When it comes to Twin Stick shooters, Black Widow was one of the pioneers. A game that saw players take control of a spider and attack bugs on her web, it was a decent game. Atari has now taken the classic and given it new life as part of the Recharged series, but the results are mixed, to say the least.
Black Widow Recharged is still a twin-stick shooter with the same basic premise, but the changes are noticeable immediately. Players now only have one life unlike the original, where there were multiple credits. Another change is that the game is no longer level based but now see players take on an endless wave of the bugs, albeit now with power-ups involved.
While many of these changes felt okay in Centipede: Recharged, they feel out of place here. Likewise, Centipede: Recharged saw visual and audio changes that fit the game well, but the attempts to do the same here for Black Widow just falls flat. Presentation-wise Black Widow Recharged just feels off, like a coat of paint was applied that clashes with the aesthetic.
So, the gameplay has been changed and the presentation is off. What else do we need to go over? Well, the controls feel right, with precise shooting and responsive movement, so it is not all bad. It is just that there are a number of technical bugs as well, such as enemies glitching out and suddenly teleporting across the screen, and the sound cutting out at times. These glitches can ruin a game run, and this can make the challenge mode a nightmare.
The challenge mode feels like an afterthought here, with no real heart to it. The challenges repeat often, and the leaderboards all have a problem with being organized poorly, not updating and not working for offline players.
There was a good game in here somewhere, but the end result feels like any number of cheaply made mobile games found on app stores. The original game was fine if a bit aged, but this attempt at revamping the classic only serves to make it weaker. Add in the glitches and the result just equals a disaster.
Black Widow Recharged gets a verdict of avoid, and it is disappointing. Centipede: Recharged showed there was a way to bring back the classics and make it work, but the formula seems to not be one size fits all. Atari took the easy way out and gave us something that is best regarded as a misfire.
Images were taken from Nintendo.co.uk
Disclaimer: A review key was provided