Brave Shot

Last updated

Brave Shot
Brave Shot.jpg
A screenshot of Brave Shot
Developer(s) Square Enix
Publisher(s) Square Enix
SeriesBrave Shot
Platform(s) Mobile phones
ReleaseBrave Shot
  • NA: December 10, 2003
Brave Shot 2
  • NA: September 2005
Genre(s) Brave Shot
Scrolling shooter
Brave Shot 2
Run and gun game
Mode(s) Single-player

Brave Shot is a scrolling shooter mobile phone game developed and published by Square Enix on December 10, 2003. It was released on the Verizon Wireless network in North America. In the game, the player shoots down waves of enemy aircraft, intermixed with giant screen-filling boss fights, while dodging enemy fire. The title was Square Enix's first foray into the North American mobile gaming market, and it was followed by a run and gun sequel, Brave Shot 2, in September 2005. Reviewers praised the game's graphics and exciting gameplay, but criticized the simplicity and uneven difficulty. Reviewers took the game as a positive sign of Square Enix's plans in the mobile gaming market.

Contents

Gameplay

A screenshot of Brave Shot 2 Brave Shot 2.jpg
A screenshot of Brave Shot 2

Brave Shot is a vertical, 2D top-down shooter, in the style of a bullet hell, in which the player controls a fighter aircraft who must destroy enemy alien ships appearing from the top of the screen. Waves of enemies appear, and the player must dodge their fire while destroying them. Since mobile phones cannot register more than one button input at a time, an auto-fire feature is present to allow the player to move while shooting. As a result, there is no strategic decisions to be made in deciding when to shoot or not, only in how to dodge and aim at the enemies. [1] The player's weapons can be upgraded with more powerful blasters, which fire two additional shots at an angle, and bombs. Boss ships appear regularly and are large enough to fill the major part of the screen. There is no plot in the game; the player simply fights back against alien ships. [2]

Brave Shot 2 is a 3D run and gun game in which the player controls a future soldier against robotic enemies. The soldier rides a hoverboard in a side or over-the-shoulder view, depending on the level, and fights against a cybernetic army. Like the original, the waves are broken up by giant bosses to fight through. [3] The hoverboard is continually moving, and the player can aim the gun in 45-degree increments all around them. The player character's hitbox is small, resulting in the soldier only being hit, thus ending the game, if he is hit in the torso. [4] In addition to steering the hoverboard, players can jump and crouch. Enemies appear from all sides of the screen, and unlike the previous games there are no weapon upgrades. [5]

Development

Brave Shot was released after Square Enix signed an exclusive agreement with Verizon Wireless to offer their mobile games on the Get It Now download service. [6] It was announced on December 10, 2003, as both the first game released in the partnership and Square Enix's first mobile game to be released in North America. [7] It was released, according to IGN , "with little fanfare", [1] though it was showcased a few months later at the Los Angeles E3 in May 2004. [8] Brave Shot was followed by a sequel, Brave Shot 2, in September 2005. [4] It was released on Verizon's V Cast mobile phone sales platform. [5]

Reception

The gaming site IGN did not consider Brave Shot a "great game" but notes that it is a "fun, little blaster" and "a solid start from Square Enix Mobile, a sign of things to come". The site noted that the gameplay follows a simple, easy to swallow formula, although the difficulty level was not constant. The visuals were judged appealing and the screen-filling bosses the "real stars" of the game. Lastly, the reviewer felt the transition from the end of the looping music track to the start was off as it goes directly from loud to quiet. [1] A comment on the game from two years later termed the game "a by-the-numbers shooter". [3] A review from GameSpot was more favorably inclined; claiming the game was in "the upper echelon of the shooter heap", they found the graphics to be "appealing", and felt that the "frenetic action" caused by the nearly overwhelming number of shots on the screen at once made the game exciting and fun. They did criticize the game's balance; they called some of the boss fights "tedious", and felt that the gun upgrade made much of the game too easy. [2] Robert Falcon of Modojo, in his review of the game, summarized Brave Shot as "fast-paced" and fun, but also simple and "uninventive". [9]

The sequel, Brave Shot 2, was recognized "Best Action Game" by IGN in its series of "Wireless Best of E3 2006 Awards", with the mobile adaptation of Splinter Cell Double Agent as runner-up. [3] A preview of the game by Steven Palley of GameSpot called the game one of the best-looking games available on the V Cast platform, and felt that the 3D models made the game more exciting than its predecessor. They also praised the boss fights as fun and having a wide variety. [5]

Related Research Articles

Shoot 'em ups are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of character movement, while others allow a broader definition including characters on foot and a variety of perspectives.

<i>Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII</i> 2004 video game

Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII is an action role-playing video game developed by Square Enix and originally released for the FOMA mobile service on September 24, 2004. It was later released for SoftBank Mobile and EZweb in 2007. Before Crisis is a prequel to the 1997 video game Final Fantasy VII and forms part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, a metaseries expanding on and continuing the story established in Final Fantasy VII. It takes place six years prior to the events of Final Fantasy VII and focuses on the adventures of the Turks, a group of covert operatives working for the Shinra Electric Power Company, and their fights against both rebel group AVALANCHE and their corrupt employers.

<i>Einhänder</i> 1997 video game

Einhänder is a scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation. It was released in Japan on November 20, 1997 and in North America on May 5, 1998 by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was also re-released for the Japanese PlayStation Network on June 25, 2008. The name Einhänder is German and denotes a type of sword that is wielded with one hand, here used to refer to the single manipulator arm possessed by the player's spacecraft.

<i>Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII</i> 2006 video game

Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII is a 2006 action role-playing third-person shooter video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2. It is part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII metaseries, a multimedia collection set within the universe of Final Fantasy VII. The game is set three years after the events of the original game and focuses on one of the game's playable characters, Vincent Valentine. In the story, Vincent is targeted by Deepground, a mysterious organization that plans to awaken a creature known as Omega, with the ability to destroy the Planet.

<i>Kings Knight</i> 1986 video game

King's Knight is a scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Square for the Nintendo Entertainment System and MSX. The game was released in Japan on September 18, 1986 and in North America in 1989. It was later re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console in Japan on November 27, 2007 and in North America on March 24, 2008. This would be followed by a release on the Virtual Console in Japan on February 4, 2015, for 3DS and July 6, 2016, for Wii U.

<i>Kingdom Hearts</i> Video game franchise

Kingdom Hearts is a series of action role-playing games created by Japanese game designers Tetsuya Nomura and Shinji Hashimoto, being developed and published by Square Enix. It is a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company, and is under the leadership of Nomura, a longtime Square Enix employee.

<i>Super Fantasy Zone</i> 1993 shoot em up video game

Super Fantasy Zone is a scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Sunsoft for the Mega Drive. Part of Sega's Fantasy Zone series, it was released only in Japan and Europe. Players control the character Opa-Opa on his quest to defeat Dark Menon, and the game plays similarly to previous Fantasy Zone entries. The game plays similarly to Defender, where the screen scrolls in the direction that Opa-Opa is going. The player shoots at enemies to defeat them, collecting gold coins that are used to purchase temporary upgrades that improve Opa-Opa's offensive capabilities and speed, among other things.

<i>Dragon Quest Swords</i> 2007 video game

Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors is a role-playing video game developed by Genius Sonority and Eighting and published by Square Enix for the Wii game console. The game is a spin-off from the Dragon Quest series, and was first released in Japan in July 2007, and worldwide the following year.

<i>God of War: Betrayal</i> 2007 video game

God of War: Betrayal is an action-adventure mobile game developed by Javaground and Sony Online Entertainment's (SOE) Los Angeles division, and published by Sony Pictures Digital. Released for mobile phones supporting the Java Platform, Micro Edition on June 20, 2007, it is the third installment in the God of War series, and the fifth chronologically. Loosely based on Greek mythology, Betrayal is set in ancient Greece with vengeance as its central motif. The player controls the protagonist Kratos, who became the new God of War after killing the former, Ares. Kratos is framed for the murder of Argos and pursues the true assassin across Greece, resulting in a confrontation with Olympian messenger Ceryx.

<i>Massive Snowboarding</i> 2005 video game

Massive Snowboarding is a mobile game developed and published by Gameloft, and created for the V CAST service from Verizon Wireless. The game is a snowboarding game. It was released in North America on September 10, 2005.

<i>Guitar Hero Mobile</i> series Rhythm video game series

Guitar Hero Mobile is a series of rhythm video games in the Guitar Hero series, adapting the normal console-based gameplay which uses a guitar-shaped controller to match notes of popular rock music songs to work with the face buttons on advanced mobile phones, including BlackBerry devices and those supporting the Windows Mobile platform. The first three games in the series—Guitar Hero III Mobile, Guitar Hero Backstage Pass, and Guitar Hero World Tour Mobile—were developed by MachineWorks Northwest LLC and published by Hands-On Mobile, while a mobile version of Guitar Hero 5 was developed by Glu Mobile. The series has proven to be popular; the Guitar Hero III Mobile game has been downloaded more than 2 million times, and over 250,000 songs are played each day across the series.

<i>Crystal Defenders</i> Two tower defense video games by Square Enix

Crystal Defenders is a set of two tower defense video games developed and published by Square Enix. The games use the setting of Ivalice and design elements from Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, forming part of the wider Final Fantasy franchise. The games feature a selection of characters sporting Final Fantasy-based character classes, and play out tower defense scenarios against recurring series of monsters. The first game in the series is Crystal Guardians, which was released in three parts for Japanese mobile phones in 2008. It was adapted for iOS later that year as Square Enix's first game for the platform, and renamed Crystal Defenders. Under that name, the game was also released between 2009 and 2011 for Android, Xbox Live Arcade, WiiWare, and PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable via the PlayStation Store. It was re-released with graphical improvements for iOS as Crystal Defenders Plus in 2013. A sequel, Crystal Defenders: Vanguard Storm, was released for iOS in 2009.

<i>Bush vs. Kerry Boxing</i> 2004 video game

Bush vs. Kerry Boxing is a boxing video game developed and published by Sorrent for mobile phones. It was released in North America on August 22, 2004.

<i>Around the World in 80 Days</i> (video game) 2004 video game

Around the World in 80 Days is a platform video game developed by Pick Up & Play for Mobile phones, and Published by Saffire & Disney Interactive for Game Boy Advance, It is based on Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media's 2004 film of the same name starring Jackie Chan. The game features pre-rendered characters and graphics, and a password feature for returning to specific levels.

<i>Ultimate Spider-Man: Total Mayhem</i> 2010 video game

Ultimate Spider-Man: Total Mayhem was a 2010 action video game for the iOS and Android systems. It was developed and published by Gameloft. The game takes place in the Ultimate Marvel Universe (Earth-1610). It is no longer available for purchase in the App Store for iPhone and Google Play Store for Android. The game features a rogues gallery of villains from the Ultimate Universe, and is played as a series of occurring events rather than an overarching plot. The title received generally favorable reviews from critics, with the iOS version holding an 85/100 on Metacritic.

<i>Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D</i> Video game for the Nintendo 3DS

Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D is a role-playing video game in the Combat of Giants series. It was developed and published by Ubisoft, and released for the Nintendo 3DS on February 26, 2011 in Japan, March 27, 2011 in North America, and March 31, 2011 in Europe. In the game, players control various dinosaurs and fight hostile dinosaurs to progress through levels.

<i>TNA Wrestling</i> (video game) 2008 video game

TNA Wrestling is a 2008 video game for Verizon Wireless devices by Canadian developer Longtail Studios. It is based on the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Unlike most other professional wrestling games, the gameplay in TNA Wrestling is based on turn-based strategy with role-playing elements. The game garnered largely positive reviews and was re-released in early 2009 for iOS. It is no longer available for download on the iTunes Store and has been superseded by an unrelated game released by Namco Bandai called TNA Wrestling Impact!.

<i>Guardian Cross</i> 2012 video game

Guardian Cross is a smartphone game for iOS and Android, created by Square Enix. It was released on September 13, 2012, for iOS, and on August 5, 2013, for Android. In it, the player captures creatures to form a deck of cards that they use to battle human and computer opponents. Battles take place as turn-based matches on the device, while capturing creatures is a first person shooter mini-game. Although reviews were not complimentary towards the game, it sold well. The multiplayer servers for the game were shut down on January 10, 2017.

<i>Final Fantasy All the Bravest</i> 2013 video game

Final Fantasy All the Bravest was a video game in the Final Fantasy series developed by BitGroove and published by Square Enix. The game was released for iOS and Android mobile devices.

<i>Saints Row 2</i> (mobile) 2008 video game

Saints Row 2 is a mobile tie-in action game developed by Swedish studio G5 Entertainment and published by THQ Wireless to accompany the Saints Row 2 console game. It was released in October 2008. The game follows the story of the series where the player returns from jail and fights to protect and expand his gang's territory. The player can steal, carjack, mug, shoot, stab, and kill computer players. There are special minigames for robbing, stealing, and carjacking. Completing missions earns money to be spent towards replenished supplies and player upgrades. Reviewers contended that the game was too large for the small screen, which exacerbated difficult driving controls.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Buchanan, Levi (February 18, 2004). "Brave Shot Review". IGN . News Corporation. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 Mearls, Michael (January 1, 2004). "Brave Shot for Mobile Review". GameSpot . CNET Networks . Retrieved April 21, 2008.
  3. 1 2 3 Buchanan, Levi (May 19, 2006). "Wireless Best of E3 2006 Awards". IGN . News Corporation. Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
  4. 1 2 Buchanan, Levi (August 29, 2005). "Brave Shot 2 Preview". IGN . News Corporation. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 Palley, Steven (August 17, 2005). "Brave Shot 2 Hands On". GameSpot . CNET Networks . Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Square Signs with Verizon". IGN . News Corporation. December 11, 2003. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Verizon Wireless and Square Enix team up to deliver innovative games for gamers on-the-go". Square Enix. December 10, 2003. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Square Enix U.S.A., Inc. to unveil multi-faceted lineup at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, May 12–14" (Press release). Square Enix. May 3, 2004. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
  9. 1 2 Falcon, Robert (February 13, 2006). "Brave Shot Mobile Review". Modojo. Retrieved April 21, 2008.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.