Mars Matrix is a game about cubes. Little gold cubes, which are delicious and amazingly addictive, like shiny little retina steroids that you seek out without regard to what you’re supposed to be doing, which is getting shot less. The temptation of the cubes in the game is a brilliant paradigm that serves both as an upgrade feature, a temptation, and an object for pacing. The unique speed with which they fall is also curious, as modern shmups seem to have adopted something similar to the pacing of their fall.
A game that has since been solved, the pacing is the compelling aspect of the game. Though not overwhelming at the outset, the curve is definitely a long tail upward, becoming difficult on account of the inability to control the interaction quite as completely as many newer shmups now offer. The field of play is mediated by a single button, using different interactions with the single press to create new functionality, each of which is important situationally. The ability to freely manipulate the situation while at the same time not offering too much freedom is a unique strength. Most shmups opt for a far more simple bomb system, but there is a great degree of timing involved with the setup of absorbs.
A certain degree of harmony exists within the system of attacks available. Each has obvious uses, one to protect, one to destroy, and one to thin out herds. Thus the gameplay is relatively easy to understand, but like most shmups, can take years of practice to master. The strategy requires levels of variance that evolves as play continues, and each interaction is overt to the field of play.
The cubes previously mentioned are also an overt part of the field, and perhaps one of the most important. They are largely the ability to control the field to a greater degree, empowering while at the same time tempting, visually sharing the exigencies of the system. Without them, the game is considerably more difficult, due to their necessity as power-ups. The condensing of points, power, and rewards becomes harmonious through these exceptional simplifications, yet they are themselves complex when attempting to negotiate them at the speed presented.
An instinctual negotiation is the paramour of shmups. There is always too much information inside the pacing framework given, and as a result it’s necessary to make decisions at an ever-increasing rate. Oftentimes, sacrifices are made without a second thought, and they can’t be honestly considered until after the experience has time to process. The satisfying aspect is finding ways to ease through each negotiation, to find a smooth pattern of movement. There are even some shmups which can be beaten without ever killing a single enemy, though it offers unto itself a unique challenge, given that the survival instinct really tears into full gear when playing one. Mars Matrix negotiates with the primal button.
Recommended: Yes