Futuridium EP, a new 3D re-imagination of a classic Commodore 64 shoot'em up, is now available for free download from Italian indie developer Mixed Bag (via Indie Games ). The game puts you and your reflexes to the test as you pilot a nimble, laser-armed spaceship against giant alien vessels.
The developers acknowledge that they were inspired by Andrew Braybrook's original 1986 side-scrolling shooter Uridium . "We always loved Uridium on [Commodore 64]," Mixed Bag game designer and programmer Mauro Fanelli told Indie Games.
"We played it a lot back in the days and around October of the last year we chatted a bit about doing a 3D space shooter, with a flat shaded look reminiscent of Silpheed, Virtua Racing, the pre-rendered View Point for Neo-Geo. So we started working on the idea of mixing and mashing the two concepts together, with the core of Uridium gameplay, the fast paced action, the turn-by-180-degrees mechanic and huge capital ships as an ideal base for a Star Fox like third person shoot 'em up with a gameplay twist."
The developers recommend playing with an analog joystick, but you can also tackle the colorful shooter with a keyboard. Its mechanic appears to be pleasingly straightforward—you navigate around a giant ship destroying blue cubes until the yellow cube is revealed. Destroy the yellow cube to make progress in the game. Check out the trailer below.
