Mutant Storm Empire

Platform: Xbox 360 Live Arcade, 800MS Points.
Verdict: Squelchy, shooty stuff.
Rating: 4/5
When all attention is turned towards the stars in search of new and wondrous, imagined forms of life, there lies plenty of undiscovered ickyness in the depths of our oceans. Things you could only dream of flit by in the darkened abyss, nightmarish in their composure, sickening in their alien nature and possibly closer to us genetically than any creationist would ever admit. Such globular, squelchy, tentacled spawn is also what makes Mutant Storm Empire so great.
Sequel to Mutant Storm Reloaded, Empire scurries across familiar ground using the ever so popular twin stick controls to shoot independently of movement. The same organic monstrosities are there, this time accompanied by some mechanical beasts and the same frenetic action is present, this time made all the more tense by gameplay changes.
To warrant the sequel’s existence beyond feeding the mouths of hungry programmers, Pom Pom Games have evolved Mutant Storm by cross breeding it with some classic shooters. Removing the all powerful smart bomb (replaced by a super directional attack), Empire also introduces colour based combo chaining (think Ikaruga) and replaces the abstracted series of rooms with a coherent, seamlessly loading world (like Smash TV).
Fusing these ideas from other shooters into one neon soaked gloopy hue, Empire manages to redefine itself with a new play style, initially unsettling Reloaded veterans yet inspiring new challenges and techniques.
Colour based combos up the difficulty for score chasers while the lack of a smart bomb removes an easy get out clause for the novice - things may sound tougher but a multiple lives system that replenishes at the end of each area eases the pressure somewhat, creating a chaotic shooter that can be blasted through with little grace or played like an artiste with pin point accuracy and a thirst for the razor’s edge and topping the online leaderboard.
Full of aquatic character, Empire has some of the best audio design this side of an amplified petri dish and is made all the better by the inclusion of an online co-op mode, which is just what you need when the going gets a little too squishy.