Your goal in the game is to simply destroy the waves after waves of enemies we throw at you and try to not get killed. If you’re not constantly on the edge of your seat when trying to blow up everything in sight with dozens of asteroids coming at you all the while screen is filled with explosions and fireworks, you should probably apply for a job as an astronaut or something.
Super Stardust Portable is played on a wrapping 2D field that is optimized for the PSP screen, including more than a thousand objects on the field at 60 frames per second with the Super Stardust trademark particle effects working on the PSP, so the explosions look as pretty as ever.
The PS3 version uses two analog sticks for control and shooting, so Housemarque had to map the shooting to the face buttons and let the game interpolate the shooting direction when needed. A new shooting mode was added to make full use of the buttons, so if you tap a shooting direction, the shots will spray around, making for an interesting gameplay choice. More weapon power on one focused point or less in a wide spray? The controls are also configurable, so if you don't like the default control choices, you can remap them to your own liking.
Some other new things we have for PSP version:
- A completely new mode: Impact. In impact mode you cannot shoot, just bomb and boost. The boost is a bit different in this mode in that when you boost through something, you receive more boost energy and your multiplier goes up at the same time (max 100x), so the key to high scores is to chain your boosts into as long as you can and to collect points with huge multipliers.
- A new final boss: One complaint on the PS3 version was that the final boss was way too easy, but be forewarned your first meeting with Professor Schaumunds’ new machine of destruction could leave a bit of something in you pants.
- Even more intense gameplay. The casual mode is still suitable for everyone, but in arcade mode the difficulty curve has been upped after a few of the first difficulty levels, so seasoned players will get challenged earlier on.
Super Stardust Portable will be available for download on the PlayStation Store on Thursday, December 4th for just $9.99!
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