ARRIVAL: ZERO EARTH Reviews

is good but its past its prime

A simple-yet-engaging rogue-lite title. At its simplest, game-play involves avoiding pink areas on the ground, which is where enemy unit attacks will land. The difficulty is increased greatly by several factors: the shape of attack area, the presence of terrain obstacles, and the speed of the attack. Line of sight is an issue as well, in that there are so many enemy units (some of which are close to your "POV camera" or otherwise large) that it can be tricky knowing when you're standing in something which will get you damaged. To be fair, this difficulty seems finely-tuned, as the game throws it at you only occasionally, and (so far, for me) the number of enemies isn't stupidly large. There are tons of unlockables such as unit types, biomes & temporary power-ups. As far as I can tell, each unlock is attached to a Steam achievement, so for cheeve chasers, this will keep you busy for a while. There doesn't seem to be a "campaign"; you customize a run by choosing a starting unit type and a difficulty. Each successful completion awards you points you can use to purchase unlocks with. Completion established by beating the boss at the end of the loop, but this can be extended by choosing to continue to another loop, where the difficulty (and experience of the units you're using in it) increases. Play can be paused, and you can also save run progress by exiting it - allowing you to continue at some later time. There's only one "save" slot... The graphics are simple but engaging. Gameplay is [u]definitely[/u] frenetic. There's enough variability in unit types & biomes & difficulties to keep you playing for a while - and given the inexpensive price tag, A:ZE is well-worth your entertainment dollar.