by Matt Bird

Created on: December 19, 2008   Last Updated: December 22, 2008

T.W.T.P.B.

Even after playing the playing the game AND checking Spell of Play's online forum, I still have no clue what that acronym stands for.

And, frankly, I don't care. I've come up with my own meaning for it: This Wins The Prize, Bro'.

T.W.T.P.B. is a bottom-to-top, two-dimensional ship-to-ship combat game. Reminiscent of so many classic arcade shooters out there, T.W.T.P.B. nevertheless managed to carve its own unique niche into the gaming world, just by virtue of its graphics alone.

They're not mind-boggling. You won't find yourself drooling uncontrollably at the (admittedly excellent) use of soft lighting effects. T.W.T.P.B. isn't going to rock PC gaming down to its core.

You will, however, find the game very, very pretty to look at. I did, anyway. T.W.T.P.B. has some of the nicest, smoothest, most polished visuals and animation I've seen in an arcade-style shooter. And most of the kudos belongs to the enemy.

They aren't ships. They aren't space aliens. They aren't great flying beasts with detailed sprites or polygons. No, instead you find yourself duking it out with a race of simple glowing shapes: with free-floating boxes, hypnotic circles and long snakelike tethers of diamonds that weave across your screen.

You are, in essence, at war with Tetris. A neon Tetris - in outer space! - but Tetris nonetheless.

There's some story behind it all. You've been inducted into the space corps of some vast empire, and said empire is under attack by alien invaders. It's your job to wipe out the menace for the greater glory of your emperor. Or something. The story, while pervasive throughout the game, is relatively negligible in the face of the action: you'll just click through the text quickly in order to get to the next area.

Each stage runs in roughly the same manner. Start at one end of space, run through a gamut of enemies, fight a boss at the end. It's like any arcade shooter you've ever played. Luckily, a combination of visuals, generally awesome bosses and ship upgrades will keep the experience novel.

The bosses really are awesome. It's not a case of the same guy reused for each stage: each one is completely different from the last, and often you'll find yourself genuinely hard pressed to beat them. Swerving through the gamut of bullets is fun enough, and thanks to the simple, mouse-relegated controls it's far from impossible.

Normally shooters have simple weapon upgrades, but T.W.T.P.B. takes the equation a step further. Sure, your FIRST upgrade is mere rapid fire, but soon enough your ship can not only heal itself but slow down time. The latter skill is invaluable if your reflexes aren't that great, but beware: overuse can leave your ship useless.

The only underachieving element of T.W.T.P.B. is the music. It uses the same uninspired sci-fi techno beats that most games in the genre do. A little more variety and energy would've been nice.

That one problem area aside, T.W.T.P.B. is a fantastic game, and I highly recommend at least playing it. It might be short, but it's so fun that you'll probably replay each level over and over. I'd buy it. 4.5/5

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