Recreate the Days of Yore with Fleet of One

A blast to play!

Remember the days of arcade games and simple shooters? Fleet of One is a new app that recreates the days of yore with a fun game that has you scanning the screen for oncoming enemies or swiping up barriers to protect from fire. Great graphics and nostalgic music round out the experience; but, you might want to wear headphones while playing to get a fuller experience.

Fleet of One has you in command of a space ship, which sits at the bottom of your screen. You get five shooters to tap on, sending single blasts (tap) or a spray of fire (keep pressed). You soar through space and as enemy ships approach and enter your line of fire, it’s up to you to tap in time and blast them to oblivion. When you obliterate a ship, down falls an energy pod, which you collect as your ship absorbs it. Should enemy fire cross your path, swipe up and over a blaster to shield your ship from harm. Simple taps and swipes are the core of this game, keeping things fairly simple and easy. As you blast ships, you collect power enabling you to move up the ranks to more difficult stages, offering more challenge, more speed and increased power mining!

As always, there are small gotchas to look out for…be sure not to blast those energy pods that come your way. Collecting those gets you the power you need to build up reserves and speed. As you travel through the stages, your enemies will also be coming your way faster. Take heed that things move quicker as you gain power, so faster response time is essential to continue your momentum.

When you first start the game, you can choose to read what it’s all about, peruse the online store, setup options on sounds, scoring, sharing of information, and performance. This allows you to make the game cater to you and how you play. The store allows you to buy credits, so you can play longer, in case you run out and don’t build up a good stash during game play. You can choose the game type you wish to start playing at, either NORMAL or EXTREME, each having three levels.

I would be nice if the INFO section had a better explanation on the option to set your play level (see SET OPTIONS | PERFORMANCE) before you start playing. Currently, it defaults to HIGH; and, for some of us newbies, starting at LOW would be preferable. It might even be nice to have this indicated on the screen somewhere so you know what PERFORMANCE level you are playing at.

Overall, Fleet of One is well designed and offers a very comprehensive and informative guide the very first time you start to play a stage. Prompts appear on the screen along with arrows showing where to tap and how to swipe. This is an instant crowd pleaser for those who long for the old video arcade games, or for newer generations looking to have a bit a fun in outer space.