Hotdog Storm is a vertical Shmup that is oddly enough perfectly normal and doesn’t feature anything out of the ordinary like the name may imply. We control a blue fighter jet and must lay waste to everything that gets in our way. One of the mechanics that most sets this game apart is how easy it is to get two options to fly beside you for some additional firepower. Defeating enemies often results in either a green or red powerup being dropped which effects what type of firepower they will contain. Green fires medium ranged orbs while red fires lasers that will penetrate through all enemies if you manage to line up the shot. To add some more depth, they also added the ability to collect more power-ups of the same color to increase its effectiveness or lead to an entirely new projectile instead as is the case when collecting two red pickups.
Holding down the attack button will let you charge a unique and powerful volley of projectiles whose effect differs depending on which allies you have. All are perfectly viable and does a rather good job at letting you play the game in different ways. While having extra firepower is all well and good, it is your own blue stream of firepower that will be causing the most damage and this too can be upgraded by collecting blue powerups. You can grow powerful very quickly, but you can lose it all just as fast since a single bullet will do you in. Some of your pickups will pop out of your ship as a small mercy, though not all of them to keep things more challenging. And what a challenge it is. After the second level, the game is done holding back and will make you either earn your victory or frequently jam in more quarters until you inch your way to the end.
There is an Easy mode and two more difficult ones but I found that Normal, which it defaults to, is the best starting point for those familiar with the genre. With each life, you are given three bombs that you can use to clear the screen of all projectiles and damage enemies close to where you dropped it. It is quite a generous amount of bombs and will allow you plenty of breathing room if used correctly throughout. Hotdog Storm has five stages in total whose background ranges from an ocean, a city and even outer space. At the end of each, you will encounter a giant mech boss which awaits you at the end of every level. In total, it will last you about half an hour, though to beat it using only a single credit will amount to much longer as the final boss is not an opponent to take lightly.
After destroying some foes or just random background scenario, you will receive bolts that will be counted at the end of the level for quite the significant point bonus. All of the music throughout is decent but for the most part unmemorable. The graphics, on the other hand, are quite detailed and it is pretty satisfying to see a bosses weapons break off as you pelt him with everything that you got. Aside from the bizarre name, Hotdog Storm is not really a memorable title and does little to separate itself from every other Shmup. With that said, there is nothing wrong with it either and manages to be fun all throughout. If you are looking for more mid 90’s nonstop shmup action, Hotdog Storm won’t disappoint.
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