Overall i would give this game a 5.2/10, it may be a quick and easy completion title but it lacks a sense of direction, i found myself often having to memorise enemy patterns to have a chance at completing the levels as it seemed like the rush mode activated far too quickly and would end up with deaths that seemed unfair without having done the level several times to get the pattern down and some levels seems like they had certain paths to complete them and didn’t feel as free as some of the other levels in the game, it had a unique are style and a variety of enemies but overall needs some slight improvements to fix up the few bugs i encountered. I encountered the game crashing half way through levels multiple times and would need to restart the game over as my save wasn’t saving so i had to do multiple run throughs of the same levels despite having done them once already, the points seemed not necessary as each level is only completed when all the balloons are gone so it didn’t seem like the point had any point in being there at all.

Retro Arcade style game! Tamiku brought back a lot of memories of sinking coins into the arcade machines after school. It is a short yet a fun experience. Your goal is to pop all the balloons without getting killed by the enemies. The blue balloons are the easy ones to pop as you just walk straight into them, the red ones require you to squeeze with all your might by pressing any button on your controller a number of times before it pops. The enemies change up per level, some just move back and forth in the same section where others have the ability to move all over. Some enemies can shoot at you from anywhere on the screen. This can cause some problems trying to keep an eye on everything that’s going on the screen at once, but once you get the bearings of each level, it becomes a tad easier. I played this game on my XBOX ONE with the standard controller, but I hugely encourage you to play it with an arcade style setup control (Stick & Button) if you have one. Overall its a great fun game and worth a pickup!

Tamiku is the latest Ratalaika title for Xbox One and is a familiar mix of retro visuals and gameplay and easy to unlock achievements. It comes by way of Josyan Games, the solo developer who also brought us Zeroptian Invasion which was a very basic Space Invaders clone that did its best to feel like an old arcade game but didn’t do a great job. Inspired by classic arcade games, Tamiku is an arcade game in which you have to burst all the balloons of a level without being killed. The aim of the game is simple, run through all the blue balloons, and inflate all the red ones. Once this task is completed, you will have finished the stage. You will move through 8 different worlds and challenge yourself to complete 16 levels in total. You will experience bonus stages that comprise mini games, and as long as you maintain at least one of your 3 lives, you will keep building your score. If you lose all your health, fear not, all that happens is you lose your score, but not your progress. So, dust yourself down, and retry. It’s a value priced admission and will be something achievement hunters will definitely pick up for the Xbox One library to pile up their gamerscore.