GAMEHIPPO'S REVIEW OF STAR CAGE
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StarCage was inspired by distant memories of an Amiga game, 
of which the author was trying to re-create the same kind 
of game-play in. But, wherever the influence for StarCage 
really came from is irrelevant, it’s a pretty solid shooter 
that should entertain you if you can overcome the somewhat 
steep learning curve and relatively high difficulty. The 
game is played in a “circular” field, where if you reach 
one edge, you’ll pop up at the opposite edge- not that you’ll 
notice, the view is always centered on the player’s ship, 
with the environment rotating around, it doesn’t feel 
disjointed. So, the game is in a “Search and Destroy” style, 
you have a radar display in the bottom right, showing you the 
location of enemy ships, of which you must destroy to advance to 
the next wave. Every three waves you will have the opportunity to 
upgrade your ship, which includes basic repairs, a shield upgrade 
(which also grants you a full repair), weapon upgrades, turning 
upgrades and more. The problem is, if you take too much damage 
in the preceding fights, you’re forced to repair the shields 
instead of buying the more useful upgrades such as better turning. 
This is where the learning curve takes place; in order to get the 
maximum out of your limited upgrade points, you must learn how to 
best not get hit, it really requires a bit of practice. If you can 
get the hang of this, StarCage is a very rewarding shooter, 
presenting an excellent challenge and interesting game-play. 

Graphically, StarCage takes on a somewhat retro look, with low 
resolution graphics and sparingly used special effects save for 
the odd explosion, but that doesn’t mean the graphics are bad. 
It feels like you’re playing a shooter from the early 90’s, and 
generates a feeling of nostalgia. The rotating field of play is 
interesting to look at, and quite effective, but because of this, 
enemy sprites may look slightly skewed because of the low resolution. 
Basically, if you’re not a modern-day graphics crazy who wants 
everything in Hi-Def, StarCage won’t look bad. 

The sound effects aren’t anything special, they get the job done. 
You’ve got your generic blaster fire sounds, explosions etc. The 
music is pretty good, but there’s only one track for battles. I 
haven’t really noticed it, but it does have the potential to get 
boring. At any rate, you can probably just listen to your own music. 

How does it control? Well... I wouldn’t call the controls bad, 
but I’m not a fan of the “Enter” key being used to fire (directional 
arrows are used for movement). On many keyboards, such as my own, 
it conflicts with other keys, meaning you can’t press multiple keys 
down at once. At the start, you’ll find the ship moves and turns a 
bit slowly, but that’s what upgrades are for! If you can survive 
the first three waves without getting too badly damaged, I highly 
recommend you take the “turning” upgrade, at least until you’re 
familiar enough with the game to play without it. 

StarCage has the potential to be a very addictive game, with a 
cool ship customization feature and many different enemies, 
each displaying different fighting patterns and behavior. 
Overall, StarCage has impressed me, but the high difficulty 
will turn many people away, and it’s marred by less-than-perfect 
controls and “meh” sound. If you enjoy shooters, a high challenge, 
or customizing spacecraft, check out StarCage. 


8/10

By Slayer