MINUS ZERO

Minus Zero is setup like a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up. Instead, you 'lock on' to your target kinda like RayForce/Layered Attack when shooting something below your plane. Unlike that game, it's entirely unsatisfying. Made all the worst by it being your sole weapon. Often times it's best to hold off shooting to you've targeted everything. Honestly, I have little patience for that.

Graphically the game has a sort of vector based looked without the vector lines. But the neon light bloom effect gets in the way of clearly seeing what's going on. I didn't find that effect 'adding challenge'. I found it annoying in the same why having people cross in front of TV screen could be argued as adding challenge.

About the only thing the game does well is the Tate mode aspect ration of the play area. But even that is a pain to adjust out of the default window size. This is par for the course. There are barely any options. Including remapping controls. As simple as they are. Basically changing the language is the game's options.

I got this as part of the SHMUP All Stars bundle during a Summer Sale. For all intents and purposes, it was free. And I still don't think it was worth it. It's probably fair I didn't give a fair shot barely playing it. However, I was so revolted by the experience that I don't feel it's necessary to.

This game has so many visual problems it's a wonder it was released in this state. The game is super hard to read, and the mechanics aren't interesting. This game wouldn't be worth playing if it was free, so even $2 isn't a good deal

I rate the game Minus Zero 1/5. Bad.

This is a (very) basic 2-dimensional Schmup arcade style of game with extremely minimalist graphics. Nearly all graphics consist of mere geometric shapes, some of which are hollow and others of which are solid and glowing. The music is similarly basic, consisting of various obviously computed generated sounds in the chip-tunes style though it is not particularly well done.

Unlike most Schmup style games, in Minus Zero you have to move your ship so that a targeting reticle projected a few inches above your ship is able to get a target lock on to each enemy. Only after a target lock has been achieved will the game allow you to fire your homing missiles (your only weapon). This unusual style of schmup gameplay wouldn't be so bad though (though it does take some getting used to) if it were not for the fact that explosions often severely hamper your ability to see enemies and enemy projectiles. Worse still, from the outset, this game gives you but a single life. Get hit just once and you have to start from the beginning of the game.

The game runs fast and is free of bugs. The menu and configuration options are extremely basic but the game technically works well (thus causing me to avoid rating it 0/5) and the default controls feel adequate. As you progress however, explosions become increasingly plentiful and it becomes increasingly hard to see where your "ship" is and where enemies and their projectiles are at any given time. By level 3 the game becomes a jumble of explosions which merely serve to block your view. Because of the extremely poor visual design of this game I cannot recommend that anyone else waste time playing it, not even for the ultra-cheap 2 dollar price tag. Ultimately, Minus Zero's poor visual design cause it to be far more frustrating than fun. Whether or not the poor visual design was created intentionally is irrelevant; the intentions of the game's designers don't change the fact that the game is still frustrating.

Fun quick little game. But I only recomend it if you wish to complete your Triangle Service collection : aside the nice gimmick, it's not nearly as polished as the rest.

Not that it's a bad game by any mean, but consider it if you've got money to waste. It will always be a better investement than buying a drink!

I found this game very enjoyable, though it has many limitations.

Full review: http://tenshi-a.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/minus-zero-pc-game-review.html

It's too long, so Steam won't let me post it. :/

Short version:

Control your little triangle. Lock onto targets while dodging. Fire at them and become invincible as they explode. Repeat. Repeat. Shoot the red circle to go to the next level. Repeat.

Score points. Climb the leaderboard. Have one more go.

There is 360 controller support. There is keyboard too but you can't remap the keys. You can't go full screen. There are next to no display options. There's no story mode. No cutscenes. Barely music and backgrounds. But it's fun and worth playing.

Great game!
-Reduce 'splosion fx so player tracking is viable
+The leaderboard and replay systems are great and should be in every score attack game

I have played this much more than I would like to admit for how bad I am at this game. I have played several shmups, but not really any with lock-on shooting (the only one that comes to mind is some of the DLC in DariusBurst Chronicles Saviors). This game is very simple: lock onto enemies and bullets, shoot, watch them explode. As you watch them explode, you are invincible, which is the key to survival in this game. This becomes surprisingly addictive and I always find myself pressing A to start a new game even after I told myself that my last run would be my last for the day. There are no options, setting, cut scenes, ship select, or text to go through when starting a game...you are in the action immediately so this is a great game to play for only a few minutes (though you may end up playing for much longer, like I do).

Minus zero is a very simple game with minimal controls and simple presentation. You control a small triangle that is put up against an onslaught of bullets with only one live. One kill you're dead, restart. The great thing about this game is the mechanics: any time you shoot, or while your shots connect, you will be invincible for a short while, indicated by your triangle turning red. In order to give you enough invincibility time, you can not only lock onto enemies, but also bullets. The game quickly ramps up its difficulty very quickly, so it's not for the easily angered.

Beware though: options are extremely limited: no key rebinds (360 controller is supported), no fullscreen option (only 1:1 scale and a 1.5x increase of that resolution). The only things you can do is change the screen size between two settings and switching the language between Japanese and English.

If it wasn't for the odd choice of special effects vomit all over the screen the game would be pretty decent. You fly your little triangle around and blow up circles. Don't feel bad if you can't tell what's going on from the screenshots, it doesn't get any easier when you start playing either. I've played a few shmups (I'm in no ways an expert however) but this one makes my eyes bleed. Controls are fine, progression takes a bit. You can see other peoples scores and watch (some) replays of their runs.
See my video on youtube.
https://youtu.be/CjT-KHjSzfg