Deadly Stars 1.7.0

Overview

Being a huge fan of classic plane shooter games like 1942, I was excited to dive into Deadly Stars and see what it had to offer. I'll say I was pleasantly surprised, but not exactly blown away - which is fine because I wasn't expecting to be. What kept me playing the game was the weapon and ship upgrades, but other than that the levels were quite repetitive. However, they were also extremely short and transitioned very quickly, so it's better to look at it as one big mission for each world, rather than several small ones.

Every time you advance a stage, you're able to shop for upgrades with points you've earned on the last level, as well as any points you've saved from previous ones. You can purchase armor upgrades, missiles, new weapons, weapon upgrades, and repair your ship. The game isn't too difficult if you manage your funds properly, but if you mess up you may need to restart unless you've got some real skills.

Installation

Quick and painless installation, didn't take more then a few seconds. Post-installation will open up your browser and direct you to the developers page for a thank you. Deadly Stars is compatible with Windows OS up to 8, requires 1GB of ram, and DirectX 9.0 or higher.

Interface

The interface is pretty ugly, but it is reminiscent of arcade space shooters so you can't exactly be too upset about that. Deadly Stars allows you to set custom controls with either the mouse, keyboard, or joystick. You can play in either windowed mode or full-screen with a maximum resolution of 1280x1024.

Shopping is smooth, but it should be noted that you won't receive the items unless you click "Buy". It's not that anything isn't responsive in the interface, but it is very basic. While playing the game you're able to fire your weapon or missiles or both, as well as switch between purchased weapons and missiles.

Pros

• Fun game to kill some time, not exactly anything to keep you occupied for days
• Multiple weapons and rocket types to choose from
• A variety of different enemies and worlds
• Can be challenging and requires intelligent upgrade purchases to succeed
• It's free!

Cons

• Stages are very repetitive, with the only variance really coming from world to world
• Not a lot of replay value after you finish the game once - there's no achievements or challenges beyond high scores

Alternatives

If you like Deadly Stars but want something with more intensity and better graphics, give Strike Suit Zero for PC a try. Alternatively, you could go retro and try out the game I mentioned earlier, 1942.

Conclusion

For what it is (a completely free arcade space shooter), Deadly Stars does a pretty good job at keeping the player entertained. Unfortunately, it's still just another space shooter. The upgrade system is pretty cool, but nothing special, and I really wish i could say the levels were diverse but they really aren't. Nevertheless, Deadly Stars gets a 3.5 for me, and I would love to see a sequel with some a modernized interface and graphics engine.