When I was a kid, Nintendo had the uncanny ability to make me an evangelist for genres I otherwise couldn’t stand. I didn’t like racing games, but played a mean Yoshi in Mario Kart. Likewise, I wanted nothing to do with planes until I got my hands on Star Fox 64. And while the Big N’ refuses to bring its content to phones and tablets, a trailer for Psyonix’s space shooter Arc Squadron has me thinking the studio may just be able to fill the nostalgia-sized hole in my heart.
When I was a kid, Nintendo had the uncanny ability to make me an evangelist for genres I otherwise couldn’t stand. I didn’t like racing games, but played a mean Yoshi in Mario Kart. Likewise, I wanted nothing to do with planes until I got my hands on Star Fox 64. And while the Big N’ refuses to bring its content to phones and tablets, a trailer for Psyonix’s space shooter Arc Squadron has me thinking the studio may just be able to fill the nostalgia-sized hole in my heart.
Devoid though it is of talking animals, Arc Squadron‘s mission is a familiar one: save the universe from destruction at the hands of a powerful evil. In this case, a race known as the “Guardians,” which is set to ravage all the solar system’s peaceful planet’s if left to their own devices. Naturally, it’s your job to give them what for…with guns.
Using one-touch controls, you’ll execute many of the same tricks and tactics that came to define the Star Fox series, including precision spins, crucial boosts, and — of course — all important bouts of shooting. Appency boasts a “massive” sixty-four level campaign, of which nine of the levels will include boss battles. As you play, you’ll gain access to six different ships, each of which can use a stable of ten different upgradeable weapons. Until we get our hands on the title, there’s no telling if Arc Squadron‘s bite-sized nature will get in the way of it feeling like a full-fledged experience, or if the upgrades available will be fairly monetized, but both the trailer and screens have me hoping for the best.
Now all that’s left is to practice my Slippy voice.
