Do you have it in you to be an ace pilot? In XY7 by Dark Shadow Games, your mission is to jet through deep space, clearing as many bombs and enemies as you can … The bad news is you’re massively outnumbered. Your opponents also appear to possess far more advanced technology, with tough bosses and stealthed ships and bombs. Can you survive all the way to the end?

Review
XY7 is an action-packed shoot ‘em up for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Through tilt control, you’ll maneuver your ship through space, aiming your automatic gunfire at enemies while attempting to dodge their oncoming lasers, missiles, and bombs. The game offers a total of 29 levels, 38 enemy types, as well as 21 bosses.

Although XY7 doesn’t offer an alternative control method, such as touch control, the tilt sensitivity feels just right, and the ship responded exactly as I intended. Most shoot ‘em ups have a similar gameplay, but XY7 offers additional challenges with stealthed enemies. These are enemy units with an “invisible” shield. Touching them will turn their shield (a colorless ring) blue, which also enables you to shoot and blow them up. If you destroy enemy units surrounded by a blue ring, they’ll release various bonuses that you can pick up. These can restore your ship’s health, give you speed boosts, protective shields, etc. Other than flying enemies, you’ll also have to watch out for their ground defense units, which will shoot at you from stationary positions.

Picking up red XY7 bonuses will give you upgrade points, which you can use to buy upgrades for your ship between games. 22 upgrades are available. These include shield boosts, extra gun power, bombs, and also wingmen to aid you.

One thing I would prefer is the option to play the game in portrait rather than landscape mode. In this game, where vertical space is limited, Level 1′s introduction was less enjoyable than it could have been, with the tutorial text covering part of the uppermost screen, reducing visibility. This wasn’t an issue in the subsequent levels, but having more vertical room to maneuver through would still be nice.

The icon does not quite represent the quality or nature of the game. Within the actual game, the graphics are really good (especially for what is classified as a retro game), and the music is suitably fast-paced. Overall, XY7 is a terrific shoot ‘em up. The various upgrades available make the game extra interesting, and the stealthed enemies you have to tap to unstealth make the game considerably more challenging than some other shmups.

Tips
Don’t just collect every “bonus” released. While the red XY7 bonuses are valuable, red crosses will damage your ship. If you find yourself having a hard time getting through a level, you can replay previous levels and collect more upgrade bonuses. This will enable you to beef up your defenses for the next level.

Recommendation
Fans of shoot ‘em ups should definitely consider getting XY7, currently available in the App Store for $0.99. This is one of the better shmups available for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

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Photos

Note: A promotional code was provided by the creator for use in this article.

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