Game review: Sixty Second Shooter Prime

All too often these days we hear gamers complaining about how short games are. Only 6 or 8 hours of gameplay can earn the wrath of the fickle masses.

Welcome to Sixty Second Shooter Prime, the game that lasts for, well, just 60 seconds, whether you like it or not. It doesn't matter how well you're doing, there's no time extensions at the completion of levels, the game ends after the 1-minute time restriction. You have to get as high a score as you can using the one life you're given to get you through non-stop action.

When you die, and you will die a lot, the game is over and you start again. It's the same ethos that made old arcade shooters so addictive.

The left he right is for shooting, with the right trigger button being used for smart bombs. Your ship is nothing more than a white triangle, a-la Asteroids, and your enemies consist of a range of geometric shapes, some mobile and others static. Red enemies are immune to being shot, so need to be taken out with a smart bomb or another exploding object.

The biggest problem with Sixty Second Shooter Prime is that the camera is zoomed in too far, which makes enemies, bullets and obstacles suddenly appear leaving you little time to react.

The other issue the game has is that it doesn't fit in with the console gaming model. You don't sit on the couch and play a 60-second game, even taking into account replay value. The game started as an app in the portable market and that's where it should have stayed.