TL;DR: I want the developers to pay attention to this game again and update it and fix some bugs.I’ve been playing this game since I got my first iPhone (an iPhone 5), and I love it! I just wish the devs would come back to it and update it. There’s only a few bugs, which I’m sure they could invest some time into tackling. Whenever I complete the bounty missions or the raid missions, I have to close the app entirely and re-open it, just to refresh the missions so they show up again. Also, it would make sense that the further in the game you are, the better gear you are awarded.

I had this game once before, but I wanted to try it again, to see if the issues previously discovered had been resolved. In a word: no. The capabilities of your ship are almost completely dependent on the stats attached to the armaments from the crates; if you want a better ship, it will require better loot. You can get crates in a number of ways, but to get the loot FROM the crates, you’ll have to spend the game’s currency - either gems or credits. If you obtain a crate without having the gems or credits to open it, you’ll have to either spend real money to get the amount you need, or abandon the crate, as if any crate not opened is destroyed. Even if you do obtain the loot from the crate, the stats attached are a complete jumble, unless it is rare-grade loot or higher, meaning that the loot you may want to use may not make your ship any more capable to survive. This will mean spending a good amount of time simply grinding for the loot that will have the stats to keep your ship intact for more than a couple of hits. To raise the stats on the loot you get? LOTS of gems; 3,850 of them, to be exact, to get even standard loot to their max level. Without the gem doubler (a in-game purchase), amassing that amount would take longer than it is worth. I have made it to sector 26 for the first time, but the grinding and spending of gems and credits in the hopes that an armament that I want will actually improve my ship, instead of just giving me a desired weapon to use, actually makes the ‘tons of items procedurally generated’ a negative thing; it would be better to simply have a shop that allows to purchase what you want, so you have more control over your ship’s stats/chance of survival, or have a level-up system on your ship itself, so that you have a chance of making it better in between all the crate obtaining/opening. *sigh* I’ve had enough... again. :-(

This is easily the best shmup ever made on mobile, and one of my favorites overall. The story is great, the writing is clever, the mechanics and weapons are fun, along with elemental effects, and the combinations and sheer volume of equipment available with random rolls is enough to keep you occupied long after you’ve beaten the game. Tons of ships to unlock that actually play differently, not just simple weapon swaps, and affect your choice of equipment. Prices were fair, too. I really wish they’d make a follow up already. It’s been years, but I still come back and play through the story every now and again. Can’t say that for many of the other mobile games I’ve got.

It's sad as this game has potential. However, the dev's. set the game up to make money through in app purchases(which are expensive) and a constant barrage of ads. I would spend some money on in-apps upgrades but I can see myself deleting the game because of the ads shortly after. You essentially get 2 lives per level, but you have to watch a 30 second ad to get the second life(or chance, whatever). Some of the higher levels are nearly impossible to complete in 1 chance(or two depending on the strength of your upgrades)so you are constantly watching ads only to fail and have to do it again. You can spend an hour trying to get past a level, but you spend 45 minutes of that hour watching ads so you never get into a rhythm. Offer an ad-free version and I will spend some money on upgrades.