The developers of Pocket God and Yu-Gi-Oh! BAM on Facebook have proved that they can take a brand and make it shine. Now, Canada-based Frima Studio wants to show that it can take its quirk and originality and pump that into its own franchises. One of those franchises is Frima's take on a classic, revered genre--the arcade spaceship shooter--with A Space Shooter Blitz.

Many call this type of game a "bullet hell shooter," but Frima wants to get away from that off-putting moniker and take off in the opposite direction. After a play session on an iPad, it's clear that A Space Shooter Blitz requires some serious skill, but it's all in the presentation. Frima's arcade-style shooter is actually a way for the studio to bring its existing A Space Shooter franchise to a wider audience. And what better way than to slap some Blitz-style mechanics on top and put it out there for free?
Like any decent arcade-style shooter, players are tasked with downing as many enemies as possible while avoiding as much enemy fire as they can. In order to increase your score on the newly-added leaderboards, however, you'll need to meet this task particularly well: taking just one hit will eliminate any score multipliers you've accumulated. Going for those precious power-ups just got way more risky.

"We wanted to make a game casual that, at some point, is not too easy but not too difficult, because [the latter is] a real pain in the butt," Frima Studio IP director Jerome Dumont says. Save for the fact that your ship cannot be destroyed, the core loop of A Space Shooter Blitz isn't any different from its predecessor. But a 60-second timer, friendly leaderboards with Facebook Connect and the ability to continue your progress across iOS, Android and Facebook stand to give this shooter a shot in the arm.
That's not all. (Frima didn't miss a beat in "Blitzifying" its game, so to speak.) Using the remnants that they collect while playing (or by spending cash), players can purchase power-ups and shields to bring into each session. And through Facebook Connect, A Space Shooter Blitz will keep track of your progress even when you play without an Internet connection.

"You have your weekly score, number of deaths and highest multiplier," Dumont tells us of what the game tracks over time. "I love bragging about my highest multiplier, personally. There are Facebook achievements, also."
Sometimes turning a cute and goofy game--have you seen this concept art?--into an all-out addiction is a simple as throwing a few features at it. Additions like leaderboards and subtractions like outright, game-interrupting character death simply give those that might have been interested before more reason to play. You know, as soon as A Space Shooter Blitz hits Facebook, iOS and Android Sept. 28.

Are you excited to play A Space Shooter Blitz? Where do you see yourself playing it the most? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.