I'm kinda torn on Empire the more I play. The removal of the power-ups is a very wise choice, they've streamlined the HUD and rearranged the game structure to make the level structure much more interesting, among other big improvements.
But, on the other hand, they've kept and in some cases amplified some things that were really terrible in Reloaded, such as the fact that enemies dying causes a shockwave which can throw enemies at you completely unpredictably and often undodgably. The huge problem, though, is that the kinda crappy and slightly-too-big hitbox in Reloaded has gotten fat and is now a
GIGANTIC hitbox, much larger than the actual ship. This means that dodging and weaving through tight shot patterns is pretty much impossible now, which is just unacceptable.
I am addicted already, though; no question about that. One detail I'm especially in love with are all the hints for fans of Reloaded. The big "you ran out of time, now you must die" meanie from Reloaded shows up as a regular enemy, the Pom Pom robot shows up as a boss-type enemy, you now play as one of the laser-bugs from Reloaded, etc. Cute stuff.
Gwanatu T said:
N+, Undertow and Switchball all look awesome, and are probably must-buy titles.
God damn it, people; no, Undertow's crap!
N+ and Switchball, on the other hand, rock. N+ plays beautifully on 360.
MicVlaD said:
Seriously, I'd like to know before I actually buy MSE (only have few MS Points left at the moment so it's either this or Exit).
Yes, it's in there. I'm pretty sure I've confirmed that like a dozen times in this thread by now.