knock PomPom for their well-chosen wibbly-wobbly sounds. As with Mutant Storm Reloaded, AZM has gone for thumping yet subtle sound-effects that create an absorbing and chunky feel. Fine explosions also help to create that immersive flow and the resounding flourishes at the end of successful completion is a fitting finale.  
 

PROGRESS SYSTEM
Levels appear on the level-select screen as circles on a spiral path. Blue circles are the main levels while red are side-missions. Gaining medals unlocks further ones, awarded after successfully completing one of four objectives. These are highlighted as quarterly segments around the small circle as and when they are completed. On hovering over a circle you see the level number, game type, best score, secondary objectives and medals received for them plus a screenshot at the bottom. As mentioned the secondary objectives will seem insurmountable at first but unlocked UFOs will appear later. Your world rank can be perused at the touch of a button as you scroll through the level-select screen adding that something extra to strive for.


CONCLUSION
PomPom have come up with another rock-solid arcade shooter which I have classed as an action platformer. The wibbly-wobbly sounds, varied game types and a generally decent level-progression system means the game has replayability that should have you coming back for more. One mechanic that I do sometimes miss is the ability to shoot up and down rather than just from side to side as enemies do spawn above and below the platformed area and are impossible to pick off until they arrive in the shooting area. All in all though, it's a solid enough title that we can forgive them for unleashing the debacle that was Astro Tripper after all.