For dedicated shooter fans only
The scrolling shooter genre is not one which is short of a few classics to choose from, with the likes of Raiden and Xenon to choose from, and while Xerix is unlikely to enter the hallowed ranks of shooter heaven, it's a pleasant enough distraction for fans but which probably won't challenge hardened veterans. It was developed by a lone programmer, Brenden Reville in the time before he set up the Twilight Software label, but under the company name he only seems to have developed one more game, the imaginatively titled Xerix 2 so by all means check out this other neat little blaster. Back to the original, there's some vague storyline about the usual rampaging alien race which is bombarding Earth with radiation in order to bring it under their dominion. Of course, the only way to stop this is by sending in a lone starfighter armed with the most advanced weapons available and which must blast and fly its way through wave after wave of ships of defence systems which are out to stop you. It's all pretty standard horizontally scrolling fare, with suitably shiny visuals and plenty of action to keep you entertained. There are only two different levels but the sheer number of aliens out to get you means its not over as quickly as you might expect, thanks partially to the one-hit, one-kill mechanic that has been implemented here. Xerix really isn't anything special, being more a product of its time, when a lone programmer could easily churn out something like this and be applauded for it simply for the act of its creation. It's not a bad game, with decent controls and everything else doing the job well enough but it lacks any spark of imagination that would make it stand out so really, only dedicated blasting fans need apply.
