Astrofire
Asteroids like vertical shooter; diverse and challenging
Astrofire is a vertical shooter in the same vein as Asteroids, however, it is a much more diverse game than that classic arcade shooter, in that it has a lot more enemies, it has much more diverse roaster of weapons and upgrades and it also brings forth a lot of beautiful, space themed backgrounds. The gameplay is mainly based on shooting enemies, then, at the opportune moment, you can get upgrades, that either offer you a perk in terms of your shooting abilities, or offer you some defensive mechanic, that works great in keeping you safe from the enemy missiles, or from other sources of danger. The controls are very convincing, as they respond immediately, and the fact that each level has its own theme adds another layer of enticement to the game. Because, if you get hooked, you'll really want to see what comes next, what the next level will look like. Sure, it never gets too far from the recipe, it's still mainly about shooting and that can get repetitive after a while, but then again, this kind of recipe is great for taking your mind away from more serious matters. A good alternative to Astrofire can be Outer Ridge which is still mostly an asteroids shooter, but from a first person perspective.
Asteroids with space monsters instead of space debris
Astro Fire is a pretty well produced, high on customization options Asteroids clone. What does it bring to the table to merit the qualifying title of customizable? Well, it brings an option to enable or disable momentum for your ship, also, it brings a pretty nice set of graphical options, starting with variable resolution as well. Not that much?! Well, there's more, wait for it. It also adds, to the core shooting and navigating the void of space staples, monsters instead of asteroids, also it brings a plethora of upgrades, so that gameplay is no longer static for the duration of the game. Nope, you'll oscillate between being a space shooter of great capabilities and depth to being a poor little squabbling hero, that can barely sustain himself to a fight. Thus, this adds depth and dynamism to it all, and makes this one an advancement on the original recipe, which is always great and satisfying. Also, it's pretty large, consisting on three different episodes, all of them with multiple levels and particular challenges. Deserves 5 stars, totally, even if the graphics might not be everyone's cup of team. But they work great and the game has no major issue, fault. Download it, install it and play it!
