630th played so far
Genre: Shoot ‘Em Up
Platform: PC
Year of Release: 2004
Developer: ABA Games
I have ragged on Tempest derivatives before, as often they seem to add some slightly fancier graphics (with still a retro look) without really making the game feel that much better.
Torus Trooper derives from that formula yet again…
Our Thoughts
So this was a lot better than the standard Tempest setup. You still go around the edge of a tube, but here you also move forward in it. Parts of the tube are missing, not that it matters much as you’re swooping around to face enemies anyway. The visuals of it, the tube moving through the area in the distance, creates far more of a sense of space than other games have, and it feels easier to predict places.
The entire game flows better this way and it’s a lot easier to get into. It makes sense and looks better to boot. It speeds up gameplay quite a bit as well – as it’s easier to predict what’s coming and work your way around them.
The other part that works better are the controls. As the ship has a more predictable place on the screen, you don’t get confused with clockwise/counterclockwise buttons, instead having the world adjust to you. Maybe it’s not original, but it feels so much more satisfying this way.
Final Thoughts
This is the best implementation of Tempest-style gameplay that I’ve seen so far. This might not seem like much based on how down on them I normally feel, but here it worksย to the extent that it kept me playing a long time.