Shooty Sky Heroes is a fast-paced arcade style game that is available from the Windows Phone Store where you take to the sky to defend the Universe against an endless wave of enemy ships and creatures.
The overhead shooter is reminiscent of Impossible Shoota with its frantic pace and Minecraft with its boxy, pixelated graphics. You have boosters for your weapons and almost thirty pilots to unlock ranging from Superman to Star Wars' characters.
Shooty Sky Heroes is a fun, colorful gaming option to have tucked away on your Windows Phone when you need to fill that arcade gaming itch.
Shooty Sky Heroes primary menu will detail your gaming stats that includes your high score and gem count across the top of the display and menu options running across the bottom of the screen. Menu options include unlocking or choosing your hero, play the slot machine for gifts and choose your weapon configuration.
The hero selection offers about thirty characters to pilot your fighter plane and includes the likes of the Hulk, Batman, Superman, R2-D2 and more. Each hero will have a unique special attack, ship and gaming background. For example, the Jedi character flies an X-Wing styled fighter while the Hulk's special attack includes what appears to be giant hulk fists bashing the enemy.
You begin game play as the generic character "Steve" and can purchase other characters via in-app purchase or play the slots with the gems you earn to unlock them.
Weapons configurations include six different weapon styles that are unlocked by watching an advertisement video. The weapons range from straightforward cannons to multi-directional cannons that can be more destructive. It is worth enduring the 30-second advertisement video to give your ship a boost in firepower.
To jump into gameplay, tap the center area of the primary menu for Shooty Sky Heroes. There will be a slight pause as your ship moves into view on the gaming screen and then you will experience chaos. Tap/hold the screen to shoot your ship's weapon and to pilot the ship around the screen. Enemy ships will enter the screen from the top and sides of the gaming screen, much like you would find in the classic arcade game Galaga.
Your job is to blast the enemies into smithereens while avoiding being shot or crashing into the enemy. You do have a weapon's burst option but releasing your hold on the screen. You will see your ship begin to shake and glimmer and when you tap the screen to resume fire, your ship will launch a healthy barrage of rounds across the screen.
The longer you survive, the more intense the enemy attack and you will have some periods of inactivity to rest your finger. Enemy ships range from ships resembling a Star Wars Tie Fighter to Transformer looking characters. Shooty Sky Heroes isn't very forgiving in that one hit by a ship and the game ends.
You do have bonus items that drift down the gaming screen that can be shot to unlock power-ups and then there are gems to be collected. When the game ends, you will have the option to resume gameplay by spending some of those gems or move on to start another game from the beginning.
Shooty Sky Heroes also has free gifts that will appear on occasion that will reward you with a few bonus gems. These gifts are a great chance to build your gem count and play the slots to unlock new heroes.
Overall Impression
Shooty Sky Heroes is a fun, colorful Windows Phone game to spend a little time with. Gameplay is quick and challenging and the graphics are full of color and pop. Being a Star Wars fan, the hero selection is appealing, but wish there were other means of unlocking them other than cash purchase or the slot machine.
There is a slight addictive pull to Shooty Sky Heroes and while I don't know if the game can hold up to marathon gaming sessions, it plays out nicely for shorter gaming spurts. Especially when you begin to unlock the other heroes and give "Steve" a break.
Download Shooty Sky Heroes for Windows Phone (Free)
