S&S Indie Review: Super Killer Hornet
Title: Super Killer Hornet // Format: XBLIG // Release Date: 19/07/2012 // Publisher & Developer: Flump Studios // Price: 80 MS points // Violence: 0/3 // Sex: 0/3 // Mature Content: 0/3
My old high school mathematics teacher warned me I'll need the power of numbers in my head when venturing out into the big wide world.
Perhaps the people at Flump Studios had a similar tutor, because this game is a bullet-hell shooter with a twist; dodging lasers is not enough, you have to solve equations as well. And in there lies the secret to a high score in Super Killer Hornet, killing the enemy ships does not add to your multiplier, answering correctly to the maths questions does.
This is probably the reason why you die so much- not that the developers don't warn you beforehand; it's in the description to expect to respawn. Sometimes games like that can irritate the player, but when you've been told beforehand, it can almost be taken as a challenge rather than a warning.
One particular thing that impressed was the music. Matt McFarland did an excellent job creating five different tracks that the game allows you to choose which to play to- and it's to the credit of Flump that they had the foresight to include such an option. The thumping techno has an old-school beat-em up feel to almost in the style of Mortal Kombat that helps the player to stay concentrated while negotiating this tricky game.
Flump also had the good graces to include two different modes as well as the option of music.
The second mode, and in my opinion the better of the two is the black label mode. Opposed to the limited lives from arcade, black label gives you unlimited lives but with a time limit. Only answering the questions correctly will extend your time. The franticness of dodging enemy fire, asteroids, suicide attacks AND looking for the correct answer proved to be too much on many occasions. Perhaps Flump could have paced it better and held back the horde of distracting enemies for later in the game, as they are begin to fill the screen very quickly after you start.
With the one hit death system, it can be frustrating as you pick up the two numbers and die just before obtaining the answer. In this case, you unfortunately lose the entire equation and have to start again. On the timed countdown this can prove very irritating, as you can have 30 seconds left on the clock but know you don't have enough time to acquire another question to delay the inevitable.
The graphics are slightly lacking- the background and ship designs are all pretty basic. With no power ups as well it can get repetitive quickly, despite the (appreciated) efforts from Flump to mix it up.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment is that Super Killer Hornet can only support single player; a shame as it would have been a lot of fun to play with a friend. One friend collecting the numbers and the other clearing the enemies on black label would improved the experience, it even could have pushed it from a decent game to a great game.
Having said that, there is enough to recommend for Super Killer Hornet to make it a satisfying game, and as long as you don't mind respawing, this can be a welcome addition to your Indie collection.
