Sky Force Anniversary

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Sky Force Anniversary

by Mikhail Oct 15, 2017 | 1 Votes | 1 Played | 0 Reviews

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10 rate

Genres:

Shooter , Action , Arcade

Graphics:

3D

Labels:

Shooting , Airplanes

Platforms:

Sky Force Anniversary is a top-down aerial shooter with stunning and aesthetically pleasing 3D graphics available on the PlayStation 4 and the PS Vita as a free PS Plus title for October 2017. Blast through the levels, upgrade your plane, and take out General Mantis and his goons. Play Now Similar Games Played Post a Review

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Summary Plotline Gameplay Community Graphics/Sound Conclusion

Summary

Sky Force Anniversary is the new generation top-down aerial shooter console current-gen gamers need. It’s gameplay mechanics are akin to old classics like Raiden DX and Strikers 1945. If you loved those games back then, you will likely enjoy this. Available in both the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation Vita, the game is free for all PlayStation Plus users in North America (Asia and other regions have different titles).

Plotline

Sky Force Anniversary isn’t a story-driven game, and this works to its favor. We don’t need tales of drama, underlying themes, and a complicated story. The game provides a short backdrop of the lore, with you being a pilot of a resistance organization going head to head against General Mantis, the honcho of the oppressive faction. After a few dialogue boxes, the game transitions to what it does best: providing fun in pure, unadulterated destruction and action.

Gameplay

Sky Force Anniversary’s gameplay elements are its biggest selling point. It’s a type of game you would play either on the arcade or for countless hours on a handheld device. Basically, your goal is to shoot your way through enemies present in its multitude of levels. However, firing away isn’t the only way to progress. You will have to perform side missions, which are essentially goals, that will give you “medals”. These tasks include eliminating a certain percentage of the enemy (usually 70% and 100%), as well as rescuing stranded allies.

Unfortunately, this is where Sky Force Anniversary’s progression system feels clunky. Instead of giving you access to the next level by beating the preceding one, you need to have a certain amount of medals. This makes it necessary to repeat earlier levels, making the grind slow and a huge chore. Thankfully, the goals aren’t repetitive and add a little variety, making each level have a high replayability value.

Contributing to this is the upgrade system where you enhance your ship’s modules with the game’s currency, “stars” which can be gathered from the smoking wreckage of fallen foes. Everything is a tad expensive for comfort, and if you fail to make the right upgrades, your progression will be extremely slow. It takes 200 stars to buy a laser round, and you can’t even carry over unused ones the next time you enter a level.

Apart from the main cannon, you can also add additional wing cannons, homing missiles, and shields. You can also increase your health, and superpowers like lasers and mega bombs that destroy everything in the vicinity. In addition to being expensive, the efficacy of the weapon upgrades are quite slow, especially the main cannon. Fortunately, you can pick up upgrades in each level (the effect will be removed thereafter) that increases your fire rate. In addition, you can also earn laser rounds by destroying certain enemies.

The game plays similar to old arcade shooters, just with more beautiful visuals and better controls, making it a must-play for hardcore arcade gamers and newbies. Almost every level ends with you going up against a powerful boss. These may include a large battleship, a fortress-like plane, and giant tanks.

Community

Sky Force Anniversary doesn’t have a robust community, considering that it’s a niche, arcade-y title. It has a subreddit, but it’s barely active. That being said though, it has online leaderboards so you can compete with other players in order to score higher. Unfortunately, there is also no online multiplayer, though you can play with someone locally.

Graphics/Sound

Regardless if you’re playing on a PC (it’s available on Steam), the PS Vita or the PlayStation 4, Sky Force Anniversary’s visuals stand out. Despite appearing as a 2D game, the graphics are actually 3D. The environments are beautifully rendered, especially the blue waters reflecting the white light. In addition, enemy units are well-designed, along with the rounds they fire in the air to destroy your ship. Sky Force Anniversary’s various environments are varied, ranging from lush and verdant jungles, open blue seas, and rocky cliffs. Though most of these are simply backdrops, they add to the pleasant visual experience.

Sky Force Anniversary has voiced dialogues, but the acting falls flat. Nevertheless, it’s not much of a factor at all. The sound effects add to the overall experience, especially if the sound of the various explosions reach your ears. Every sound effect and beat of the tracks gets your adrenaline pumping, and you will find yourself fully immersed.

Conclusion

Sky Force Anniversary is arguably one of the best arcade-ish aerial shooters today. Regardless if you’re a hardcore fan of old classics or new to this genre, it’s a must-grab title. The game is a fresh take of the aerial arcade shooter genre, and it does well and lives up to its predecessors. It’s available on Steam and the PlayStation Store. If you’re a PlayStation Plus subscriber, hurry and grab your copy now before October ends.