Espgaluda II HD

Espgaluda 2 HD CAVE CO.,LTD. - $13.99 in the App Store

Espgaluda 2 HD is a classic bullet hell style shmup ( Shoot'em up ) game with a max sprite count that literally makes the original iPad cringe.

Graphics - 9/10

Gorgeous, high resolution graphics very much inline with anything you've seen in every other decent asian bullet hell game. While the level of polish is exceptional, the level design all seems to run together either because they're so similar or because it's hard to pay attention to the backgrounds while dodging thousands of incoming bullets. 

Sound - 6/10

Nothing exciting here, pretty much on par with the genre.

Music - 5/10

Not to beat a dead horse, but the music was so typical I honestly don't even remember any of it at the time of writing. Not to say that it was terrible at all, just not memorable. 

Controls - 9/10

The framerate, and in turn responsiveness of the controls have always blown my mind in Cave games. I do find the iOS specific features of the smartphone mode to be kinda' gimicky - but some may appreciate them.

Replayability - 6/10

If you're a fan of the genre then you may not have a problem replaying for high scores (and the 3 different characters available for play), but outside of that and the love of dominating what is an otherwise very difficult game - I can't imagine anyone replaying it that much once it has been conquered.

Originality - 3/10

I literally could not name one aspect of this game that hasn't been done before, albeit maybe not always with such quality. It's fair to say this is a pretty formulaic game.

Value - 4/10

Do yourself a favor and buy the arcade version for half the price. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE this game, but I find the smartphone version to be gimicky and don't see the point of owning both.

Fun Factor - 9/10

If your a bullet hell fan, you should have no reason not to love the crap out of this game. If not then you may want to skip this title completely to be honest. Bullet hell is definitely an acquired taste.

Story - 3/10

Everyone should know that any asian game genre is synonymous with 'insane and unfollowable storylines'.

Multiplayer - n/a

Conclusion - 60%

While this game isn't breaking any ground as far as bullet hell SHMUPS go and offers no real replayability, it does raise the bar on IOS game quality. It screams "console" and the level of graphical polish, absurd sprite count, and constantly smooth framerate will make you wonder how they even pulled it off... Then you'll realize its only available for dual core IOS devices.