There has been a lack of decent shooter games for the next-gen (now current-gen) consoles. We don’t mean there is any shortage of Call of Duties or Battlefields instead the shooters that we are talking about are the old-school dual-stick shooters where you have to shoot everything that moves and sometimes even the things that don’t move at all.
Tachyon Project developed by Eclipse Games is a unique new take on the dual stick shooter games. In Tachyon Project you play as a computer program known as Ada. She was designed to hack into any system in the world and gain valuable information, however, on her first mission things don’t go as planned and she is stuck outside of her home, her server. She has to find her way back home and find her parents (the programmers who created her). Going home is not easy as it sounds and Ada has to fight different computer programs that are designed to kill her.
The gameplay is where Tachyon Project excels. All you need is to move the left stick and right to move and shoot, respectively. No need for extra buttons except for both triggers that let you access the secondary weapons. In the game, you have 10 levels and each level comprises of 6 enemy waves. Each wave brings in more enemies with new abilities and powers. If you love shooting like crazy then you will love this game because there are hundreds of enemies trying to kill you at the same time and you have to shoot them down within seconds.
Ada does not have a health bar. There’s no health bar actually in the game and the only way you can be killed is by time out. If you let the timer run out, you’re toast. Each enemy hit will cost you a few seconds on your timer and each enemy kill will grant you a couple of seconds as well. So if you want to live a healthy and lengthy life, shoot them all down before they hit you. There are enemies with different abilities and powers. Each level brings in new enemies that pose a great threat to your existence. There are shields trying to protect their own, radars can locate you in stealth mode, and the attackers trying to hit you as badly as they can.
There are 2 types of levels in the game, normal levels where enemies can see you and follow you around. Stealth levels, however, keep you hidden as long as you don’t pull the trigger. You can move around freely on stealth levels and the enemies won’t be able to detect you but if you even shoot a single bullet the enemies can and will pinpoint your location. Radar type enemies can also locate you on stealth levels and inform their friends about your whereabouts. There are 4 different special enemies on 4 different levels, we won’t disclose the levels because where’s the fun in that? These special enemies (a.k.a Bosses) are very powerful and a single hit can send you to the software heaven. You are going to have a difficult time facing these special enemies so keep your cool.
The game offers a decent collection of primary and secondary weapons to choose from. You can also choose perks to enhance your ship’s abilities. There are 6 primary weapons that include but not limited to regular gun, machine gun (Our favorite), shot gun, laser, etc. You can only choose one primary weapon, however, you can also choose 2 different secondary weapons out of 9 which gives you an edge over hordes of enemies. 2 Perks can also be chosen to give your ship, faster movements, extra health, extra time, extra bullet damage, etc. Not all weapons and perks will be available from the beginning, you have to unlock all of them by completing different objectives.
The story mode is painfully short and took us about 3 hours to finish the game. However, you have 3 different challenge modes where you can play for as long as you want and compete with your friends for the top position on the leaderboards. 3 Challenge modes include, Stealth mode, Endless mode, and Limited Time mode. You can also play with up to 4 players in local co-op and show these enemies what actual team play looks like.
Tachyon Project delivers the best gameplay you would expect from a dual-stick shooter game. The addition of a simple yet mysterious story is a decent touch and adds to the overall experience of the game. The only drawback is the lack of extra levels. The game is painfully short. 3 hours of story mode is not suitable for a console game, even mobile games have stretched their story modes/campaigns to at least 6-7 hours. Addition of a few extra weapons and perks won’t hurt either. Challenge modes and online leaderboards and easy-to-achieve achievements give the game a higher replay value.
For just 10 bucks on the Xbox store, this game delivers a solid gameplay, the best control scheme, aesthetically attractive visuals, pew pew gun sounds (best thing ever), local multiplayer, and challenging levels. If that’s not enough for you in just $10 then you’re reading the wrong review.
Disclaimer: Review code provided by Eclipse Games.
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