Extend Studio and ORiGO GAMES have brought us the new edition of the sidescrolling 2.5D sci-fi shooter and plat former from Extinction Agenda, now it is known as A.R.E.S.EX

It was 2060 on Earth, space travel was a thing now and humans met a race of robotic aliens called Atzai. Together they fixed the planet from all pollution and obtained peace. The game takes place later in the year 2094, the rebel factions of the Aztai are manifesting thanks to their leader, Zytron, a green glowing badass machine that simply doesn’t like humans and their alliance. Zytron takes the first step in the rebellion by taking control of the Minos station where Dr. Julia Carson was working. She sends a distress signal communicating the message that Zytron is preparing an Extinction Agenda; this powerful cannon can annihilate all mankind. Aztai Command’s orbital handler, Valkyl, receives the memo and sends out Ares and Taurus, two strong Aztai humanoid machines with a strong passionate hope to defend their kind and humans.

Before starting the game, you can choose which Aztai to play as. Ares is fast, jumps higher and his DPS is faster, while Taurus (the new playable character) is the muscle and damage sponge. In this version of the game, if you own the first Extinction Agenda, you can choose to have a a flying robot companion that works as a magnet to absorb repair fragments.

So what makes this any different than the first version?

Other than playing as Taurus (also with a cool new soundtrack for him), the game also offers redesigned levels and GUI. Resolution textures are increased and you now have animated cutscenes!

There are also new bosses and retouched old ones: Some have the same combat mechanics and the same AI, but also include newer patters and abilities.

There are 2 new levels filled with obstacles, enemies and mini bosses. The devs actually adjusted them to the plot. Also the implementation of a Leaderboard.

Character leveling system is reworked as well as the achievements: Basically after each level you gain experience points, leveling up will add you permanent stat bonuses, and a wider range of achievements including new ones for a Taurus campaign.

How does the game…play?

As most sidescrollers, you run left or right facing enemies with specific AI, you shoot them down and collect their loot which are repair fragments, with these you can repair yourself (heal) for a decent amount and can do this for 100 fragments. Repair in one of the abilities you can use which have a short cooldown, the other two are bit more aggressive. The second ability is a blazing fist; you can use this to blast off red containers to access new areas or to simply obliterate an enemy at close range. The third ability is an electrical shock, the plasma shock; it stuns enemies or also destroys their energy shields, making them vulnerable to your fire power.

As for your weapons, you can switch between 4 different ones. You start off with the Zytron Blaster, a regular blaster with decent damage that can be upgraded. Second weapon is similar only that it has a much faster fire rate, this is the Laser Reactor. Third weapon is the Wave Emitter, it has a medium range of shooting green waves that can pass through obstacles and has very good damage if upgraded. Last but not least the Photon Launcher, basically a blaster that shoots purple electrical orbs, low fire rate but a ton of damage. Each of these weapons can be used when you defeat specific bosses that drop their blueprints, their upgrades are also find in this form only that they are scattered around levels. Upgrades of course cost currencies which are the fragments, on the earlier version of the game you could simply upgrade your weapons freely without having to look for schematics.

Hey but not only weapons!

Your character can also be upgraded, you can earn the Dash skill which allows you to swiftly move through and have invincibility frames. You got the Air boost which works the same way but on in the air in a horizontal and vertical manner. You can also increase your armor’s protection and increase the amount of energy you have. Your energy is toped to 100, at this mark you can perform your strongest ability, the Solar Strike, and this can damage every enemy in the screen with devastating nuke lasers probably shot by Valkyl.

Now that you’re set, you won’t always just spam fire at enemies. You will be facing platform obstacles which makes me bring up probably the only issue with the game. This is the JUMPING button, I’m not sure if its either too good or way too precise, sometimes you need to perform specific perfect jumps that can truly test your patience during a platform designed level, some levels can even loop you back to the same problem almost forcing you to memorize the pattern. The jumping ability also doesn’t respond as well during boss fights, the feeling is almost the opposite as playing as Mario jumping over bosses. This may take some practice until you figure out the dynamic of your character to be patient.

Other than that, A.R.E.S.EX is quite impressive, it brings back a Megaman feel to your gaming experience and that always is a pleasure. It’s truly a shame that the game isn’t as long as you would want it to be. The story just blazes through and the characters leave much to desire, they have enormous potential but don’t demonstrate it enough, this also makes the ending a but anticlimactic (although it was strong enough). Sometimes you feel that the bosses take a major roll just because you see them longer due to them being quite a challenge.

Okay! Does this visual update make it worth it?

If you played the first version of the game, you will notice a huge difference in the visualization and performance of the game, animations are much more fluid and character design have been updated with newer looks, more charisma and personalities, making the story work a lot better up to a point. The particles and projectiles are fairly simple yet effective. Overall a great design interpretation for this sci-fi universe. Not to mention the 2D illustrations look remarkable!

The original soundtrack simply kicks ass. Hyperduck Soundworks made the original music of the first game and now we have Heavy Metal master Charlie Parra Del Riego stepping the game up with incredible hard rock that brings a whole new theme and ambience when fighting through enemies. This also works great as a sound proposal for Taurus, being the strong and beefy character. The music is well balanced and mixed, you’ll be tapping your foot in sync with it while mashing your mouse/controller shooting stuff! The sound FX for all the machinery, weaponry, and even the boss roars work great in accordance to the visual design, they are even well balanced in the stereo atmosphere.

So this version is recommended?

A.R.E.S.EX is a better, more badass version of Extinction Agenda. It brings a new powerful character, visual and musical upgrades and additions, and also a good time in classic sidescrolling sci-fi shooting. Even if you have trouble with the responsiveness on the controls, you might have a good time playing though it, again it is a shame that it feels so short as it just bursts with potential.