XITILON'S FIRST RUN N' GUN
TRASHSTORM IS NOT A REAL STORY.
IS NOT EVEN GOOD FICTION.
IS TRASH GAME REVIEWS.
ALL OF THE GAMES FEATURED WOULD CAUSE A PERSON DISAPPOINTMENT,
ANGER, FRUSTRATION, DEPRESSION, MONEY LOSS INCLUDED.
TO PUT IT ANOTHER WAY: DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME.
Oh My God. Everytime I write about Xitilon it always ends up in disaster.
So let's check his latest release, EX-802.
Worst...Title Screen...Ever.
In any normal game, the instructions are given in the Options screen or in a separated tutorial. EX-802 doesn't, instead it crams it on the title screen along with a dedicatory to someone who passed away.
Before Crushborgs, there was EX-802
The gameplay of EX-802 initially starts as a Run N' Gun, but of the crappiest type. To begin with, you can only shoot left or right kinda like in Megaman, while in said game is OK because there's there's not too much need of fast reflexes, in EX-802 fails on that purpose since there's enemies above and below you as you jump on multiple platforms and they're completely static. They don't care is you pass through their defenses as the hostile droids are so unanimated they are only limited to shoot and die. I could say "like Turrican" but Factor 5 addressed that with the spread fire of the Multiple shot. Your main weapon lacks of alternate shots (think flamethrowers, lasers or spread shots) so you're stucked to your rapid firing twin vulcan which fires the twin bullet stream in a crossing path similar to the R-Type laser. The fire rate is obscene, since it has an exagserated amount of bullets on-screen, even more than Contra III's default gun which indicates a total disproportion of balance within the gameplay. You can fire a "Strong Shot" by pressing up and the X button, but actually this weapon is useless compared with the more damaging firing rate of your rifle. To increase the width of your weapons, you have to pick "Satellites" that basically become a wall of bullets since you can oversaturate the character with lots of them. You are also given a temporary flight option by holding the jump button, allowing you to avoid death or dodge an enemy. You can also use the hovering to double jump. For an oversimplistic game by Xitilon, this is an unique feature proving that he can do a game. The only thing he needs is time and a little more effort. So in the ideas and execution, he's a few steps far from a decent game.
It is worth to mention that this segment lacks of a boss. Once you reach the goal, the game will change its pace.
Angelic Diver
The second mode is the shmup segment and is as empty in gameplay as the Run N' Gun. Just very few enemies and a boss that barely fights using homing bullets. By holding the jump and fire buttons you can slow down and change the spread shot from a more frontal fire similar to DonPachi and Danmaku Unlimited 3, also showing your hitbox. Again, Xitilon is showing potential, but still needs effort to go somewhere.
Once you finish the shmup segment you will return to the previous Run N' Gun stage with once again very little number enemies just to engage in another shmup segment where you will fight a boss and finally guess what's next?...Run N' Gun segment, but there's one little surprise that makes it different from the rest of the game.
EX-805 VS Deathserver-5000
That's the final level where you fight the final boss of the game, which is extremely easy to defeat despite its attacks due to the exaggerated amount of Satellites you'll be racking up throughout the game.
An easy Platinum.
Once the last boss is gone, you'll be reaching a terminal computer to put an end to the mechanical threat on Earth. EX-802 gets there and...
You gotta be kidding me...
...and the fucking game sends you back to the title screen. No ending, no epilogue, no explanation of what happened at the end. This game kicks you back as if nothing happened or if it was a cheap demo. Its sole purpose to exist was to give you cheap trophies, cheap trophies and a Platinum.
Graphically looks poor and way too simple, but considering Xitilon's crappier games, this is more "tolerable". The platform segment of the first level looks very Super Mario like for a game that tries to be like Contra or GunForce. The cast of enemies is very limited as well. The ground forces are just depressed robots with the arm cannon taking aim and firing non-stop. But for a first try to his previous works, it looks OK...for an EARLY PROTOTYPE, assuming this game was made before SoulFrost.
There's some interesting visual effects like the transition between action platformer and shmup by doing a flip on the stage layout but strangefully, it puts the status bar upside down. But for an experiment from Xitilon it's a first nice try. The shmup bosses are a failure in variety since its a recolor of the first shmup stage boss.
YOU STEAL IT!
- YOUR SKILL IS NOT ENOUGH -
This EX-802 or "Angel" looked very familiar for me and why not. It's a cheap knock-off of Asayuki Kizuyomina from Blazing Star. Yeah, think of her with a shorter haircut, Reploid legs (or Ochako Uraraka's boots), a blaster rifle and there you go. But at least Xitilon gave us something SNK and the Metal Slug games didn't: Gives us the chance of playing with our favorite Remulian in a Run N' Gun and ironically, this is the closest thing to it.
The music sounds quite good for a Xitilon game, the title screen is the only song you'll have in this game but it has some slight vibes to Chris Hulsbeck and to be honest sounds excellent. Well done Xitilon, you got one thing right!
EX-802 CURIOSITIES
- First 16 Bit styled game from Xitilon.
- First Run N' Gun made by him.
No comments.
EX-802 seems to have an idea with the Run N' Gun and Shmup combination, but the game still has A LOT to be done to be considered decent (or "Short but decent"). The lack of extra lives or continues, repetitive bosses, excessive power ups and lack of aim kill the Run N' Gun purpose if its compared with more advanced titles like the Metal Slug series or Contra: Operation Galuga. I'm sure if Xitilon takes this game and re-works it with the experience learned from his Contra-clone Crushborgs, it would be a much better product.
Asayuki with a gun. That caught me off-guard. ¿What's next, Eda from Opus: Echo of Starsong as an F-14 pilot? Your move, Plagiarism. Surprise me.
EX-802 gets 2 R-9's out of 10 in the R-Scale:
So a dollar died for nothing.