Right Hyperdrive massacre, what a god damn amazing name, itβs a name I would expect to find on an Amiga or Megadrive game, and being slightly disappointed because of what I thought the game would be in my head, itβs so 80βs it actually hurts. Thankfully not of all of this truth here, because this game is so fun, and it is still so 80βs.
This is shown even more by the fantastic trailer, which I really enjoyed, so far everything about this game I have enjoyed, itβs an indie game that really shows its uniqueness, and isnβt a game where you have an βExperienceβ that βmoves youβ because the developers canβt do anything more than make a politically correct story arc, AND IT ISNβT EPISODIC, hell buy it on principle just on that.
So, Hyperdrive Massacre bits you in space, in cars with jetpacks flying around the screen attempting to kill one another in armed combat, with lasers, shotguns, mines, rockets and homing balls of gas? The different weapons is great, with them dropping from asteroids as you fly about, you get a limited amount of ammo from each and can be a big help to taking out your foes. You also get a shield that protects you from anything, the main use for this is nudging mines away from you and into anyone unlucky to be in front of you and deflecting bullets at others. Control wise, the game is a little, unresponsive, it takes a little too long to turn your car, and can feel sluggish, a lot of times I wanted to move away from a bullet but couldnβt manage it in time, it could be sped up, or maybe a power up that adds this I think would help it, it does take a little while to get used to the game because of this, which is a shame. Once you are used to it, the game works and plays better, being able to deflect shots at angles if you can manage these feats that is.
Graphically the game is pretty simple, 3D cars and Asteroids over a 2D background, it isnβt anything amazing and you wonβt be using this game to benchmark any systems, but for what it is it works great. I was able to run the game on my Intel compute stick I took to my buddies, with a USB hub it was a great session of playing on the TV.
You have access to many different characters, 16 all together, them some being locked on start up, you have access to different cars with different drivers in each, you can play as men, women, face sucker monsters and a bright blue sheep. The cast is definitely varied, each with a different styled car. Each of the levels are different with some nice backdrops and music with some definite inspiration from popular movies from back in the 80βs also.
This brings me to my two favourite modes, soccer and Space pong. Oh my god I have not had so much fun playing games on my TV in a long time, there is something to be said for simple game modes with new mechanics, look at Rocket League and how well that worked, this does exactly the same thing. Whilst I found the other modes lacking and a little slow to win, these two really took the cake. Soccer is soccer, you have a ball, two goals and you need to use your car to get it into the other goal, its simple, there are weapons, there are deaths and it can get very hectic, and very fun very quickly. Space pong is similar, you need to bat the ball back towards the other team and hope they miss to score a point, to help them miss, you can kill them, or really knock a great shot behind them and score.
These modes will lose your friends, it will cause you to have objects thrown at you and cursed at, it is glorious and coach gaming at its finest.
Though with that said, there isnβt any other way to play these modes, no AI allowed on any team game apart from death match which is disappointing as without this all I can do is hope one of my friend are up for a game, otherwise Iβm stuck with the rather dull Deathmatch. Having nothing but AI to fight against and only 1 mode for this is disappointing, I want to practise my skills for the next match!
Hyperdrive massacre has found a place on my, letβs get a drink and play some games list, itβs easy to run and easy to play meaning a few friends can start the game and have fun straight away. It works well like that and really is an enjoyable game, grab a group of friends together, grab a drink and play, itβs a simple game with no story, no tutorials, just simple controls, what more could you ask for in a game? 10/10.
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