Rigid Force Alpha

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Rigid Force Alpha

by Aethyna Sep 19, 2018 | 2 Votes | 2 Played | 0 Reviews

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10 rate

Genres:

Shooter , Arcade

Graphics:

3D

Labels:

Side-Scrolling , Sci-Fi , Space Games , Aliens

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Com8com1 Software Featuring brand-new and intriguing mechanics, Rigid Force Alpha is a space arcade shooter that not only provides you with a thrilling, albeit somewhat generic, storyline; it also offers a ton of action be it fighting against alien lifeforms or against intelligent AIs. If you love playing games like R-Type and Gradius V, this is a game for you! Play Now Similar Games Played Post a Review

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Summary Plotline Gameplay Community Graphics/ Sound Conclusion

Summary

Rigid Force Alpha is an arcade-style, space-themed shoot ‘em up where you get to pilot the most advanced interstellar and planetary spaceships ever in the United Planet Freedom Forces’ (UPFF) arsenal. With the controls in hand, you set off on a mission to help save UPFF’s research stations from attack, but naturally, things are actually a lot direr than it seems, resulting in a full-blown adventure across various planets where you’ll have to battle superior mechs and AIs as well as unique alien lifeforms spawned from the research they were conducting.

Plotline

The United Planet Freedom Forces (UPFF) unveiled their years-long investment – the Rigid Force Alpha, a highly advanced space fighter that is powered by the CORE technology, an inexhaustible source of energy, complete with its own superior AI, Psye… and you get to pilot it!

But this is no fun trip around the solar system though! The UPFF research station in Vermis is under attack from some unknown forces and is in dire need of rescue… just the sort of job the Rigid Force Alpha is suited for.

However, it wasn’t long before you realized that things are a whole lot more complicated than it seems… No spoilers here but it involves a unique alien-technology hybrid.

Gameplay

Rigid Force Alpha falls into the category of games where it is somewhat easy to learn, but can be pretty tough to master. If you are well-versed in arcade space shooters, especially games like R-Type and Gradius V, you will fit right in!

That being said, regardless of whether or not you have experience playing such games or not, it’s still good practice to give the game’s tutorial a go. You may pick up some tips you may otherwise have to find out yourself through multiple unnecessary game-overs. The tutorial is fairly short and succinct, and once you’re done, you’ll be shooting at enemy spaceships and aliens in no time!

In terms of its controls, Rigid Force Alpha works best on controllers. Since I don’t own one however, I had to use the keyboard controls instead. Basically, the arrow keys are what you need to move your spaceship while the left Control button will make your ship fire both its main and side weapons.

Like most space arcade shooters, you will be able to switch between the different types of weapons as long as you pick them up. There are several for you to equip, and although technically all of them should work similarly when it comes to decimating your enemies, some weapons are simply a lot more effective than others. It all boils down to the type of enemy you are facing and on the game environment.

For instance, there’s a weapon which will turn your projectiles into bounceable ones, allowing you to take out enemies that are packed into an echo chamber-like area or around a corner. There’s another weapon that will spread out your projectiles, allowing you to hit your enemies in a vast cone-shaped area in front of you. This, on the other hand, is perfect for tackling swarms of low-health enemies or clusters of asteroids.

All of these features are pretty common in any game within the same genre, but Rigid Force Alpha went above and beyond, adding in several new features, such as the ability to use charged attacks, which again, varies depending on the type of main weapon you have on.

There’s also a Bullet Blade ability which you can activate using the left Shift key that helps to protect your spaceship from enemy projectiles for a short duration of time. Both charged attacks and Bullet Blade drain your energy bar though, but you can easily fill it right up again by defeating your enemies and collecting the energy orbs they left behind. P/S: Use Spacebar to attract the orbs to you. Trust me, that’s the easiest way.

You can even amplify your combat capability by collecting and equipping up to 4 Force Shards. Generally, they add more projectiles to your every shot, but what’s more interesting is that you can switch the position of these shards, allowing you to either spread your shots out a bit more or fire at enemies behind you as well.

These added features are not only a way for the developers to show their innovative side, but these features are crucially needed to defeat some of the more special enemies you’ll encounter in the game. There’s actually a boss stage whereby the boss will move forwards and back, forcing you to turn your Force Shards from front to back and vice versa if you plan on keeping up sustained fire on it. There are plenty of times when enemies will pop up behind you, making having lasers at the back of your spaceship incredibly handy.

From what is seen in the game, it is obvious that the developers did an excellent job when it comes to painstakingly balancing out the new features they added in while retaining the integrity of the age-old mechanics that defined genre. Everything worked out smoothly and surprisingly enough, these features in no way made the game any less challenging. You’ll get a good and intense fight even if you choose to play at its lowest difficulty setting.

The game starts you off with the Main Mission where you will attempt to get through all the stages in a single sitting just so you can uncover the plot of the next stage. Yes, you heard right – if you get a game over after using up all your 4 lives, you actually have to play the mission all over again right from the start.

However, the game introduces a Credits system where you can start over from the stage you last died in as opposed to starting from stage 1. You only have a limited number of credits though and it is uncertain how you can get more of them. It does look like a way for the developers to squeeze in an in-game monetization system so they can earn more off their game.

As you progress through the main missions, you will also unlock new game modes – there are two. I didn’t manage to unlock the second one, but the first game mode is the arcade mode. It basically allows you to replay the stages you’ve passed in the main mission but with different objectives and scoring systems.

Arcade mode adds in a combo system, as well as the chance to “save” astronauts that are floating around in space. You can save these astronauts by simply hovering around them until the “saving” meter completes, and this little task can be a lot tougher to do than it sounds. Try hovering in place while having to dodge enemy projectiles and not crash into anything else that may try to kill you.

Community

Rigid Force Alpha is pretty much a single-player game so there aren’t exactly any social features within the game itself, aside from the leaderboard. You could interact with your fellow players via the game’s discussion forum on Steam though!

Graphics/ Sound

Rigid Force Alpha has some fantastic graphics and visual effects that draw you into all the hectic shooting and also the gorgeous alien worlds that you’ll be flying through. However, in my opinion, all of this pale in comparison to the techno-styled background music. Besides being catchy as hell, I find that the music has a really distinct and interesting sound to it that truly sets it apart from the usual stuff you hear when playing a game of this genre.

Conclusion

Rigid Force Alpha may be a rather unknown, indie space arcade shooter, but it is definitely worth the price! The gameplay is intense; the enemies you battle against are well-varied; the graphics and sound are nothing short of superb; and the level design is just spot-on. In other words, the game is immensely fun to play, especially if you’re a fan of such games. Be sure to give it a try!