Ever find yourself lying in bed at night wondering how we’ll defend ourselves on the (totally inevitable!) day when aliens invade? Space Pioneer gives you a little head start in preparing.
It’s a third-person “twin-stick” shooter in the mold of classics like Robotron 2084, but with graphics more akin to a Saturday-morning cartoon.
And like those ’80s arcade hits, it’s deceptively easy to play. Your left thumb moves your space-suited pioneer and his robot companion around new and increasingly hostile planets, while your right thumb fires hand cannons, flamethrowers, and other weapons.
We say “deceptively easy” because your enemies—whether man-eating plants or laser-spewing mechs—start off mean and only get more vicious. To fend them off, you’ll drop armed turrets, hurl freeze grenades, and eventually unlock a sneaky orbital strike.
But you can’t just run-and-gun your way to victory. Your weapon overheats, your turrets last only so long, and there’s a big delay between grenade tosses. Plus you have missions to accomplish, like repairing your ship and escorting scientists.
Pulling those off requires brains as well as brawn—which makes this interstellar action-fest the perfect prep for a real-life tussle with extraterrestrials.