Space Beats Saga is a universally stellar time killer
Space Beats Saga is an arcade-style iOS game, and no it doesn't follow the story of an intergalactic DJ. It's deceptively straightforward: you're in a rocket traveling through the universe and you have to dodge cosmic rays that come in your path before you free yourself from the clutches of solar system and escape to outer space. All that's required of you is a single tap to change direction and dodge the obstacles. The game is free and universal with in-app purchases.
The graphics are stellar in Space Beats Saga. Perhaps I'm accustomed to games that don't have controls consisting of more than a single tap taking on an 8-bit theme, but Space Beats sets a good example that a game can have basic controls and still be beautiful.
It comes with four difficulties: easy, medium, hard and impossible. You start out on easy, but your first few plays feel far from it. The rocket starts out going straight ahead but the moment you tap anywhere on the screen, it shifts left. Tap again and it shifts right, then the process repeats with each tap.
I'm not a huge fan of the maneuvering in Space Beats. Given the speed at which new cosmic rays appear on screen, it feels like the rocket takes too long to shift directions and get out of the way. Plus, the left and right borders of the game are your enemies, too. Of course, I did get better over time as with any game, but my record is still only 31 (the score calculates based on how many rays you dodge) and to unlock the medium difficulty requires 50. If the game was just even slightly more responsive to the touch, it would be a tad easier to play and feel a lot more natural.
Eventually after passing a certain number of cosmic rays, you run into foreign objects. It turns out they're comets! In the real world where mortality exists, avoid these. In Space Beats, however, comets are your friends. Head straight toward them because collecting them gains you a few extra points. That'd be helpful in finally unlocking that medium difficulty. The hard and impossible difficulties require high scores of 300 and 700 to unlock, respectably.
Additionally, within the difficulty are levels. With each level-up, you're taken into new territory, beyond another planet on the solar system. After 30 cosmic rays, the game informed me I blazed past Jupiter into level three. The cosmic rays seem to show up in different patterns with every level change.
There's an option to ditch the ads in the game for a single in-app purchase of US$0.99. I found that the ads were few and far between and always had a visible exit strategy, but if you're the type that absolutely can't stand ads, by all means take advantage of the opportunity to get rid of them.
Don't get me wrong, my complaint about the control responsiveness is just a small gripe and potentially just a personal preference. I love the graphics, the theme and of course the gameplay. It's an intriguing time killer. For free, give Space Beats Saga a download from the App Store.
