I’m going to have to start off by pointing out that Hyperdrive Massacre has no online multiplayer, which I find ridiculous in this day and age. Even worse, you can’t play some of the game modes in single-player, who makes these decisions?! Out of 6 game modes, only 4 can be played in single-player (all modes can be played with two to four players locally).
The game has a very 80s look to it, and a soundtrack to match. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but this kind of game really doesn’t benefit from a dated look and it would be nice to see a bit more effort put in to a more modern look and sound, but that’s obviously just a personal opinion and it doesn’t affect the game in any way.
Gameplay, now that’s something positive I can talk about! The game is played on one screen and you control a flying car in space, kinda cool. Get three of your mates round and boot up a game of Space Soccer, or Spong (Space Pong?!) and you’ll have a great time. The gameplay is frantic and with bullets flying all over the screen there’s a high chance you’ll kill yourself before anyone else kills you first (if you’re like me and mash the fire button – I got achievements for killing myself multiple times in the first game we played). In both Space Soccer and Spong the idea is to get the ball into the oppositions goal, but Spong limits you to only one half of the screen i.e. you can’t travel past the halfway line. There’s Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch (both self-explanatory), Death Race (collecting point-giving checkpoints around the screen) and Last Man Standing (you get a certain amount of lives each).
As a game with no campaign or story mode it’s a bit difficult to comment on longevity, but it is the kind of game you’d come back to every now and then and probably play for an hour or so before getting bored and switching to something else. Unfortunately as Rocket League is out for Xbox One in a few weeks, it would be very hard to recommend Hyperdrive Massacre to anyone right now. If it becomes available for free on Games with Gold then you should definitely give it a bash, otherwise I would give it a miss and save your money.
Summary
I’m going to give Hyperdrive Massacre 50 out of 100, as when it’s played as intended, with three friends in local multiplayer, then it really is good fun but only in short bursts. Unfortunately however if you’re stuck on your own you won’t get much out of this game.
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments!