Score Rush Extended Review

Over the past couple of months, it’s been insane the amount of retro, arcade inspired, leaderboard driven games that have hit the Playstation Network, and how they varied in quality. Some like Tachyon Project fell profoundly short, but other shootemups or even SHMUP’s strided off of their simplicity. (A.I.P.D. and Don’t Die Mr Robot) Now with Score Rush Extended being the later of the two, does it continue this near perfect streak? Here’s our verdict.

Gameplay:

The game is extremely leaderboard heavy, but it utilizes this in some interesting ways

While some SHMUP’s like to take the easy way out and distance themselves from difficulty early on, Score Rush Extended simply uses this as an afterthought. For example, even your weapons are limited. This would sound faulty, but Score Rush Extended uses this as a great way to get good over time. This sense of ever building success is what makes the game so fun, and so addicting, even when you lose.

Story & Design:

The four player coop mode makes the game all the better

Another great thing about Score Rush Extended is it’s concentration on how to do bullet hell right. It’s not luck and it never will be. And while the game does give you some breaks, you’ll never groan or complain when a boss comes around because it feels so woven in and natural. In this case, Score Rush Extended is a far step above than all it’s competitors.

Presentation/ Visuals & Audio:

While the game is great overall, presentation, including backgrounds are lacking intensely

While I wasn’t a fan of Score Rush Extended’s simplistic art style, it’s off-kilter hard rock/metal soundtrack fits really well with the gameplay. Better yet, this elevates the chaos in every scenario, so every time you finish a task, you were essentially a heartbeat away from dying. Elements like these get even more intense in the multiplayer modes, although four people may be a bit too much.

Conclusion:

Score Rush Extended is less of a great SHMUP and more of a lesson to others influenced by the genre on how to do it justice. It’s also a great example of how lackluster visuals doesn’t necessarily mean bad gameplay, a fact that still isn’t spread too often nowadays. By accomplishing both of these goals and being a great game overall, Score Rush Extended is a definite keeper.

Score Rush: Extended gets a 9/10 (Masterpiece)

We’d like to thank Xona Games for giving us a code!

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