Not a bad game at all. But nothing really changes. There's no progression through game modes, levels, or upgrades. You just do the same thing game after game, competing against only your own last high score.I feel like I got everything I could out of this game after about 15 minutes of gameplay.

Conceptually, this game does nothing to reinvent the wheel. Fortunately, that doesn’t matter, because making the wheel roll smoothly is as great an achievement as creating an original concept. Silverfish DX is one such wheel that travels buttery smooth in all its non-shmup shmupity polish. It took me less than a minute to see that the tight focus of the gameplay achieves what it sets out to do with quality (stable frame rate, beautiful aesthetic, etc.). However, it took me even less time to realize that the pinpoint controls necessary to navigate around the groups of enemies, in combination with sensitivity settings that don't seem to go quite low enough, would keep the game one step from greatness. Trying to move about with a strong sense of accuracy is an impossibility because the player never feels like they’re in total control. Navigation is analogous to being on an ice skating rink for the first time with someone pushing you continuously from behind, all while having you weave through groups of other people and simultaneously chewing gum. Essentially, the quick responsiveness of the turns is spot on for the demands of the close quarters avoidance combat, but that same responsiveness serves as a recipe for accidentally heading off in the wrong direction when it matters most. I also think that slipping off the virtual stick is an issue here as well (which is as much an inherent flaw of touch screen gaming than it is developer oversight) and is compounding the other control drawbacks. Having an option to make the stick position customized and slightly visible may be of help.Four solid stars for being a Premium nugget in a sea full of Hodappium garbage. Excellent presentation and all the other positives the game offers, however, are marred by the aforementioned issue.EDIT: Bumped my score from 4 to 5 stars because the music that’s used for after dying sounds like it’s straight from The Warriors 👌 I also keep coming back to play, which emphasizes how good the game is despite its shortcomings.

The original Silverfish was (and still is, as I'm still on iOS 9 and can still play it) one of my favorite iPhone games when I got my first iPod (a 2nd gen Touch...) - it's actually one of the games that kept me from updating after the 64bit apocalypse. =PAnyway... This 'DX' Version is absolutely fantastic.At first, I wasn't sure about it, because the controls were really twitchy. But after lowering the sensitivity to the lowest, the controls act like a virtual joystick that I'm comfortable with. I was also a bit worried that the lack of game modes (there's just one, as opposed to the 4 that the original came with), but the mix in of Haste and Reaper makes the gameplay interesting and challenging enough that I don't even care that there's only one gameplay mode. On top of that, the 360 degree movement is awesome (as opposed to the 4 directional movement of the original) and the redone graphics, new enemies and larger arena all make this a game worth getting even if you still have the original installed. If you're into fast-paced arcade games, bullet hell games (as you'll be swerving in and out between a fairly large amount of enemies and it's very reminiscent of dodging bullet curtains) or dual stick shooters (because even though you don't shoot any projectiles, the game is very much like a DS shooter mixed with a bullet hell title) - this is most definitely a game you should check out. The scoring mechanics reward taking risks and the Game Center integration makes score chasing interesting - if it's anything like the original in this aspect - for long after you're done trying to beat your own scores.

Imagine Pac-Man if played in a petri dish without a maze and you'll have a very rough idea of what you're in for. I especially love the game's run away/attack dynamic that really requires you to be able to flip your mindset on a dime back and forth.