Developed by Natsume and published by Hudson Soft, Omega Five is a 2.5D side-scrolling shoot 'em up (aka 'shmup') available on XBLA for 800 MS points or $10 USD.
This game was first released on January 9, 2008, so yeah this review is two years late. There's a ton of games on XBLA, even in just the shooter genre, so I wanted to get the word out about this great game.
The first thing you'll notice about Omega Five is the graphics. While many shmups have you steering a tiny vehicle sprite through repetitive backgrounds and against generic enemies, Omega Five's graphics are fully 3D, rendered natively in 720p, scale up flawlessly to 1080p, and use large, original characters. Everything in the game is sharp, bright and colourful without looking cartoony. Many reviewers praise it as one of the best-looking games on XBLA and I definitely agree.
Special high-end effects are mainly limited to the bloom lighting on lasers and some "hot" elements, and this works in the game's favor as anything more would create distractions from the frenetic action.
If you're unfamiliar with side-scrolling shoot 'em ups, gameplay consists of steering your character and shooting at enemies as you dodge them and their projectiles. Omega Five has 4 stages, each with a boss fight at the end. In Arcade mode, you attack the stages in order; in Challenge mode, you can select a specific stage in order to get the highest score possible or practice enemy patterns. After completing stages, you can open up Arcade++ and Challenge++ modes which only give you 1 hit before dying but increase the possible points multiplier from 10x to 30x at max.
You begin with only a few credits (continues) and the game may seem brutally difficult, but the longer you play, the more credits you unlock until after a few hours, you will open up Free Play mode which gives you unlimited credits (but your score resets every time you continue).
There are 2 selectable characters to begin with, and 2 more that unlock after completing the game with each. Every character has 3 different weapon types, and you can attain up to Level 3 upgrades through the course of the game if you grab the corresponding pickup which typically increases firing rate, damage and spread pattern. Each character also has a "variable weapon" mode activated with the Right Trigger. This differs for every character and sometimes with what weapon they are using, but usually allows them to hit more targets at once for reduced damage.
Once you have picked up enough pink triangles, you get a "burst" ability that is a high-damage, screen-clearing bomb activated with the Left Trigger. You can hold up to 3 of these at a time, and if you don't use them they will rotate around you acting as a potential shield against enemy projectiles and even damaging enemies within melee range. Every character also has the ability to mitigate incoming damage with the Right Bumper, but at the cost of some life (usually half of the damage that would have been taken). This is especially handy in the ++ modes.
Omega Five can seem very difficult at first; this is definitely not the type of game you'll blow through in one sitting the first time you play it. As with many other shmups, strategizing your weapon pickups and learning enemy patterns can be as important as reflex skills. There is sometimes a lot happening on the screen, and until you get used to prioritizing what to deal with first and what to look out for, it can be overwhelming. Don't throw in the towel too early--the more you play the better you'll get, and as you get more credits and then the Free Play mode, even ham-fisted newbies will be able to complete the game.
Another option that unlocks after playing awhile is Retro Mode which applies a 16-bit filter to the graphics and even changes the soundtrack to the bloops and bleeps of old-school shooters.
Omega Five has local 2-player co-op and supports Leaderboards, even allowing you to download other people's replays.
I give Omega Five a very solid 9/10 and recommend everyone download the trial and give it a whirl, whether you're a shmup fan or not. Try the different characters and experiment with the different weapon types!
You can download the trial version of Omega Five here.
