This game is absolutely insane. Like, but in the best way possible. Plus it’s on PS4 and will eventually make it to Vita which means it’ll be like 2.4x as rad as it was before. <3 Vita games.
So the super neat thing about ADHD:T (it’s shorter than typing the whole name) is that it’s basically two games in one that you’re playing simultaneously. On top of that, what happens on the left hand side of the game affects what goes on in the right hand side of the game. So left hand side is a typical top down defender-eqsue schmup in which you collect certain things heading your way and also shoot at the ships coming towards you. If you miss those ships and they pass through, they will end up as enemies attacking your second ship which has a isometric 3rd person perspective. So basically make sure you can take out as many ships as possible on the left, to make your life easier on the right, as there are still mounted guns firing at you whether or not you defeat all the ships on the left hand side of the game.
The two games are played on one controller, left stick and L2 controlling the left ship and it’s weapons, right stick and R2 controlling the right hand side of things. It’s a bit of a mind-game to get the hang of it because it’s a twin-stick shooter, but it’s also a twin-shooter-shooter, since you’re controlling two ships at the same time. You earn points by collecting parts on the right hand side of the game, but since I can’t really explain it that well I’m going to post the dev JayCee’s explanation from the PlayStationBlog post he did just before PAX East:
Your mission takes place on the planet of Zastrus. The screen is split in half. On the left side we have the HR-D Assault Vessel defending the entrance to Zastrus’ Core while the DF-R Reclaimer is inside recovering resources. The HR-D will not take damage but you must manage your fuel consumption. The DF-R will take damage and if it’s destroyed the result is mission failed and zero score. Amidst the chaos the DF-R can sacrifice Material to refuel the HR-D.
“Parts” are the resource that enable the DF-R’s defenses and you must have at least 4 in your inventory to leave the planet safely and — most importantly — with your score intact. Your final score is multiplied but how much Material you were able to retrieve during your mission. The tagline here is “your score is meaningless unless you exit.”
So keep in mind the idea of risk and reward. Extracting without enough parts means you get nothing. Dying without extracting means you get nothing. It’s super fun and frustrating, but the more you play it the more you start to train your brain to work through it. There aren’t really any other games like this out there, so I’m super excited to get more time in with this one.
Final Thoughts: This game makes my head hurt, but it also makes me want to get better at it. Aside from the dexterity of being able to essentially play TWO games at once, it’s just really fun and fast paced. Managing both resource collection and base defense on two separate areas in-game pushes you to really break free from the sort of “routine” you find yourself in some other games. On vita though, this would be a super fun game to play in-between meetings or appointments, so I’m definitely stoked that a Vita version is being made.
For more info, give JayCee a follow on twitter or check out the Ask an Enemy Studios website.
Source: PlayStation Blog | Ask an Enemy Studios
-Written by Andrew(@SoAfterISaid)
