Quick Review: Revolution Ace

Wait, are you saying that giving AI to drones and war machines is a bad idea? Someone should tell Spotify’s CEO about that.

A creation of Laser Guided Games, LLC released on March 19th, 2014, Revolution Ace is set in a future where humans decided to fight all their wars with automated machines, greatly reducing loss of life in conflicts. However, at the start of this story, the machines began acting on their own and gearing up to fight humanity. It’s up to you to stop the mechanical threat using the last man-piloted war jet!

Let's see how far I can get... And at which level does this
turn into a Bullet Hell.

The shmup genre is hard to reinvent; it always boils down to a small character/ship moving in one direction, fighting waves of enemies, avoiding thousands of bullets, and getting either permanent upgrades or temporary power-ups. Revolution Ace does a few things I’ve seldom seen with the genre; the first is a level-up system. Finishing a stage gives EXP, and at each level you either unlock new pieces to purchase and add to your ship, or choose a new perk granting an advantage on the field. You move with WASD, use your primary weapon with the left-click button, your second weapon with the right-click, and the Superweapon (the bomb-type attack that needs to reload after a number of seconds) with the mouse wheel.

Looks like my carpet bombs just aren't doing enough damage
to beat this damn base.

The second fresh idea is that stages have an added element of depth. Since you fight in the skies, some of your weapons can only hit flying enemies; but some threats come from the ground below, and thus you eventually need to equip your ship with both air and ground weapons to deal with everything coming your way. The early stages don’t call attention to this much, and you may be left wondering why you should even bother… until you reach the game’s fifth boss, which is a base on the ground, which can thus only be hurt with weapons that can reach it.

You cannot select previous levels during Campaign Mode; however, if you’re struggling with the latest level, need extra experience to get better weapons, or are short on scraps (in-game money) to upgrade your fighter jet, there’s Skirmish Mode, which lets you play previous levels and even a couple of bonus challenges (such as boss gauntlets).

That mechanic either looks like he belongs in the greasy '80s
or is seconds away from saying "Think Big, s'tie".
Only Québécois will understand the latter joke.

OK, that's getting tougher... not too tough yet, though!

However, one major facet of this game is multiplayer, as you can compete against another player in Versus Mode, or challenge other players’ best scores in specific stages in Battle Chains. In that second mode, you’ll play side-by-side against another user (whose performance was, I think, pre-recorded), on a specific stage and difficulty (often boosted), and must attempt to score higher than them. It’s not so much about beating the stage first; it’s all about the score. A lot of Superweapons have bonus effects in Versus Mode as well, generally causing negative effects to the opponent (like stealing some fo their shield).

Yeah, I doubt I'll do good here, the CPU is already on
boss #3 and I'm still on #2!

Eh… this is fine. It’s a fine game. I don’t really have strong feelings for it, but I still can see how it could get people to play the campaign to the end and then compete in the multiplayer modes. The mechanics added to classic shmup give it more depth than the average: The experience system, customization of the jet’s equipment with new slots unlocking as you gain levels, the occasional perks. It’s a change from shmup ships that merely improve during stages, through power-ups. I guess I also like the depth of strategy that involves fighting on two planes at once, both air and ground, and some of the design choices made in that regard. I think the multiplayer concepts are alright, not that I do well there, but hey, Laser Guided Games likes the idea enough to encourage buying this for both yourself and some friends with a 4-pack option on the game’s page.

Revolution Ace is available on Steam for 4.99$ USD.