A new game has just arrived for the Playstation Vita called TxK. But this is more than just some typical indie game that came right in the block. On the contrary, it pays homage to the 1994 Atari Jaguar classic, Tempest 2000. And if you consider the very limited number of memorable titles for that particular video game console, that says a lot!
As such, TxK plays out like your old school arcade shooter where you take control of a ship that you can move along the sides within a shape. The gameplay is offered via the 3D perspective in which case the lines of such a shape extends further into the screen. Thus, you’ll see enemies coming from the distance as they travel within these lines towards your ship.
To stay alive, you must guide your ship around the edges of the shape you occupy as you blast away at these incoming enemies. Occasionally, power-ups will appear which give you such kickbacks as additional weapon upgrades, bonus rewards, as well as the temporarily being able to travel off the edge of the shape you’re supposed to be in. There’s even a droid that accompanies you during your shooting.
TxK plays out very well as your movements are very responsive. Additionally, you have the option to use either the Vita’s touch screen or the face buttons. Specifically, the circle button allows you to release a bomb onto the enemies. Otherwise, you can just simply touch on the screen for the same effect. Either way, the control scheme is very simple and easy to pick up and play right away.
Although the presentation may seem very basic upon first glance, the amount of special effects on screen appear to be extraordinary. With the neon color scheme shown against a black background is pretty trippy and exciting at the same time. To make the experience even more impressive, TxK’s music gives a heavy beat that will get your heart pumping with every beat. On the Playstation Vita, both the visuals and audio are executed quite nicely in a marriage of dynamic fun and exhileration.
Since TxK plays out like an arcade shooter, it should come of no surprise that achieving a high score is every players’ goal. As you progress further, there will be numerous chances to earn even more points. This is accomplished during the transition to the next level by ensuring that a certain object stays in the centre of the screen, which is done via the Playstation Vita’s motion sensor as well as the left analogue stick. By having this feature, TxK adds a little more excitement and challenge to players.
Considering that there are a huge variety of enemies in numerous flavors out to get you across the 100 levels, the game is quite addictive in terms of both content as well as difficulty. That said, changing up your strategy is key to success, which prevents the game from feeling repetitive. There are also stages where the objective is to fly through a number of rings, thereby boosting your score. But to get here, you need to successfully collect a number of special triangles during your gameplay. So as you can see, this Playstation Vita title does a phenomenal job in ensuring your experience from feeling stale.
Even though TxK may have an appearance of a plain and ordinary indie game, there are more reasons that this game shouldn’t be ignored. In fact, the psychedelic visuals, upbeat soundtrack, and addictive gameplay are reasons enough to greatly consider this title for the Playstation Vita. What better way to play one of the very few memorable Atari Jaguar homages than to have it on your portable console!
