Dimension Drive (Review)
Dimension Drive is a good shmup game that I have a love-hate relationship with. A total of 26 levels (13 in normal, 13 in NG+) spread over three worlds, with an interesting story, a good aesthetic, and it's mostly clear. It does interesting things, it's pretty cool.
My brane hurts just looking at this representation of the multiverse.
But oh boy, am I bad at it. Which both amuses and frustrates me, because I can quite clearly tell it's not the game's fault. It's giving me all the clues, but I can't save myself from, for example, bashing into a wall. Because, where I'm looking, there isn't a wall, but where I should be looking, there is.
Oh. Yes. That probably needs a bit of explanation. Dimension Drive is the story of the pilot of a multidimensional space fighter, the best in the multiverse, trying to save said multiverse from a nigh immortal conqueror who's had millennia of experience at conquering entire dimensions (And, naturally, the resources of several of those dimensions.) This interesting twist further extends into gameplay with two screens of play. One is one dimension, the other's another, with different walls, enemy patterns, and powerups. Flipping between the two is essential, both for bringing up that score multiplier, and avoiding what would be seemingly inescapable obstacles if we were limited to one or the other dimension.
Killing lots of things dramatically and having fun, about five seconds before I crash into that square outcrop on the left. Foolishly.
It's interesting, because, difficulty wise, the individual screens are about on par with your average western coin-op (It doesn't get into bullet hell territory until much later on), with relatively simple bullet and enemy patterns. But together? Together, they weave a web that has you nervous. Making mistakes. Clever stuff. And while it doesn't truly take the gloves off until later on, it still has segments where care is very important. Like level 3's trench run through a collapsing and exploding space station.
Considering this, considering the score attack nature of the game (with leaderboards and all), and considering the New Game + , the game at first seems short, but what it's doing is using limited tools to great effect. Switching worlds. Flipping round. Picking good weapons for the level (as later weapons aren't always more useful, they just expand your options), or trying something new.
I like Dimension Drive, its music, an at least okay story with some twists, and, of course, its own clever twist on gameplay. But boy, I wish I was better at it!
Another incentive to come back to earlier levels is that some tools make earlier bosses easier.
The The Mad Mad Welshman Welshman Loves Hates Multiple Multiple Dimensions Dimensions. They They Are Clever Do His Nut In