Review for Sky Force Anniversary. Game for Android, PC, iOS, Wii U, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 05/06/2014 The version for PC came out on 30/04/2015 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 08/11/2018 The version for Xbox One came out on 09/12/2016
The classic shooter is great when done right, even today. The original Sky Force (available for mobile devices, including PSP) was pretty cool, so let's see how it has evolved over the years to this chapter: Sky Force Anniversary.
The first feature that catches the eye as soon as you start playing Sky Force Anniversary is the slowness of the action. But be careful: it is good to keep in mind that this does not mean that the challenge is easy. In fact, the later stages become quite intense, with stationary lasers extending across the width of the screen, missiles heading towards us, and projectiles flying in every direction. Ultimately, the nature of old-school gameplay is challenging enough to be rewarding but not too intense to turn casual gamers away. It's a difficult balance to establish, but Sky Force Anniversary manages to hit the mark perfectly.
Visually Sky Force Anniversary is impressive, with richly detailed 3D rendered backgrounds, a good variety of enemies and bullets popping out of the screen. That said, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish one's fire from hostile one, which makes some moments in the campaign more difficult than expected. For example, not being able to tell the difference between one of your homing missiles and that of an enemy, in order to avoid mistakes you must avoid both. Returning to the environments, they are impeccably made, even if they lack some variety: you will come across water, islands complete with trees and rocky landscapes and, at the end of the adventure, in a strange industrial complex. The music fits perfectly into the background, so much so that some melodies no longer come out of the head; the sound effects, although the voices are quite annoying, are on the whole appropriate and faithful to what one would expect from a production of this caliber.
In addition to eliminating every enemy, the aim of the player in Sky Force Anniversary will be to collect the stars scattered in the various levels, to be redeemed then to upgrade their ship. In fact, we will start with little firepower, which will increase dramatically by the end of the campaign: we will acquire secondary cannons, more health, a magnet to attract objects towards us and automatic search missiles. In addition, there are other special weapons: a bomb, a laser, an energy shield and a mega bomb, all extra components with which you can upgrade your main weapon. Transforming our ship into a war machine capable of destroying everything is fantastic, but be careful: to collect all the necessary upgrades it also takes a good dose of patience.
Each of the nine levels of Sky Force Anniversary includes a series of challenges to overcome, which usually consist of defeating a certain number of enemies, slaughtering all enemies, saving all humans and taking no damage. We can unlock further stages by getting enough medals from these challenges; We will also unlock additional difficulty settings upon completing all challenges for a specific level. These difficulties allow you to earn even more medals so, especially for completists, in terms of longevity the game is doing quite well. Finally, there are also cards that you can collect to guarantee permanent boosts, another element to consider to upgrade yourself enough to be able to face the challenges at the highest level of difficulty. The available levels are still only nine without extra modes, so we will still be forced to face the same sessions several times. However, we can always invite a friend to relieve boredom a little.
Sky Force Anniversary is a fun shooter that fans of the genre and casual gamers will love. While hardcore fans may be put off by the upgrade system, which doesn't offer enough variety, it's still a great old-school game.
► Sky Force Anniversary is an indie-Shooter game for Android, PC, iOS, Wii U, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, the video game was released on 05/06/2014 The version for PC came out on 30/04/2015 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 08/11/2018 The version for Xbox One came out on 09/12/2016
