Introduction:Mutant Storm: Reloaded from PomPom is a top down shooter in the same vain as XLA friends Geometry Wars, and Robotron. Mutant Storm shouldn't be shrugged off as a clone because this arcade shooter is polished into a nice package that rivals any of its competition. Need that coulrophobia feeling of being surrounded, outnumbered, and paranoid?! Then take a ride with Mutant Storm.

The Game:Mutant Storm as I already mentioned is a top down shooter which controls in the familiar to the other shooters, left analog stick to move, and right analog stick to fire. This means you can shoot in 360 degrees which is an absolute necessity given the speed and amount of enemies you will be facing. The action is intense, relentless and always challenging to say the least! The beauty of Mutant Storm is that the game adapts to your skill level, so if you happen to be a wiz kid with a fast eye, or the movement of a sloth, you will have a good time with Mutant Storm and its many challenges.

Mutant Modes
Mutant Storm is broken into two gameplay modes one being Adventure Mode, and the other Tally Mode. They are essentially the same game just with a different layout, bonuses and challenges. Both the Tally Mode and Adventure mode starts you on level 1 of 89. Yes, 89, not 90 or 100. I'm not sure why PomPom didn't tack on a few more to make to 100, but neverless we have 89 level of Mutant Storm Reloaded. The main difference between the Tally and Adventure mode is that Adventure mode is continuous play, where as Tally is level by level. Adventure mode also ranks you up multipliers, lets you uses weapon modifiers, and ramps up your difficulty as a reward for flawless shooting. Tally mode is just straight guns, but you can pick you difficulty level before you start. I'd have to say Tally mode is the easiest mode to complete the game, rather then playing through the Adventure mode which saves in intervals of ten. Although a little harder the Adventure route is better for the Mutant Storm stimulating experience and I found myself happy struggling along.

Ninja Belts
Progressing through the levels seems fairly easy until you get to the mid 20's/30's then you might have more of a challenge. Then you can add on the difficulty levels, like martial arts they are in forms of belts (Yellow to Black). One special attribute that I have to mention is that the boards change shape in Mutant Storm with each new level, besides the shape new obstacles and odd sized and moving enemies are added. Unlike other games of this genre we are treaded to the challenge of adapting to the size of the playing field.

LSD in HD
Like Geometry Wars from Bizarre Creations the game is ultra, colourful, with a adequate soundtrack and noise effects, all wrapped in 720p HD. Overall Mutant Storm sounds and looks great. It's really drugged up with the psychedelic look, and the fast action adds to the acid feelings. Although, I do think PomPom has borrowed the "tick, tick" sound from Hexic HD. You also have the option to customize your ship with a few options being shape and colour. It's not much, but hey, it something extra which always helps in the little ways. I actually found I did better with my ship a more noticeable colour then the average enemy. This way I could keep track of my guy better when the action got heated.

LOWDOWN:Mutant Storm Reloaded is hectic classic arcade styled shooter that deserves the spotlight of the Xbox Live network. If you're a die hard fan of top down shooters I recommend purchasing Mutant Storm Reloaded, 100%. Although if you're wondering which shooter to pick out of the batch, I'd say download the demos and give them all a run. Mutant Storm Reloaded is the most expensive, but also has the most content in modes, and customization.

Overall PomPom has opened our eyes to their shooting gem, and hopefully the list will continue to grow. Mutant Storm might have been overshadowed by the earlier release of Geometry Wars, but I urge you to give Mutant Storm Reloaded a go. Its one of the best time killers for the 360, and a new personal favorite.