Assault Squadron shooting up iPhone now

How come no one has ever made a zombie-based shoot-'em up?

I mean, the shmup is one of those genres that never seems to die, partly because everyone knows immediately how to play one, even if they haven't bothered for years.

Of course, the other reason is that shmups are colourful, fast, frantic and don't require much time commitment. Have a quick blast and then go and do something else.

What's also interesting about shmups though is that it's a genre that doesn't really reward innovation.

Players are happiest with sparkling explosions and 60 frames per second action, which is what The Binary Mill and publisher Chillingo are providing in Assault Squadron.

You get customisable upgradable ships - in terms of weapons such as vulcan cannons, spiral grenades, torpedo missiles and tri-vortex bombs - while you can gain special abilities that allow you to unleash chain combo attacks.

Basically, whether you're playing the career or arcade modes, it's one huge rolling explosion.

Adding to the eye candy are the in-game cinematics, huge boss battles, plus there's a twist in that the action comes in both side-on and topdown perspectives. Control options are accelerometer or touch-based.

Social networking is provided by Chillingo's Crystal platform for achievements, leaderboards, and the soundtrack's from trance artist Psygone.

Assault Squadron is out now, priced $2.99, €2.39 or £1.79.

You can see how it plays in the following video.

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