Really fun time killer, but there are some serious issues that need to be addressed. First, love the retro feel and touch-screen controls (very smooth). I always really enjoy the lack of bugs in the game, which are rampant in most mobile games. However, I left two stars because the cons far outweigh the pros. First, PvP is Rigged and Broken. 2 minute long game with opponents (somehow) getting points for killing enemies, when there is literally only one enemy per second on my screen. The AI is either favoring one player over the other, or was designed by a 13 year old whose first time making game ai was for this. It’s utter garbage and makes the rest of the game not worth playing. Second, the “rewards” system is wayyyyy to focused on getting money from the player (all games are, but this one is too obvious). How many “missions” include purchasing something on the app or spending “gems”? Nearly half!!! It’s so obvious that it’s cringe-worthy! Last, there is zero explanation of what anything is, means, does, etc. likely due to the language barrier (I see random mandarin script every now and then), but it’s a glaring error on the part of the designers. Explain what the ships do differently from each other, what the mini-ship is and does, what the boosts are, what (literally) everything is because not a single moment is taken to explain anything to the player. Overall, 2-stars because the first and last issues can be dealt with by staff. Second issue is just… you guys need a different strategy.

It is exactly what it looks like, alien blasting, with ads. Ads to recharge, ads for another life, ads after mission is over. But, given the cost (free) I don’t mind the ads terribly. Good variety weapons, and fun alien blasting.An update in early March 2018, however, completely nerfed the game. There are now “gems” for some unexplained purpose - no explanations - they just appeared. And ship powers and upgrades were dramatically downgraded for regular gameplay, and upgraded for “endless” levels. So if you play “endless” mode, you are close to invincible - before the update my best endless was about lvl 125 and I worked hard to get there. After the March update, the game crashed when I was like level 723 and I was never really challenged. Meanwhile, in the main game, my ships which had been previously upgraded a lot, were way way weaker, or the enemies were way way stronger - like the weakest enemies I could kill in 1 shot previously took 3 and 4hits to kill after the update. And, the enemies move WAY faster than before - not just like twice as fast, but more like 10x. The update makes it feel like I lost a huge amount of the progress/upgrades I had received and just completely changes gameplay from before. Now, the game is free, so I didn’t lose any $$, but I definitely lost progress. Before the update I would have rated the game a 4, with the update, I feel so much further behind I cannot rate it higher than a 2 and will likely delete it.

I’ve played this game for a couple of years, I spent thousands of dollars the first year. I have spent $40 this past year. Unless you spend you can’t find momentum to grow and build your ships. For the beginners, it’s an affordable game, once you get more ships, that’s what changes. The insane amount of cost to level up and merge mini ships is unattainable. In my two years I have only been able to merge a mini ships once to a F2 level. And that mini ship is only halfway to max. I have enjoyed the game in the past, but now its appeal is much less. The amount of cheating from hackers is a constant issue. If only the game allowed for better star, hero badge and puzzle rewards within the game at scale, you could actually build and see your ships skills progress. You can only go so far in the game until you have to merge ships. Biggest complaint is that it takes forever to collect puzzle pieces of any consistency that really matters to have opportunities to progress mini ships to higher levels. Unless you spend $300 -$500 during the 4X sales to buy enough puzzle pieces to barely advance. I would give this a higher rating, but the shear cost, is way too high. Better places to spend your hard earned money. I could have purchased a nice used car for what I’ve spent.

This is not a skill based or fair game. It’s a pretty light show that makes you believe if only your ship was a little more powerful you could win. That’s not how this game works. Every winner of a pvp game is pre-determined. There is no “chance” to it. You will be allowed to win here and there, but don’t get confused. It’s not about skill. It was built to manipulate and deceive in an effort to get you to pay just a couple dollars here or there. I’ve done it myself, and now I’ve played it long enough to see the reality. The developers will respond to this review by saying “it is possible to finish the game without using real money.” It might be. My guess is that it would take about 10 years if you are dedicated and played daily, but that doesn’t change the pvp program. It’s fake! Winners are picked by the program and the amount of money spent. I have been on both sides (winner/loser). I’ve won ease by getting the best drops in the first few levels and finished 1st unimpeded. I’ve also played my best barely getting anything worthwhile. If you’re not in the front of the pack, (5th or better) by level 10, you might as well die because your chances of winning at that point are basically void. Do yourself a favor and don’t play this game. It’s engineered to be addictive. The worst part is people hack this game and play for free while non-hackers pay the bills. I remember a time game developers use to want to share their creation with the world more than anything else. That’s not the case anymore, especially with this game. It’s all about the money. Good luck