ExZeus 2

Some action games like to punctuate their set-pieces with quieter sections, peppering stealth missions or cut-scenes in to slow the pulse and make the explosions and death in-between all the more exciting.

ExZeus 2 has no such affliction. It turns the action on at the start of the game and doesn't flip the 'off' switch until you've finished or you've died. It hurls you into a whirl of lasers and missiles with such aplomb that it's difficult not to smile.

Sure, it's broken in places, but this is a game with such a passion for chaos that - even though you're just mashing buttons - you'll still have a ball.

You play as a stompy robot who has to single-handedly end the tyranny of an alien empire intent on wiping out Earth. You'll shoot, occasionally punch, and sometimes power-slide your way through continents worth of alien scum.

All of this is broken up into distinct sections. Most of the time you're playing an over-the-shoulder shooter that follows the Space Harrier template. Then there are vehicle sections that see you driving bikes and buggies, dodging the bad guys or leaping over them.

Other sections are top-down, dumbed-down bullet-hell. The worst of the variations occurs on the ground and have you stumbling around shooting things. Mercifully, these sections are few and far between, and are pretty brief when you do get to them.

The controls vary from tilt-and-tap when you're flying to combinations of buttons and D-pads for the rest. None of them is perfect, but the game is blunt enough that the lack of precision is never a real problem.

ExZeus 2 only has one gear. It lacks subtlety, its controls are sometimes questionable, and quite often all you're doing is hammering the screen. But it manages to somehow mesh all of this into an entertaining whole.

It'll never win awards, and it'll never make you reconsider your gaming philosophy, but if you're on the lookout for a violent and fast-paced arcade blaster you should definitely consider picking this up.

As long as you're not expecting very much you might just be pleasantly surprised.