Overview
Game title: Exotic Armada 2
Current version: 1.5
Release Date: 23.10.2010
Genre: 2D Space Shooter
Author: Derbian Games
License: Freeware
Download Size: 20 MB
Website: http://derbian.webs.com/exa2
Download: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9005313/exa2.zip
Exotic Armada 2 offers some traditional, fast-paced topdown 2D spacecraft melee action. Don't expect much innovation here, this game is all about pure retro gameplay in the spirit of games such as Star Control (Melee mode). There are heaps of unique ships to choose from (56 in total), ranging from tiny scout vessels to huge battleships. Each ship comes with unique primary and secondary weapons. There is a lot of rock-paper-scissors type gameplay involved. A ship can be great against one ship but almost useless against another. Observant players may notice that there are even some "visitors" from other games.
The concept is simple: players first build an armada from the available ships, then put it to use in a real-time combat arena. In the beginning, players only have 6 light ships available to choose from. The rest of the ships need to be unlocked by completing challenges, which are basically just matches versus an AI. It's also possible to team up with a partner to complete the challenges together. The unlocking process was implemented mainly to soften the learning curve, as 56 different ships right from the beginning can be a bit overwhelming. If you find the challenges tedious or too hard to complete, there is a cheat that instantly unlocks all the ships. It is activated by clicking the purple star in the main menu background.
Supports 2-4 player (Human/AI) games on the same computer, with 2 AI skill levels (easy/hard). The teams are fully customisable, allowing for example mixed human/AI teams. Naturally, this game is best played in multiplayer.
Unfortunately, the game requires a display capable of 1280x1024. This is because I was first planning to create the game just for myself, not for public distribution. After I made the decision to release the game, most of the graphics were already made for 1280x1024, so the game stayed that way.
The number 2 in the game's name might sound a bit confusing since Exotic Armada 1 was never really publicly released. But this is indeed part 2 of the game.
Screenshots
