Frantic
Astute reader, Brian, sent us a link to one of our favorite things: free shmups! This one is a Flash game entitled Frantic, which sits squarely in the “bullet hell” category. It’s elegant in design and plays very well but also manages to throw a few new things into the mix that give it some high replay value. First off, the graphics are a cell shaded, simply designed affair that works well in this Flash game. I always think a more simple and stylish approach to Flash games work better than anything else and this proves true in Frantic’s case. Enemy designs are clean and easy to read and it must be pointed out that the boss designs are particularly good.
Shooting is automatic, so your only job is to dodge the bullet patterns that come your way. It starts out simple, but by level 4 you’ll be feeling it a bit, so get those tap-dodging skills ready for some use. As you kill enemies, your “adrenaline” meter fills up which gives you a special attack. In addition, you gain score multipliers and collect yellow orbs which function as currency and can be spent after every level. The money can be spent on cards, which can add all kinds of upgrades to your ship. These upgrades include such things as stronger shields, stronger weapons or drone/helper planes of various types. You can add up to five cards at a time and when you want to add something new, you can sell off old cards in order to buy new ones. This card mechanic really works well and gives it that addicting RPG-esque quality.
The game starts off pretty easy but ramps up in difficulty as you move forward. Nothing that a player of DoDonPachi or the like can’t handle but a fun challenge for those looking for some simple fun.
Overall, I highly recommend Frantic for any shooter fan in the mood for a free and quality experience. You can find Frantic here. Over at it’s home sight, Polymer Rabbit.com, you can also find a list of other awesome Flash based shmups to help your steady decline of productivity continue well into 2009.
Thanks to Brian for the link and we hope you all enjoy!
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Tags: flash, frantic, free games, polymer rabbit, shmups
January 2nd, 2009 at 12:09 am
Thank you. I had fun
January 2nd, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Wow, thanks Brian. That was a fun little shooter. It would make a fantastic iphone/ipod touch game, what with the automatic shooting and stylized visuals. It would also make a good Shmuppreciation Month competition game (by the way, is that in February again?)
January 2nd, 2009 at 10:24 pm
Shmuppreciation Month is March, baby!