It doesn’t quite get there, though, for the same reasons that DownGate Deathmatch failed to deliver on its grand promise all the parts are here, but everything lacks punch and a sense of urgency. In theory, this range of options and the mission variety should equate to an evolving, entertaining game. All of the classes come with numerous ways to customize your ‘ExoDrone’, changing armor / helmet types, weapons, ammo types, and even a handful of perks. While the first and last units haven’t changed greatly, the always-vital engineer class has been given an armament upgrade, allowing you to craft defensive turrets and guns to guard your base / fellow marines. The class-based solider system returns as well, with the standard ‘Marine’, the workhorse ‘Engineer’ 2, and the sniper-ready ‘Recon’ types. You can swap characters here, and place assembled crates to be beamed off-world. Regardless of the blocky planet, the contracts typically have you guarding a ‘base’, which serves as your spawn point and shipping station. Mission types include ‘Mining Contract’, which sees engineers digging for minerals / crafting supply crates to send back home, a self-explanatory ‘Base Defense’ 1 setting, and a kill-everything mode called ‘Bug Hunt’. You essentially play as a mercenary for hire, completing contracts to earn enough money to buy new weapons / gear, and unlock access to additional planets and missions, with the difficulty and rewards scaling upwards accordingly. The big change to the format this time around is the game is now a four-player cooperative FPS, having you battle aliens in a semi-wave format across a variety of modes and maps.

Now, the team is back with another attempt, hoping to expand the universe yet again.Įnter Xenominer Swarm ($1.00), which keeps a lot of the same gameplay systems and options from DownGate Deathmatch intact, and seems no less ambitious. DownGate Deathmatch tried, but it was not a very good game. For its second game, developer Gristmill Studios took a step back, to put out a multiplayer FPS set in the same universe. It’s one of the few games I’ve played on XBLIG where I was actively brainstorming ideas for a potential sequel, so sure of its fun and success. Though some would classify the original Xenominer as a ‘sci-fi Minecraft‘ and nothing more on sight alone, it’s heavy emphasis on survival on a harsh planet made it much more than a simple clone.

Xenominer swarm