Space Trading Goes Gonzo
Take an Elite-style game like Flatspace II. Set it in a cartoony universe where Zombies and Ninjas are waging an interstellar war. Tool around in a "starship" that's more like a Buick with a stardrive and lasers. Wage space battles against, among other things, space-going galleons and pterodactyls, and trade goods like cheese, paper, and kittens--no "industrial goods" or other boring stuff here. All to a loud, frenetic neopunk score--that's Ninjastarmageddon!.
As far as the gameplay goes, Ninjastarmageddon is familiar: You control a single ship, and tool around the galaxy, trading goods, fighting battles, going after pirates as a bounty-hunter, going pirate yourself, and finding and looting derelict ships.
Over time, you upgrade your ship with better weapons, more cargo capacity, and the like. In other words, lots of different options, in a semi-randomly generated galaxy, providing a high level of repeat playability. One difference from other titles, though, is that the game can be played either in 3D or 2D top-down mode; 2D makes combat a tad easier (harder to aim when you have to deal with the third dimension), but 3D is awfully pretty, in a cartoony way.
What makes Ninjastarmageddon fresh, though, is its cheeky, gonzo attitude--pirates and ninjas and zombies, oh my. Sometimes it seems like the game industry is utterly devoid of humor--but this game is cheerfully out there, and while you shouldn't expect guffaws of laughter, you will find yourself chortling at times, as you desperately try to find a market to offload the damn kittens.
Excellent fun.
The Developer Says: Ready for Ninjastarmageddon?
Zombie Smashers X3 is the latest bit of mayhem from Ska Software. It combines outlandish space adventure with outrageous behaviour to great effect.
Features
- A massive galaxy to explore
- Dozens of weapons and upgrades
- Trading, piracy, bounty hunting and tons of missions
- An intense story
- A sweet live music track
- Pterodactyls!
Reviews
"ZXS3: Ninjastarmageddon is a very, very different game - think "Flatspace on acid". In ZXS3 you take control of a vehicle with a driver and a gunner (riding shotgun, quite literally) and fly through space trading, fighting, plundering and completing missions. Zombies and Ninjas are both up there with you - opposite sides of a cold war, largely staying on their own sides of the universe."
- 91%, Bytten
"An over-the-top story matched up with equally over-the-top (yet rocket-busting) gameplay makes Zombie Smashers X3: Ninjastarmageddon one of the best original games to hit the indie market. Old-school gamers might find similarities of ZSX3 to Zone Raiders or the original Quarantine, in which the game has a constant pace that’s always edging on the brink of total chaos. Whether it’s making delivers or blasting down foes, this game rocks hard in a very smooth way."
- Game Tunnel
Awards
Gold Award, Game Tunnel
2007 Ernie Award, Bytten