Price: Free
Rating: 
Retaliate
Android Game Review by AndroidAppsReview.com
Reviewed by Sarah Hanlon
Retaliate, developed by Romans I XVI, is a fast-paced arcade shooter for Android. Though it shares many similarities with popular games like Galaga, there’s a surprising twist that will defy everything you think you know about arcade shooters.
Concept and Gameplay
Retaliate might seem like a familiar game for those who enjoy Galaga and Space Invaders, but there are a few challenging twists that make this game unique. Instead of having the luxury of infinite ammo at your disposal, you must absorb shots fired at you by enemy ships. This is done by enabling your shield (tapping the left side of the screen). When you have ammo, tap the right side of the screen to fire. To move around the map, you’ll need to tilt your device.
Instead of coming out of the gate with guns blazing, you start off with absolutely no ammo. The nice thing about this is that you can destroy enemies with your shield, too, but it does take a bit of time to get used to engaging the shield at the right time because it only lasts for a few seconds.
Just like Retaliate’s Google Play description says, “The dodging, blocking, and firing all combined can at times feel like trying to pat your head and rub your belly at the same time.” This couldn’t be truer, because things get very complicated very quickly.
While it takes a bit of time to get used to how the game works, I do like the fact that Retaliate isn’t impossible to play.
Reviewed by Sarah Hanlon
Though gameplay is tough, Retaliate is refreshingly challenging. Personally I love the fact that the game disregards the rule of having to dodge bullets by making you actually chase them for ammo. This pretty much reverses everything players know about similar arcade shooters.
Features
Retaliate is a fairly straightforward game, so it doesn’t include too much in the way of features. There are no levels to play through, but you can connect the game to Google Play Games and earn a wide variety of achievements. This is a recent addition to the game, and one that I believe is a good move.
Perhaps the only feature I feel Retaliate is missing is a difficulty mode selector. I’m a huge proponent of this for tricky games because you don’t want someone to become discouraged with the game and uninstall it before they have a chance to get better at it.
(Editor’s Note: since this review was first posted the developer has updated the app to include difficulty modes - the first screen image above shows the new capability)
Value
Retaliate is available to download from Google Play for free and is supported with ads. Currently there’s no way to get rid of them, but they’re not that much of a nuisance.
Overall, Retaliate is a fun, engaging, and challenging arcade shooter that will reverse everything you think you know about the genre. If you’re into these types of games, Retaliate is definitely worth a look.
Retaliate requires Android 2.1+. A small expedite fee was paid to speed up the publication of this review.
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