Omium Review

Omium, by Nimble Bit games, is unique in its approach to gaming, and may yet spawn an entire new genre of games. Like many of the newer genre making games, Omium is a bit rough around the edges, and lacks a certain level of depth. It’s a fun experience for two that will be fun for an afternoon or two.

Omium is designed to put player versus enemy, with both being player controlled. The “Good” player controls a single star ship in charge of eliminating the waves of bad squares coming at it. This was a bit of a learning curve, trying to get down the movement and attack style of the game. I’ve become so used to dual stick games that I was trying to use the corners of the screen for control. The ship in this game is controlled by dragging the ship around with your finger, and clicking somewhere off the ship to attack. It’s a difficult combination to get the hang of, but not impossible to do it well.

The “Bad” player is in charge of dispensing the enemies by tapping on the screen. The player can decide to toss out a wave of enemies, or a couple larger enemies by dragging the finger across the screen before delivering the pain.

One thing is for sure, Omium is a telling experiment in shoot-em-up games. The player versus player in a defense versus offense setting such as this has never been tried before. If nothing else Omium is an excellent technical preview showing off what could possibly lead the way for much more developed games based on this system.

There are three different game modes to choose from. One puts the enemy player with an almost endless supply of enemies, and the star ship player needs to dodge or destroy everything coming at the star ship. A second game mode expands the number of bullets the star ship can fire, limits the number of enemies that can be deployed, and stipulates that if any enemies make it to the end of the screen, the enemy wins. The final game mode spawns enemies that scroll from the bottom of the screen back to the top, and are only eliminated once the ship destroys them.

Depending on your style of gaming, or the friend base you’re working with, Omium has the potential to provide quite a bit of excitement for you. If Omium isn't your speed, stay tuned for more games inspired by this design. They certainly will come, and the affect this could have on gaming in general is exciting. You can check Omium out now for $0.99!