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Super Crossfire HD is an utterly glorious retro themed yet original arcade shooter. Can I go back to playing it now? Oh, I have to offer even more reasons behind why this title is a must buy for all iOS device owners? Ok, Super Crossfire HD is the most fun I’ve had with a shooter since Space Invaders: Infinity Gene, high praise indeed.
Much of it is down to Super Crossfire HD‘s simplicity. The graphics are reminiscient of Geometry Wars with no hint of a storyline going on. All the player needs to know is that a series of shapes are firing at them and they need to dodge out of the way while shooting back. It’s retro shooting at its purest and fastest, with no hint of slowdown in sight. It’s the kind of hook that makes it so easy to dive right into for a short burst then realize that far too much time has passed. I should know, it just happened to me mid way through this sentence. Much of this success is down to the elusive twist within Super Crossfire HD: the ability to flip or warp from the bottom to the top of the screen at any time.
It’s extremely easy to implement, much like the rest of the game. Shooting is taken care of automatically leaving the player to move from left to right and warping is utilized by tapping two fingers on the screen at the same time. Moving from left to right comes with three methods of doing so: sliding, tilting or buttons. While not usually a fan of sliding type methods (favoring good old fashioned buttons typically), it works perfectly here. It might mean that players find themselves with their fingers attached to their iOS device at all time but that’s fine.
Five chapters and over 150 different enemy waves means that there’s plenty to be getting on with with an upgrade system offering further interests to players. Each enemy craft, of which there are 19 in all, provide different behaviors and attack patterns to adjust to, each as wonderfully intuitive as the rest of the game. Super Crossfire HD is a keenly designed game indeed, right down to the difficulty levels that provide plenty of challenge but never too much for the novice.
The only failing within Super Crossfire HD is the musical score which is a bit weak compared to the rest of the game. A more buzzing and unique soundtrack, or at least a way of playing custom tracks, would have gone a long way here. It’s a small flaw in an otherwise fantastic game though. Having played it on both iPhone and iPad, the game never falters to draw me in and understandably so. Can I go back to playing it now? Good.