Sine Mora Review
Sine Mora is an old school side scrolling shoot em up and man is it welcomed greatly.
Story
The Japanese fighters of the future have to go back in time in order to stop a crazy mans empire of taking control of something……
The story doesn’t stay in your head for long but whilst it’s there it seems strange and a little silly. I don’t really get why the story went in the direction it did but…......... Whatever.
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The story is told in Japanese meaning you will have to read subtitles whilst cut-scenes are playing in the background (Unless you can understand Japanese).
This isn’t ideal because you miss some of the lovely settings that Digital Reality have clearly worked hard on.
Again I don’t know why but you play as an animal of some sort. There are a few different types such as a tiger and a bull but I have no idea why, nor do I have any idea why they're so foul mouthed.
Gameplay/Controls
Games don’t come much smoother than Sine Mora. Every move you make and bullet you fire is right where it should be. By this I mean that your success/ failure are down to you and never the game itself.
Like the original side scrolling shooters, you are able to collect power ups that allow you to slow down time when up against and huge boss that shoots ridiculous amounts of bullets at you, extra points and gun upgrades which allow you to shoot more and faster bullets.
You also have access to a secondary weapon that causes major damage but depending on the character you play as depends on the weapon at hand.
As mentioned above any movement you make is fluid and perfect allowing you to have access to the whole screen at ease. On no occasion did I feel that I was doing crap because of bad code and took all my faults on the chin knowing it was all my fault.
At the end of each area you face a boss. These bosses are TOUGH, not only because they shoot ridiculous amounts of bullets at you but also because they have so many guns/turrets and structures to take out.
I never got frustrated in this situation but maybe that’s because I wasn’t playing on extreme.
Visuals
If visuals are your thing then this is the game for you. The backgrounds are beautiful and vibrant. From the grass covered rocks climbing out of the sea to the moltan lava as you enter a factory, Sine Mora has it all and pulls off some of the best graphics seen on the XBLA.
With the background scenes being so amazingly pretty you think there has to be a flaw somewhere else right? Wrong…. The enemies look amazing due to their very high detail and the bullets flow through the air like fireworks.
Overall
Sine Mora is a great game and welcomed with open arms into my arcade collection.
I have 2 things bothering me with Sine Mora and they are the Japanese language in the background forcing me to read subtitles when I want to watch what’s going on and the same problem that ALL Digital Reality games have, No online multiplayer.
I don’t know why it is but I will always be expecting a little disappointment for the studio knowing that I won't be able to play with friends but you never know, they might surprise me one day.
You old school shooter fans need to buy Sine Mora (if you think you have the skills) and everyone else should download the trial at once!!!
9/10
Review By Wicket2961
