Game Focus writes: "Shred Nebula is a little strange. The controls are a little fishy, and will take a ton of getting used to if you're hard wired for the Geometry Wars' accelerate/move left-stick movement. But adapting becomes essential to your success as you drift through space and blast away baddies in what is an unadulterated tribute to Asteroids, Geometry Wars and... fighting games?
While the online multiplayer versus completely rocks – even at a lowly three out of a potentially chaotic eight – the single player frustrates. A camera that zooms in and out hectically at its own pace becomes as agitating as the constant text pop-ups that intrude on gameplay every 15 seconds. Drifting through space like a suped-up street racing Honda as you blast a variety of uniquely crafted, uh, spacecrafts (most of which are available in multiplayer) is a blast, as a variety of attacks and a fighting-game combo system changes what you might expect from a free-roaming shooter. Once you figure out the attacks, that is."
SlicedGaming:
"The sheer lack of variety across the missions, in terms of enemy and level design, is the defining thing that sinks the campaign mode. After half a dozen missions of doing the same thing, the magic wears off. As you progress you'll discover that the story is pretty basic; there's no real explanation for the disappearances or any real motive behind it all. Plus, the boss battles themselves are pretty pathetic. Most are dispatched in the same manner, which vastly cheapens the experience of taking them down."
We had the chance to talk to the CEO of Crunchtime Games about their title, Shred Nebula for the XBLA
SG: "As Xbox Live's fantastic Bionic Commando and Castle Crashers have recently shown us, engaging gameplay is still the most important ingredient in a game's mix. Shred Nebula is a new addition; a top-down shooter with a dash of adventure thrown in. Released to little fanfare, Shred Nebula aims to capture the magic of old-school classics like Asteroids. Saddle up for light speed as we go along for the ride. Punch it, Chewie"
