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### Honeyblaster Preview [PC]

#### http://lowfuel.melnicek.cz/honeyblaster/

#### Previewed By J. Monkman

To be honest, I was really surprised when I heard that this preview won the game-dev compo at the Buenzli #16 demoscene party earlier this year. Don't get me wrong - Honeyblaster is a fantastic game - it's just the fact that it was put together with GameMaker that left me astonished, as Buenzli is hosted and attended by scene members who are typically harsh when it comes to judging productions 'coded' with high-level tools and creation software. However, after playing this three-level party version through from start to finish I now understand what all the fuss was about.

Low in resolution and colour it may be, but Honeyblaster is shaping up to be a massive release nonetheless; complete with a plethora of options including awesome colour and lighting enhancements, password saving, online scoring and built-in music player, the game's scene roots are evident in all aspects of its high quality presentation and design. Not only that, but this preview is an absolute blast from start to finish; the three levels won't take long to beat, but the promise they show for the final version is nothing short of excellent.

Modern twitch-shooter players might have a bit of difficulty in getting used to the lazy and suitably bee-like movement of the player character, but otherwise the game-play seems pretty much spot on to me - especially as a retro-themed release. With it's multiple weapon system, power-ups, fair difficulty curve and challenging boss battles, Honeyblaster performs much better than you'd think was possible at such a tiny resolution (after all, we're talking old-style mobile-phone screen size here). The fantastic chip music adds to the old-school feel of the game and the graphics are nothing short of amazing, especially when you take the imposed limitations into account.

With the final version due to feature nine varied levels (and bonus stages) and that all-important joypad support, Honeyblaster is one of RGCD's most anticipated projects. After battling through the demo three stages (meadow, forest and Doom), I'm particularly interested in how Low Fuel will wrap the game up; the addition of the out-of-character yet undeniably cool Doom level in this preview has left me with the impression that it may actually be one of the bonus stages when incorporated into the finished game, as the unexplained change in theme from typically insect environment to another game franchise otherwise makes little sense. That confusion aside though, there's little to fault here; the game performs outstandingly on all levels (especially the awesome arsenal weaponry and power-ups) and like honey itself, this sweet little taster has left me with an appetite for more.