Game Reviews

Silverfish DX review - A shooter that needs more legs than it has

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iOS
| Silverfish DX
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Silverfish DX review - A shooter that needs more legs than it has
|
iOS
| Silverfish DX

Silverfish DX is an interesting one. It takes its ideas from some of the modes from the classic Geometry Wars 2, and wraps them up in an experience that shines brightly for a while before fading.

There's fun to be had here and no mistake, but in the end you can't help but think it could have taken built something a little more expansive on top of its foundations.

Fishing

You're controlling a spacecraft in a walled off section of the cosmos. Or it looks like that, I imagine you're actually controlling a spacey-silverfish, hence the name. You don't have any guns though.

Instead you're flying around collecting orbs. These cause explosions when you pick them up, which destroy the enemies around you. They drop green blobs, and if you pick these up your score multiplier goes up.

When you've picked up enough of the power orbs, you become a machine of pure destruction that can eat anything around you. That state doesn't last long though, so you need to make hay while the sun shines.

Silverfish DX iOS review screenshot - Surrounded by bugs

Your power bar also represents your health. Take a hit when you're on the way to nom down on an orb and that bar goes down. Once it hits zero you've got five seconds to get some more, otherwise it's game over.

And that's all there is to it. After a few goes you'll have set a pretty decent high score, but it's unlikely you're going to feel the urge to push on and do any better.

There's no real progression here, and the AI behind the bugs you're eating doesn't come close to the squares and triangles that menaced you so well in Geometry Wars.

Silver lining?

It's a shame, because there's some real potential here. There's nothing broken about Silverfish DX, it's just that once you've got to the point where you want, no need, something more, it doesn't deliver.

You'll find some fast arcade fun here, but in the end it wears out its welcome a little too quickly to recommend it in the most wholehearted terms.

Silverfish DX review - A shooter that needs more legs than it has

There's a decent arcade game here, but it doesn't have the legs to stick around
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.