Echoes+ FOR MAC

While the advanced graphics, complex characters and epic storylines we can enjoy in modern titles have taken gaming to a whole new level, the charm of old-fashioned arcade games never really goes away.

Echoes+ is as classic as a game can be, as fans of the well-known Asteroids will probably find at least one of its playing modes eerily familiar. It does, however, offer plenty of new challenges to keep all games interested and provide an enjoyable experience.

You can choose from a total of five playing modes, and some of them can make the game very different indeed.

The default ‘echoes’ mode requires you to overcome ten increasingly difficult levels, while in ‘time attack’ and ‘survive’ you must reach the highest possible score in three minutes or survive as long as possible.

‘Asteroid belt’ and ‘meteor storm’ will pit you against snakes of asteroids or waves of meteors respectively, and provide a slightly different playing experience.

If you are feeling particularly nostalgic, you can try the ‘classic’ mode. It is a fairly accurate reproduction of the old Asteroids many of us used to play in arcades.

You have several options in regards to the control scheme, as you can use both the mouse and keyboard, just the keyboard or a gamepad. We found the game’s responsiveness to mouse movements to be a bit sluggish, but the keyboard setup was easy to get to grips with.

For the most part, your goal is to shoot as many asteroids or meteors as you can, while trying not to hit any yourself.

While the gameplay is clearly not terribly complex, we were very impressed by the game’s audio and visual effects.

Picking apart clusters of asteroids is more satisfying than you would expect, almost as if the game is pushing you to try just a little bit harder in order to maintain your multiplier and prevent the unacceptable sound of silence.

In short, if you are a fan of retro space shooters there is absolutely no reason you should not give Echoes+ a try. It is very engaging, so much so that any gamer, no matter their preferences, should have a lot of fun blowing asteroids to smithereens.