‘Above and Below’ Review
Above and Below by Pastel Games has launched into the App Store for just $1.99, as a classic top down, arcade shooter with a noticeably polished presentation.
Noteworthy Features:
- OpenFeint Integration
- Leveling up system with additional weapons and boosts
- Customize skins for your plane
Major Complaints:
- Very slow paced action
- Questionable tilt controls
In Above and Below you take up the role of a nameless German pilot (believe it or not) around the time of the first World War on a career of destruction and glory to become an infamous pilot.
It’s a rather interesting approach for a top down shooter, since most shooters tend to sway more towards Sci-Fi fantasy with insane laser beams a blazin’ or opt for a more modern technological approach, with an abundance of missile and bombs to work with. Nevertheless it’s refreshing to see such a break from the norm, with a rich presentation to boot, but even so underneath it all, it’s still a somewhat shallow arcade shooter experience with questionable tilt controls.
Gameplay
Above and Below really revolves around two game modes, a campaign mode and a mission mode. The campaign mode locks you into a set of predetermined missions that unfold one after the other as you progress. It also includes a shop where you can purchase customizations and upgrades for your plane, as well as stock up on power-ups before starting the next mission. As you beat levels in campaign mode you unlock them in mission mode where you can then replay them as many times as you want in any order you desire.
As far as the mission themselves, there’s really only two kinds of objectives that must be completed in order to be victorious. The first objective is one of survival, you simply make it all the way through the level alive. The second objective revolves around killing a certain percentage of enemies along the way in order to be victorious upon reaching the end. If you do not complete the objects even if you make it all the way to the end of the level, you will still fail.
Interestingly you are also given the option to skip to the next level (even if you fail or die) if you wish to do so, but you won’t be able to replay that level in mission mode, until you have complete the objective and unlocked the level in campaign mode. As odd as that sounds, its actually a very clever way to make the experience more challenging, without having to substantially increase the core difficulty of the gameplay itself. However I would have liked to have seen some more objectives that go towards bonuses and power ups for the next round.
Once you jump in a mission it’s really all about moving your plane effectively while activating power-ups that you collect or purchase along the way. In Above and Below your plane constantly auto-fires for you, so all you have to worry about is movement and power up activation. When you destroy an enemy they drop orbs, and occasional power ups. The orbs are used to purchase upgrades or straight up buy power ups to have in stock when you start the next round.
Speaking of power ups, there is a grand total of seven included in this game.
Health
The standard health power up, which will replenish a small amount of health when you collect it.
Ammunition
The game includes a mix of several different ammunition power ups that increase the speed, damage, and/or spread of your line of fire, albeit for a short duration of time. As you progress through the level you can stock up on multiple ammunition power ups (or purchase them from the shop), but you can only activate them all at once, not individually.
Boost
The boost power up when activated will make everything go slower, except for your plane.
Camouflage
The power up when activate will make your ship turn completely invisible and be indestructible for a short period of time.
Barrel-roll
The barrel-roll should be more of an ability then a normal power up, but unfortunately its implemented in such a way that limits its use as in you can only do it when you collect a barrel-roll power up and you can only do it once (well that is until you find another barrel roll power up). When activated your plane will roll to the left or right and it will wipe out anything you roll into, without harming your plane of course.
The loop
The loop works exactly the same as Barrel-Roll, in that you have to first collect a power up before you can activate it. When activated your plane will do a back flip and instantly wipe out everything on the screen.
Presentation
Above and Below‘s presentation is top notch. I really can’t say enough good things about it. From the menus, to the graphics, the sound, the UI, the loading screens, all of it is professionally polished with an artistic flare and style.
Controls
This is (for better or worse) a tilt game, so before you even start playing I strongly advise a calibration of the accelerometer first and foremost (check the settings menu). If you don’t calibrate you may find yourself holding the device in a very awkward and uncomfortable position.
However even when it is calibrated to a comfortable position, I found the responsiveness and the amount of precision the tilt controls offer is noticeably lacking for a top down shooter of this kind. I’m not anti-tilt to say the least, but I would have preferred standard touch control movement either by virtual joystick or dragging thumb around the screen to move the plane.
The controls in Above and Below really revolve around tilting the device to move the plane and thus aim the constant line of auto-fire in the process, while occasionally tapping on-screen buttons across the bottom of the screen to activate power ups along the way.
In addition there is a couple interesting gestures thrown in with the controls that could have been used more effective in my opinion. Namely the way you activate the Barrel Roll and The Loop power ups. To activate a Barrel Roll just swipe left or right to initiate the ability (assuming you collected/purchased the power up that allows you to do so). In order to activate The Loop you simply swipe up (assuming you collected the power up that allows you to do so).
I would have like to have seen these abilities be used more defensively in a way that can be initiated at any time, on top of standard touch movement controls and therefore be front and center in the core shooter experience. As opposed to being implemented as an offensive power up in a way that honestly doesn’t make much sense considering that it’s a natural ability of the pilot/plane anyways, but yet you have to collect power ups before you can pull off the ability.
Price
Above and Below is priced at $1.99 for the iPhone and iPod Touch (no iPad version just yet). Keep in mind this is a polished game that has plenty of attention to detail, a stellar presentation and lots of content to enjoy, so in my opinion the $1.99 price tag is reasonable.
Score 3/5
I really liked Above and Below’s visual style and presentation. I also respect the fact that this game is a break from the norm, especially when considering the approach that other top down shooters typically take and not to mention the App Store is getting flooded with high profile top down shooters at the moment. However when its all said and done the gameplay is shallow and almost too slow for my tastes, with odd and questionable controls that really skew what could have been an amazing must have game.
