It is sadly not uncommon that I have to exit my game just to wage war in real life. A folded up paper or can of deterrent squishes the enemy into a silvery mess on the floor. Just as grouse as satisfying. These creepy crawly critters have haunted me since I first got my own place, and it is starting to feel personal. Perhaps that is why it feels strange to play as one of these, and even stranger trying to get it to stay alive for as long as possible. In Silverfish I control my enemy, but there the resemblance to reality ends.
Silverfish is a combination of survival avoid em’ up, and precision use of bomb powerups. Controlled by swipes the Silverfish moves in straight lines, and it is quite easy to get it to go where I want to. The enemies need to be outsmarted as they soon get quicker than you. To your help you have special power pods that send out shockwaves killing nearby enemy critters. Depending on the game mode played there are some differences in gameplay.
Even after spending several hours playing Silverfish I have a hard time telling the three game modes apart. This becomes a huge problem for me, as I enjoy trying to beat my high score. Now I can’t really remember if I had more fun getting points in Scavenger, Onslaught or Reaper mode. All three modes let you explode power pods, and collect the debris left behind. Reaper is about avoiding enemies, and using a slowdown power to rack up some wicked scores. Onslaught and Scavenger are all about survival, and let you use screen clearing bombs. I would have preferred one single mode for this game, as there is so little difference between the three. A quick pick up and play game where I have to check the info before selecting a mode to play spoils the pace somewhat.
The presentation in Silverfish is excellent with organic neon graphics. There are some wicked lighting effects, and the shockwaves look awesome. The enemies are limited to only five types, and there are no bosses at all. A pumping techno soundtrack accompanies the action. The sound effects are ok. You can play your own music, and keep the sound effects as well.
Game Center integration is used for scores, and achievements. Silverfish is quite thin when it comes to content, and I would like to see more variation in enemies and patterns. Furthermore the confusion of having three similar game modes detracts from my enjoyment. The controls are great, and I am pleased to have swipe controls when it all gets hectic.
Silverfish is a well presented arcade avoid em’ up that plays very well. If you are a fan of other games of the genre you will probably enjoy this quite a lot. If you are completely new to the genre it might seem both confusing, and too hard to grasp.
Final Rating
Silverfish $1.99
Version: 1.0.1
Seller: Frank Condello / Chaotic Box
