Omega Five is a good example of a game that symbolizes a dying genre. The horizontal scrolling shooter or ‘shmup’ if you will. The closest example of a game that it is comparable to is an arcade/Genesis classic Forgotten Worlds. I personally thought it was a great game, but then again I am a big enthusiast of retro games.

In Omega Five, you play as one of two (in the beginning) arbitrarily different characters. One is the quintessential hot heroine chick, complete with rapid-fire laser shots (or other electrically charged weaponry) and a nifty launch hook that locks onto foes and pumps 'em full of electricity so they explode. The second is some weirdo four-armed alien ninja who has these weapons that fire thick wet shot that looks like really pretty water or mercury (depending on which weapon you pick) and pumps out an EMP style explosion that helps take all enemies on the screen out of the equation.

There really isn’t much of a story behind Omega Five. Enemies appear on screen and you basically eradicate them. Omega Five is basically a game that pays homage to the classic game of the 1980’s era. Thanks to the advent of XBLA and PSN these types of games may make a slight comeback.

The game is graphically impressive for an XBLA title. The textures are vibrant and colorful. The game itself almost looks too pretty to be a downloadable title in my opinion. The game scrolls in a 2D manner but is full of great 3D effects, including huge monsters that loom in from the background. There also some really intense boss battles to be found in Omega Five. There are some fantastic lighting effects found throughout the levels and also on the weapons. I did not notice any moments of slowdown even when the screen was utterly packed with bullets and enemies.

The controls in Omega Five are also spot on. One analog stick controls the character movement while the other is used for aiming. The shoulder buttons are used for cycling through weapons. It really is a great setup for combat as you can move and fire in the opposite direction simultaneously. The game also offers a co-op mode which is truly a lot of fun. The only down point is that there is no online co-op available. I really don’t understand this decision.

Overall I came away impressed by Omega Five. My only complaints are the game is rather short and offers no online co-op. The graphics, sound, and effects were all of high quality. I see Omega Five as a tribute to the great ‘shmups’ that have been long forgotten. In my opinion it is worth the Microsoft points and most gamers won’t be disappointed by it. A sequel would be nice that had more length to it. One last note Omega Five would have been much better without the annoying announcer they added to the audio.