Super Arc Light Review: A Retro Mobile Gem

What you get when you combine a classic like “Asteroids” with a weapon diversity similar to “Contra” is “Super Arc Light,” a simple to pick up mobile shooter oozing with difficulty and depth.

Co-developed by one of the team members behind “Alien: Isolation,” it’s a completely different beast, but one you’ll end up remembering far more than any licensed survival shooter.

Tapping your mobile device to shoot your weapon, your ship spins around a circle, forcing you to time your shots to protect it. Like my old-school game,there are no continues, so once an enemy gets past your defenses, it’s game over. But there’s a reason to keep going. With plenty of weapon upgrades and random times they can be accessed, each play-through is a different experience.

If you have fond memories of playing Game Boy shooters the likes of “Solar Striker,” or spending afternoons in an arcade, “Super Arc Light” will feel like a fleece blanket on a cold day. Warm to the touch and accessible, it’s a match made in heaven for an older gamer looking for something new yet similar on the way to work. Younger gamers may not like the simplicity, but simply put, this game wasn’t made for them.

Although if you’re playing and enjoying this game you grew up with tougher games, at times you’ll get frustrated with the difficulty, but much like a game the likes of “Defender,” once you get the feel and vibe of the game, your fingers will begin to work in ways you never expected.

Like playing an instrument, “Super Arc Light” is easy to jump into, but can take a while to master. But so much more than a high score monster, it’s a perfect distraction on the bus or the train. Loading quickly and easy on your mobile’s hard drive, it’s ultimately a game you’ll have for a long time.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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