Söldner-X 2: Final Prototype is a sidescrolling shooter in which you control your spaceship as you fly through different locations…in space! This is a port of Söldner-X 2, which released on PS3 in 2010. Is this a good port? Was it fun to play? Read below to find out!

The shoot’em up classic arrives on the PlayStation®Vita system!

Blast through a variety of action-packed levels, battle fierce bosses, unlock new ships, weapons and rewards. Master the challenge mode and compete in online high score battles!

• Console perfect port, running at 60 fps
• Three player ships with distinct characteristics and weapon systems
• Dynamic score-linked difficulty system
• Online high score tables and replay file sharing
• Unlockables and rewards offer nearly unlimited replay value

Purchasing this content entitles you to both the PS3™ and “PS Vita” versions!

Söldner-X 2: Final Prototype Vita Release Trailer

Söldner-X 2: Final Prototype starts with a bit of background story that lets you know the events that lead to the current situation. After this short debriefing, you are ready to go and and in control of your spaceship and must destroy all enemies in sight! As soon as you’ve mastered the easy controls, you’ll notice that the amount of bullets to dodge on the screen increases REALLY quickly, and in under the first minute of gameplay time, you’ll already be overwhelmed by the amount of bullets trying to destroy you!

Luckily, navigating this “bullet hell shooter” is made fun and accessible to every gamer thanks to one of the sharpest controls I’ve seen on the Playstation Vita in a long time. Dodging bullets is so precise that every time you get hit, you’ll know that it was your fault and not the game’s fault. Also, on the default difficulty, the challenge is fair and accessible, and the power-ups are plentiful.

There are 7 levels in this game (+ 3 more in the DLC, which I’ll review in a few days), but out of the 7 levels, only half are easily accessible at the beginning. The rest are locked out and must be “discovered” by finding hidden keys on the available levels. I played the first few levels and after they completing them I was greeted with an ending credits screen only 40 minutes after having booted up the game for the first time. At this point, you’re encouraged to replay the same levels again to find the hidden keys, but most of them are very well hidden, so you’ll probably need more than one run to find them. I would’ve preferred it if more than three levels were available right at the beginning since it requires replaying old levels almost right from the start, but it’s definitely not a deal-breaker since the game is very fun.

Finally, after each level, you’ll be greeted by a very interesting and huge boss fight that’ll require spot-on accuracy to dodge everything it fires at you. The bosses are relatively creative as they make you go through several phases before finally going down for the count.

Final Thoughts
Söldner-X 2: Final Prototype is a pretty good “bullet hell shooter” that has one of the most precise controls I’ve enjoyed on the Vita in a long time. I liked traveling through the different levels it has to offer, as well as fighting its huge bosses, but was surprised to see the ending credits so soon in the first hour. Luckily the game is fun, and the levels you unlock are just as great as the first three, so it’s all worth it in the end.

Stay tuned for the Final Chapter DLC Review that we’ll be posting soon!

[review pros=”Perfect and crisp controls
Accessible Difficulty at the normal setting
Cross-Buy between the PS3 and Vita versions” cons=”Very short if you don’t replay levels and find hidden keys” score=80]

—————————————

Game Cost: $9.99
PSN Game size: 905MB

Disclaimer

This review is based on a digital copy provided by East Asia Soft.