Top down radial shooters are something that will not die. They just seem to disappear for while and then return and then disappear again. But why is this? The easiest and the truest answer is because they are insanely fun to play. So now it’s the turn of Square Enix to try their hand in this genre, with the aptly named Death by Cube.

 

I say aptly named as it is the Ronseal of games, you have to fight different sized cubes or well.... die, with you, being a small robot. Your robot is placed in an arena and you are hit by waves of cubes, these cubes are of different sizes and descriptions. There are large and small cubes and cubes that shoot projectiles at you, which you need to avoid. I hear you sigh and start to turn off, but hold on a minute. Sure, this type of game has been done before but Death by Cube while not doing that much different does offer a little spice.

 

 

If you look at games like Geometry Wars, it is just straight up shoot and move. But Death by Cube does things a little differently. There is more of a strategy to the proceedings here, battling each level needs to be done with thought not brawn. You see, completing levels gives you the in-game currency of ‘chips’ these can be used to access other upgraded robots, which allows you to come at a level from a different position. There is your standard robo-fighter who is balanced across the board, then there is the Pink painted guy (or girl) who can shoot in all radials at once and then the Yellow and Black coloured one that can use the Dash ability better than others. You need to choose the right version for the level you’re about to confront otherwise you will fail.

 

As I just mentioned there are abilities for the robot, each version of the robot can use these abilities without a problem, but some are able to use them for increased periods. There are two abilities, the first is the ability to dodge, this is pretty much your lifeblood in the game (aside from being able to shoot) the projectile shooting cubes weapons can only be avoided by the use of dodge. The second ability is a shield, this shield can absorb shots fired at it and then spit them back to cause extra damage. Of course, a 360 degree shooter wouldn’t be much use if there is no weapon and this little guy is armed with an energy weapon that can be fired with a push of the right stick in the enemies direction.

 

 

There are loads of levels for this game which you need to unlock with the in-game currency, there are three tiers of levels too, Bronze, Silver and Gold and each tier will give you a better bounty of ‘chips’. But you also need to pull off multi kills to give you multipliers for your ‘chip’ collecting to crank up your count. You also need to be tactical in what you spend your ‘chips’ on (upgrades or levels) so that you can tackle each level evenly.

 

The game is something of a gem in the middle of the Crown Jewels (that is the real ones not the bloke’s one) there are a lot of games in this genre that are similar to this one. While, I really like the features of the game, I don’t think that the game has the stand out quality to make it, probably due to just bad timing what with the bigger disc releases which are around at the moment.