When I was a kid I spent a lot of time at the arcade and, of course, I played all the usual games like Pac-Man and Asteroids and, yes, even Tetris. The game that kept drawing me back and the one that I spent a lot of time on, however, was 1942, the vertical scrolling World War shoot em up.

Sine Mora is very similar in idea but very different in gameplay and plot, but just as much fun. Even my kids play it and love it.

Whilst I was researching this review I came across some fantastic terms that describe Sine Mora and I thought they encapsulated the game very well. So, in one sentence, Sine Mora is a horizontal scrolling (instead of a vertical scrolling, like 1942), bullet hell shoot em up comprising levels that are completed by defeating a boss.

I like the term ‘bullet hell’ because this is the perfect descriptor for the game. There are some points throughout the game where you are simply overwhelmed by the sheer volume of ordnance (and that is only on normal difficulty). On insane difficulty, there are points where the whole screen actually changes colour because of all the bullets, projectiles, missiles, photons, bricks, stones and other stuff hurtling towards you.

Sine Mora is total awesomesauce (In colloquial parlance - Ed). The graphics are awesome and, despite the gameplay only being 2D, the background graphics are in 3D. The plot is fun to follow, too, and the characters are exceptionally well thought out and develop throughout the game. The various aeroplanes are all very distinct and have different capabilities and I had a great time flying each fighter and figuring out what I could do with all of them.

Sine Mora comprises four different playing modes namely Story, Arcade, Score Attack and Boss Training. As it suggests, the Story mode is the main part of the game and, suffice to say, the plot is very complex and intricate and is something that adds a lot without actually being necessary. You can simply ignore the story and play through the various levels but it’s fun to follow, but Ill let you explore that yourselves (it’s definitely worth it). An option to ‘fast forward’ through the cut-scenes is available and very handy when you are trying the same level for the fifth time.

Sine Mora is quite difficult, even on normal mode, but fortunately it isnt one of those games that seems impossible and makes you play the same levels hundreds of time making you too frustrated to continue. On normal mode you are provided with eight ‘continues’ so even if you die a few times, you can still progress through a level.

The ‘Arcade’ mode allows you to play the game without the cut-scenes and narratives and ‘Score Attack’ mode allows you to replay levels and try to improve your score in those levels. ‘Boss Training’ allows you to replay any of the bosses that you have previously confronted and you can develop your skills should you decide to play again.

Each level in Sine Mora is similar in concept but different in design and gameplay. The basic idea is to fight your way through hoards of opponents until you get to the boss and then try to defeat that boss. Its a time tested formula and one that the developers have executed exceedingly well. The bosses are outrageous too: They’re huge, weapon-heavy monstrosities that you confront feeling somewhat like a mosquito attacking an elephant. Like the rest of the game, however, the bosses are difficult to defeat but not impossible. And they are great fun.

I played the story mode with each of my sons and, even though I have a short attention span and get bored easily, the bosses never got boring and the game continued to be fun (even when my little guy wasted four continues flying into the ground).

During the game you have three very useful tools at your disposal. The first is the primary weapon which starts out as a bit of a peashooter, but there are upgrades throughout which you collect as tokens (look for the red ones). These upgrades (you can upgrade your primary weapon nine times) turn your peashooter into a very effective weapon. Of course, each time you get hit you lose some upgrades as the tokens you collected are blasted out of your plane and you have a few seconds to recollect them. There are also other tokens to increase your time, increase your secondary weapon and time portal ability.

Speaking of secondary weaponry, each fighter plane is equipped with a super weapon that you can use a few times during the level. You should definitely save this for the boss at the end but the number of times you can use it can be increased by collected the relevant tokens. There is also a means to enter a time portal and slow down time. This helps you in avoiding incoming ordinance but it also increases the effectiveness of your super weapon. Using the different weapons together to increase their effectiveness is something you learn pretty early on in the game. Similar to the primary and secondary weapons, your time portal can be upgraded by collecting tokens.

The success of a level is determined by time. Instead of using a health meter, Sine Mora uses time. You have a set period of time to complete a level and this time is decreased when you are damaged and increases as you destroy enemies. So, without stating the obvious, kill everything that moves and everything that fires at you, and try not be hit by anything!

I spoke about the graphics earlier and I think the visuals of Sine Mora add a great deal to the experience - They are very sharp and very colourful and added a lot to my enjoyment of the game. The characters are also quite a bit of fun and they are all very different to each other. This doesnt have any impact on the game apart from the fact that each character flies a different plane and, as such, has different abilities.

I normally prefer longer games that require a bit of thought, developing characters and with some tactics and strategy. Sine Mora is complete action and is a very welcome addition to my game collection. It is one of those games that you can play if you find yourself with half an hour to kill (excuse the pun) but you can sit down and spend a good couple of hours playing as well.

I cant say anything negative about Sine Mora and I highly recommend it. It’s not a big download and it is well worth the money spent. The developers have set out to create a fun arcade game that draws you in and keeps your attention and have succeeded admirably. Dont play it expecting to be able to tweak your planes or develop your character, just expect to have a great time and you wont be disappointed.

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