Raptor: Call of the Shadows

I haven't played many top-down shooters over the years, so perhaps declaring this as my favourite in the genre is more indicative of how little experience I have with the genre as it's far from my favourite game of all time.

My main problem is that it requires a lot of grinding, specifically finding powerups on the higher levels only to then abort those missions with said powerups to then sell to the shop in exchange for more manageable powerups for the easier stages. It's a unique mechanic that could've been better handled as it prevents the game from being playable without using this method even early on. Other than that, it's a great game as it has intense enemies both on the ground and in the air, the latter of course following predetermine paths that nonetheless are well thought out with the ground enemies in mind. To further add to the game’s difficulty, health can only be replenish after a mission by spending some of your earnings, it can also be traded in for more cash, although I definitely don't recommend this as it's very easy to die even at full health. The maps are also well constructed just on a purely aesthetic level, we have lush jungle environments, densely populated moon bases and even well-crafted desert basses to host our battles with the enemy. Suffice to say, the graphics in this game are top notch as they make these environments look very appealing even though you wind up destroying everything in these areas. The story is too basic to even worth mentioning, it makes top gun look like a few good men given that it's just an excuse for aerial battles for this game to have.

Even if there may be better top-down shooters out there (I'm an fps and platformer gamer after all) this is a game worth checking out due to its catchy music, solid presentation and awesome (if challenging) gameplay.