TikGames / Creat Studios‘ latest PS3 exclusive is an ageless tribute to a bygone era of videogames – two dimensional in both visuals and gameplay, Skyfighter takes the classic side-on aeroplane shooter and gives it just enough next-gen dazzle, keeping it both deliciously retro and yet simultaneously good looking. It’s a far cry from most of the current PlayStation Network wallet-fodder, and won’t appeal to everyone, but anyone looking for something a little bit different should be keeping an eye on this one when it releases in a few weeks.
When your game announces each new level by fading in from scratched sepia footage you know you’re making a statement, and TikGames/Creat Studios are seemingly happy enough for Skyfighter to be considered an old school title. Once the on-screen graphics have become bright, razor sharp polygons basked in colour and depth, in flies your little fighter plane, buzzing with that distinctive noise that only mid 20th Century engines made, from left to right. As it moves, the ground beneath you scrolls along as if joyfully recalling the 16-bit obsession with layers of parallax.
Control is direct: you push the analog stick up and the plane climbs, point it to the bottom right and you’ll dive in the same direction. Aim left and your plane will flip over and happily fly upside down to the left of the screen until you tap the square button to ‘wing over’ – effectively righting the plane. Which is handy, because although the cross button fires your cannon, you can’t drop grenades unless your plane is the right way up, and as the handy tutorial tells you the ability to wingover also becomes useful when negotiating tighter turns. The triggers let you boost and brake.
Each of the main campaign’s 21 levels have mission objectives (destroy a set number of enemy fighters, down a bomber or wipe out the anti-aircraft guns, for example) and are set amongst a variety of locales, from the initial dusty hillsides to a gorgeous sea-based section, and can be played at both day and night. The missions start off quite simple but soon ramp up in difficulty towards the end, and each level can be played at a number of difficulty settings and there are rewards and medals to collect too, ensuring there’s a fair amount of replay on offer.
There’s also, as you’d expect, a multiplayer mode and a survival mode, but whilst the multiplayer is fun it’s not online so you’ll need to ensure your mates bring their Dualshocks with them.  In game, each mode controls and plays the same (although the areas in the campaign tend to be much bigger than the ones outside it) and offer the same range of aircraft from the humble single seater fighter through to the massive, cumbersome but utterly deadly bomber, which is equipped with two fully aimable (via the right stick) cannons for taking out attackers.
There’s a good amount of fun to be had here with Skyfighter, which has blossomed from a basic fundamental core idea into a frequently beautiful looking PSN title despite whatever first impressions these screenshots might provoke. Sure, the gameplay is relatively basic but that’s by design – Skyfighter is unashamedly retro and has the potential, if pitched and priced correctly, to be something of a hit for TikGames/Creat Studios, who have recently provided the PS3 with the likes of Wakeboarding HD, Hamster Ball and Smash Cars.
Sevchenko
no sir, not for me
lewis815
Old skool gameplay? I’m in !
Good luck to Creat, hopefully it’s a hit
Sevchenko
i’ll get something similar on my iPhone or pad; probably cheaper
DJ Judas
but it’ll be on a small screen and touch controlled :/
each to their own but if its a frantic shooter, touch just doesn’t cut it.
Danza Di Fuoco E Ghiaccio
They’re a great studio can’t wait to see more
BLAGGER
I like touching my shooter…
Dan Lee
Count me in.
Bilbo_bobbins
nice one, looks good. World Exclusive, look at you guys.
cam the man
Yeah, the’ve (TSA) had loads of good stuff lately.
Apnomis
True but didn’t they also have a ‘World Exclusive’ of Creat’s last game, it was even linked to TSA on the official SCEE Blog announcement. I’m guessing someone at TSA must be friends with someone at Creat…
As for the game it looks quite interesting but I’d have to try a demo, to look at it reminded me of a game I used to play on the Amiga where you controlled a bi-plane in a 2D landscape but I can’t for the life of me remember what it was called…
aerobes
Sounds really cool actually. Hopeful for a demo but I think I might be looking at purchase regardless.
Winkle
Always wanted a HD remake of Silkworm on the psn store. Maybe this will do for now.
simplebob
Can they do a PS3 Port of Time Pilot please
DJ Judas
sounds like good fun to me :)
mightyice
loved wings of fury this is an must buy for me
Tuffcub
I was racking my brain to remember that game! It rocked!
bunimomike
Wings of Fury was awesome. Anyone remember BIP (Biplane Duel)? Equally mental and soooo simple.
Can’t wait to see how this turns out.
Zephyre
Yep, BIP was the first thing that came to mind when I saw this too. If the price is right, it’ll be a purchase