Plus Alpha

The Good
Plus Alpha is a gorgeous-looking shoot 'em up with tremendously colorful graphics, a large scrolling field of play and accessible mechanics.

As the warrior girls Celia and Rumy, you pilot a ship with three different modes of fire you can acquire through power-ups: a spreadshot, a wave attack and a concentrated column of fire. Each weapon can be leveled to make it more lethal, and the weapon of choice also affects how your bombs will behave.

The cute graphics and amusing enemies are definitely a highlight here, as are the anime-style designs for the lead characters and the frequent digital voice samples you hear shouted as you play. Boss battles are big and often take up more than the visible part of the screen. A standout battle is with a giant lava dragon who pops out of a volcano and shoots fire and magma at you - it not only looks spectacular, but is also a well-designed encounter to play through.

The seven levels are nicely varied and have some neat atmospheric effects. The third world, "Flower Town," provides a particularly beautiful and distinctive environment thanks to some eye-popping background art of fields full of brightly-colored flowers. The sixth level, "Dark Sodom," sounds like it's ramping up to something really exciting, but it's quite a letdown for such an evocative name, particularly once you consider that the levels immediately before and after it are really excellent.

Another interesting feature is that between stages, you can visit a gift shop to cash in your unused bombs to play a game that may grant you power-ups, points or extra lives. It definitely feels rigged to make you win or lose depending upon the game's whims, so don't take it too seriously.

The Bad
Plus Alpha would be an easy game if it weren't for three things: one-hit deaths, turn-based multiplayer and checkpoint-based continues. The only way to progress without cheating or relying on saved states is to practice making it through levels and boss encounters without taking hits.

Unfortunately, every level has a section where bullet-sponge enemies will appear, spray the screen with shots and attack you mercilessly. Bosses also tend to be flanked by weak enemies who not only attack you, but also spray shots on the screen. The colorful graphics can make it hard to see the small shots with all of the other motion onscreen, and once you're hit, you're back to a checkpoint to try again. And, worst of all, your plane is on the slow side and hard to maneuver with a lot of precision.

It's amusing to think that by Japanese arcade standards, Plus Alpha is considered a gentle shooter with a moderate level of difficulty.

The Bottom Line
Plus Alpha might look like a game that's a little too cutesy to be challenging, but it's well-made and delivers a surprisingly strong shoot 'em up experience that will appeal to fans of overhead shooters like Raiden, Twinbee or 1943: The Battle of Midway.

If you've ever wanted to beat up a beehive, shoot down a lava dragon or battle a sneaky bullet hell-spewing hermit crab, have I got a game for you!