Enemy Mind

« A good ol' shooter, full of great gameplay but with a not-so-full budget, which prevents it from becoming better. Still, a good experience. »

« Enemy Mind is a difficult 2D side-scrolling shoot-em’-up (schmup). It isn’t tremendously long – it has 80 stages, including 8 bosses, taking about 4 hours to complete – but it is definitely quite taxing. Unlike many modern games, this game incorporates a lives system and score system, meaning that if you die, you have to start a set of ten stages over again. This can be very unpleasant if you get a game over on a boss. The central conceit of Enemy Mind is that you are a mind-hopping parasite who can jump from ship to ship. Each ship has limited ammunition and can take 2-5 shots before going down. Your goal is to use the ships to hop through the battles, taking down all the enemy ships while avoiding being in a ship when it goes down yourself. This leads to fairly unique gameplay, as the ships have a wide variety of attack patterns, both in your hands and in the hands of the AI. This is especially notable in the boss fights, where you must hop around between various ships during the fight to take down the boss without the boss destroying you in the process. Indeed, almost all of the bosses can themselves be mind controlled, resulting in interesting gameplay as you work to destroy the boss while hopping in and out of its body. The game has a story underlying it – in-between stages, you can listen to enemy chatter over the coms system, as well as having various memories filter into your mind. While delivered via text, the story is interesting as it reveals more about both the mind-hopping parasite and the world you’re inhabiting, and depending on whether you’re controlling a human ship or an Aratus (alien) ship, you get different story messages (and, at the end of the game, a different ending based on which faction you spent more time mind controlling over the course of the game). Overall, this is a pretty creative game, and is definitely a distinctive entry within the schmup genre. While the game isn’t mind blowing in terms of quality, it works quite well, and it is fun navigating your way through the game and working out what is going on. That said, it is a schmup game, so if that sort of thing isn’t your cup of tea, or if pixel graphics bother you, this isn’t going to change your mind. Still, if you’re a fan of the genre, this is worth checking out, even if it is quite difficult; judging by the achievements board and high scores, less than 50 people have beaten this game in its entirety. »

« Excellent example of mechanics use as a narrative device. A really interesting take on the side scrolling shooter. Lacks a bit in difficulty, but very engaging. What text there is is very well written, and in simple, non-expository ways explores the player's circumstance of simultaneously causing and being caught between conflict with unknown entities. Visual design is simple but effective and impactful. Ship designs are unique enough to force slight changes in gameplay without becoming overwhelming. Sound design is lacking, I think. Doesn't fit with the simple but deep visuals and mechanics of the game. »

« Easy to get in, much to get from ! The "Take over enemy ships" feature gives this game so much more depth over other, usual shoot em ups. Its pure fun. So many hilarious and outrageous moments, after only 3 hours of playtime, could easily make this my favorite shmup of all time ! Every new enemy you encounter brings a new weapon to the game, thus leaving you to explore new ways to beat the stage or adapt to incoming enemy waves. And let me add this: The developers gone crazy designing weapons and ships. smart, creative and well balanced. Gotta love it. 2 minor things to nag about: Sometimes I died in front of another ship even though I pressed the "take over"-cannon right before. But maybe this is just my perception. :) Second: I wish the out of ammo sound would trigger earlier. So its more of a warning. All in all: Awesome game. »