A Space Shooter For Free

Some genres need specific types of controllers to function at their very best. Fighting games need arcade sticks, driving games need steering wheels, dancing games need lithe young bodies (steady - ed).

Bullet-hell games need something swift and responsive, a control system that lets you twitch and dodge.

A Space Shooter For Free is controlled with a single finger, and that single finger inevitably gets in the way of a large portion of the screen. It's less of a survival tool and more of an added obstacle.

The game is set in the future, and sees you taking on the role of an obnoxious space jockey. You fly through a galaxy of levels, blasting everything that moves and weaving your way through a hail of alien bullets.

One finger controls your movement, and as you move you spray bullets out in front of you. Defeated enemies drop blobs of currency, as well as weapon upgrades that allow you to release new levels of destruction on the oncoming horde.

Killing bosses unlocks more powerful weapons for you to use in the next stage of the game. There's a story somewhere behind all the shooting, but it's dull, and not as funny as it thinks it is - a theme that runs throughout the whole game.

Flying around space killing things is an enjoyable enough experience, but there's no spark, and nothing to set A Space Shooter For Free apart from the rest of the retro shooter crowd.

It's not quite tough enough to appease the arcade masochists, but it's too difficult to appeal to the casual crowd who like their mobile games to make them feel like demi-gods.

And it's not really free. If you want the whole game, you'll have to make an in-app payment, making the title itself a lie. A Space Shooter For Free is an enjoyable, flawed, and ultimately forgettable shooting experience.