As I noted in my review of Overdriven, the shooter did nothing spectacular you hadn’t seen in other games, but was highly polished and fun. Soon after the review went up, developer CuchuGames expressed their interest in tweaking some of the art and bringing in additional modes for a later update, and they’ve now made good on that promise.
And then some. Not only have the art and graphics been completely redone (everything looks sharper / cleaner, including the HUD), but some of the enemies have been redrawn and their placements moved. Artifacts, the ‘keys’ you search for within each stage in order to unlock and progress, also have been moved and made easier to find. Players can select a second ship, which is mainly cosmetic, or a tackle a new, tougher difficulty, ‘Nightmare’. While the ‘overdriven’ mechanic remains intact, there is an new fire mode, ‘boost’ which increases the strength of your regular shot temporarily. It’s activated by picking up twenty stars, the score multipliers that are left behind from defeated enemies.
The real meat of this update comes with the two new modes, ‘Color Reflex’, which takes the color-matching puzzles from the main game and gives them a separate, 28 level challenge, and ‘The Line’, Overdriven‘s take on the classic survivor formula, with a twist; not only must you survive against increasingly-tougher waves of enemies, but you must prevent them crossing the thin red line at the bottom of the screen. That line inches upward and retreats as you play, increasing the tension. Topping off the update are extra awardments / fake achievements.
Overdriven has seen an original price of 240 MSP, then a drop and subsequent sale at 80 MSP, where it’ll likely stay. The new content and modes are welcome extras. There’s the (less-likely) possibility of another update down the road, even a sequel has been mentioned, although the developer hasn’t committed to anything just yet. Consider this the definitive version until further notice.
New player ship, enhanced graphics, improved HUD.
