Ultra Assault
Score: 50% ESRB: Not Rated Publisher: Small Rockets Developer: Small Rockets Media: download/0 Players: 1 Genre: Miscellaneous
Graphics & Sound: Remember that game for the Atari that put you in the pilot's seat of a star fighter-like spacecraft? The one that sent you flying through a top-down perspective world as your ship hurdled through obstacles and enemy fire. That game premise has been remade countless times on various platforms under many different names and seems to be a standard in the video game world. Ultra Assault is yet another attempt at recreating the game for a modern gaming world. Compared to its ancestors, Ultra Assault contains some fairly advanced graphics. Although it isn't anywhere close to the beautiful visuals in popular 3D titles, Ultra Assault's in-game graphics are satisfying and pleasing to the eye. Utilizing the same top down perspective as similar titles, textures in Ultra Assault's backgrounds appear rich and detailed. The particle effects in Ultra Assault are extremely versatile for such a simple game. It is obvious that a lot of time went in to the artwork. The only problems that Ultra Assault has visually are the menus. Comparing the menu screen to the actual game almost seems like looking at two completely different titles. Plenty of blocky text and horribly clashed color schemes prevail. In fact, the menus are such a let down, you may find it difficult to even venture into the actual game. The audio also produces lackluster results. A simple mix of tense mood music and frivolous sound effects matching the particle effects doesn't hurt the product, they simply keep Ultra Assault afloat. It doesn't create anything too remarkable, just mild complacency.
Gameplay: As mentioned earlier, Ultra Assault is a rehash of the standard top down flight shooter. Though it tries to be innovative, nothing new is presented in the gameplay. You must navigate through a straight scrolling map, blocking enemy fire and a slew of obstacles such as barges, ramps, and walls. You control a simple ship equipped with a basic weapon system. As you travel through maps, various power ups and weapon fixes are scattered about. Power ups can help to eradicate enemies, speed through map sections, or a variety of other possibilities. Enemies can be destroyed by weapon fire, or if you're slick enough, you can navigate around enemy fire and watch the bad guys scroll past your ship. Levels range in size from simple and small, to large and complex. However, the primary goal remains the same, getting to the end of a level without significant damage to you ship. As you kill enemies or capture power ups, a score accrues. Registering with Ultra Assault's online network lets you showcase your high scores to other Ultra Assault players. Though the idea is welcoming, and it is nice to be able to gloat in one's own ego, this hardly seems enough reason to register online, especially since you can't actually play Ultra Assault via a network, or even download additional levels, although a functional level editor is included with the game.
Difficulty: Ultra Assault, in theory, copies the same concepts of early flight attack games. With that in mind, fans of the old genre of gameplay will likely manage to traverse through levels quickly. Each level presents different obstacles to navigate through. Enemies seem to increase in the girth of their armadas, and their fire also comes at a quicker pace. Three variable settings of difficulty are available to players. Each setting tweaks the amount of enemy fire you will meet in the course of a game.
Game Mechanics: Responsive controls allow your ships to navigate fairly well in Ultra Assault. The same problems came with differences in the menus as opposed to inside the game. Menus are clunky and extremely difficult to navigate, though many features such as keyboard configuration and sound/texture levels, are customizable. Ultra Assault attempts to reintroduce a popular game from the days of old by using modern day video and enhanced gameplay features. Hardcore gamers will not likely gain much joy out of a round of Ultra Assault, as it seems more compatible to the casual, once in a blue moon, gamer. It satisfies the needs for a 'quick fix', but doesn't have enough weight to provide it much longevity. The visuals are pretty, and the classic gameplay still holds well enough on its own to be addictive, but it still comes off as a toy, most likely to be replaced within a few weeks by the next neat 'quick fix' title.
-==Boy, GameVortex Communications AKA Kyle Prestenback
Minimum System Requirements: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, IBM PC compatible processor, 64MB RAM, Supported 3D Accelerator Card (8Mb minimum), 120MB Free hard disk space, SoundBlaster or DirectSound compatible sound card   Test System: AMD Athlon 1800+, 1GB RAM, 16X DVD-ROM, Geforce 4 TI4200 3D Accelerator with 64MB VRAM
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