Q-Games is primarily known for two things: their Pixeljunk series of games on Sony consoles, and their work on Star Fox for Nintendo. Maybe The Tomorrow Children too. Anyway, point is they also revived the difficult-to-search-for “X” IP, an ambitious 3D shooter on Game Boy that I reviewed here. Dylan Cuthbert of course created the original game, so it’s fitting that his company followed it up years later. Anyway anyway, I played Starship Patrol (aka Starship Defense/Starship Defender, thanks to Nintendo’s utter inability to establish consistent names between regions) because there’s a somewhat tenuous connection to the established X universe which in turn has links to Metroid and Star Fox. I never said I wasn’t a nerdy bundle of neuroses.

So Starship Patrol, then. Immediately I’m reminded of “Attack of the Paper Zombies”, a freeware OSX game I enjoyed back when I got my first iBook. The developer’s site may be defunct but it’s still available. It too was a tower defence game with a minimalist art style reminiscent of drawings on grid paper. The game quickly establishes its style and format, and doesn’t change it much for the short duration, apart from unlocking a few extra options and capabilities. The tried and tested formula is simple but it works: the bad guys pass through the screen, attacking occasionally, on a winding route past your positions. You set up gun towers in strategic locations with different strengths, and try not to let any through.

Within this framework, Q Games have demonstrated a proficiency in the genre that presumably served them well in the more popular Pixeljunk Monsters. With some simple rules, they manage to create fun and varied experiences in each level by varying the stage layout, enemy types, and the occasional minor gimmick. Minimalism is again the key to the design, but the design elements working together make for a surprisingly deep, well-constructed game. Towers aren’t powered up except by single dropped items, and each has a distinct firing arc that can be minimally adjusted on the fly. Some enemies are cloaked. You can buy various abilities and advanced towers using crystals gained after each wave. That’s all you need to know, but mastering each level requires the player to understand these few mechanics and their intersections well.

So yeah I thought the game was cool. The robot companion character, VIX-2000, adds some levity and personality (upon achieving a rank sufficient to beat the game, it receives an upgrade that… enables its head attachment to rotate). There’s also an occasional ability to call in bounty hunters Ash, Amanda, or James… I want to know their story. Anyway, the touchscreen controls are intuitive and functional, and the shoulder buttons also activate a handy fast-forward feature. At the risk of repeating myself, it’s a pleasingly minimalist game but complex enough to be engaging. Simple but effective.