Price: £19.99 eShop (copy provided for review), LE physical
Publisher: ININ
Players: 1/2
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Shoot 'em ups were glorious back in the 8-bit and 6-bit era, with every game trying to out-do the daddy R-Type. Coders constructed ginormous aliens, layered bigger explosions, and belting tunes and effects to fill screens and speakers with life.
X-Out was one of Rainbow Arts' many contributions with an underwater theme and a neat approach to vessel upgrades. The Resurfaced version from ININ brings the game back for a new audience, some 35 years after first launch. With remastered music, higher-res visuals and gameplay tweaks, I'm happy to confirm it is great to play today.
Players start off with a limited budget to buy a Trilobite ship and a range of weapons or defensive aids as satellites. Then its into the action, with just one life and a health bar that will slide away with every hit or collision. Tap A to shoot, or hold down a trigger for autofire to start fighting back.
Enemies come in strict waves that are fun to try and memorise to get ahead of them, with natural cover that can damage your ship and some destructible scenery. Soon enough there are mini-bosses and end-of-level giants to face, with pretty straightforward battle patterns to exploit.
Then its back to the store to spend those credits on bigger cannons, upgrades and more ships to give you extra lives in battle. Rinse and repeat over eight glorious worlds with sparkling metallic craft, organic life and charming details throughout. Some so eye-catching you might not notice the big cliff you plough into among the waves of bullets, mines, rockets and other hazards.
If life gets too tough, there is a cheat menu that will open up some life-extending features, but we have to earn them through constant failure. If there are any secrets in X-Out, I haven't found them. Which is annoying with so many spots on a level that might be, only to find they are unreachable or a painful distraction.
There is two-player local to give you some extra firepower, but given the niche nature of X-Out, its a shame there's no online play or tables to meet and beat the community with.
X-Out looks a little crisper and shinier in undocked mode, compared to my monitor screen. But however you play it, Resurfaced is a fine example of classic shooter fun, with challenge and frustration through the unique ship-building challenge adding a clever twist.
Score - 4/5
