Aqua Kitty: Milk Miner Defender (XBLIG)

Aqua Kitty is an indie game that takes the general offerings of the shmup (shoot 'em up) genre, and amps it up to create an intensely enjoyable experience. Combined with a retro soundtrack that is filled with noteworthy retro tunes this survival based shmup will no doubt test your skills as a shmup enthusiast. At the heart of the game you'll find a plot about a race of felines who have found themselves in the midst of a dilemma. Their source of milk has ran dry, and they must seek out other sources if they are to maintain their healthy lifestyle. Luckily through some seafaring exploration these curious cats have happened upon what seems to be an unending supply of full fat milk. The problem is that their new found source lies within the murky, and treacherous depths of the ocean. There's definitely plenty of threats swimming between them, and their hope for the future. As a feline ship pilot it is your duty to keep the milk miners safe as they mine the depths of the ocean floor though. You will no doubt find adversity in the form of deadly deep sea denizens, but with your rocket powered sub nothing can stand between you, and the sustenance your species so desperately seeks.

Like "Super Mario Bros. 3" you'll find that "Aqua Kitty" features a map based navigation system that requires the gamer to complete various stages found on an overhead map menu in order to achieve your ultimate goal. That goal, as simple as it may seem is to protect your miner shipmates from Jellyfishy abductions while fending of waves of various bio-mechanical sea enemies. At your disposal you have a deep sea sub that is equipped with both normal, and rapid fire cannons which can be used to fend off such foes. You can use these weapons along with collected power-ups (health, satellite ships, speed boosts ...) dropped by a defeated Goldfishy enemy to dispatch any creature that tries to keep you from your goal. Each stage/level requires two things from you. The most important thing is to keep the milk miners from being lifted past the surface of the ocean by Jellyfishys. While you are trying to do this you will also have to destroy a certain amount of enemies that attack in a set number of waves. These enemies can shoot different types of bullets, and projectiles, and also come in different strengths. Some enemies can be quickly dispatched while others will take multiple shots to destroy. Like any shmup Aqua Kitty's deep sea minions all follow unique attack patterns, and can be avoided if you pay close attention to what's going on.


There are a total of 23 stages to complete in "Aqua Kitty" as well as an infinite survival mode for those who are looking for significant replay value. Each given stage that is completed during your playthrough will be graded by your performance through a monetary gain system. If you manage to keep all of the milk miners safe in a stage you will be awarded a bonus score that will be tallied into your overall score. As such you'll find that each individual stage has a high score, and an actual score display in case you want to go back, and attempt a better record later on. One thing to keep in mind is that each level can be officially completed if you have at least one milk miner survive. Only having one out of two, or one out three survive though will leave you with a bronze, or silver completion status that is shown on the map through a colored icon. If you should happen to make it through with all miners safe though you will of course be rewarded with a gold icon on that specific stage's map location.

The "survival", or infinite mode that is unlocked through gameplay can be accessed at any time from the map menu once it has been unlocked. Unlike the milk miner stages this particular stage is void of miners, and your only goal is to survive for as long as you can while destroying the enemy creatures around you. You gain money in this stage/mode by getting consecutive kills, and racking up your combo scores. Continually killing enemies in either the standard stages, or the infinite survival stage will reward you with increasing combo scores. If you are able to maintain a steady flow of kills your combo meter will rise in number, and in turn so will the money that you earn. Like any of the other stages found on Aqua Kitty's map the survival stage keeps a record of your highest score.

Guiding your ship through the murky depths of Aqua Kitty's underwater world is an easy task, but is one that should not be taken lightly. The DPad/Left Thumbstick, for example is used to make your ship move left, right, up, and down in the watery depths. In order to fire standard shots you simply press the "A" button. In order to use your rapid fire triple burst shots though (which are limited, but upgradeable through stage completion) you'll need to press the "B" button, and hold it down. The only catch with the rapid fire shot is that it uses up your energy meter (displayed at the top of the screen). The energy meter does build back up after it is completely depleted, but does so in a slow manner. Through stage completion your energy meter will upgrade allowing for more use of the special weapon, but suing it in moderation is a must if you hope to succeed. Another thing to note is the fact that your ship can face either left, or right by pressing the "LB", or "RB" buttons. Pressing either of these buttons will change your ships direction, and pressing either button twice will return your ship to it's original facing position. Changing the direction in which you are facing is also a necessary tool that must be mastered in order to beat the more difficult stages within the game.

Visually Aqua Kitty is a gem of a game. It takes all of the retro goodness from games of the past, and delivers it in a current-gen quality presentation. Everything from the pixel-like details of the ships, and kitties to the lighting effects that shine through the watery abyss are all excellently displayed. Even the soundtrack which can now be bought right now brings an edge to this game that will no doubt surprise all those veteran retro gamers out there. Altogether the game is a flawlessly brilliant masterpiece that excels in what the developer is trying to achieve, and what they have achieved is a fully functional shmup hybrid that sets a good example for future indie developers. The survival elements, as well as the shmup elements all come together in a digital harmony that far surpasses a lot of the currently available XBLIG shmups. I tip my hat to the development staff for the awesome experience that Aqua Kitty offers. It is by far one of the best XBLIG titles I've played this year, and is definitely worth the 240 msp asking price! If you have not at least given this game a proper trial run then I highly suggest you do so!