Xbox 360 Critic Reviews

Triggerheart Exelica is one of the best XBLA games I've played on the 360, so if you like vertical shooters of old and new; if Radiant Silvergun, Parodius or Do Don Pachi mean anything to you; or if you enjoyed the recent Omega Five, you'll be perfectly at home with Triggerheart Exelica.

A breath of fresh air to see a vertical scrolling shooter that actually adapts to the players skill set.

Despite the glaring flaw of a cramped field of play, there’s no denying that Triggerheart Exelica is still a blast to play. Nonstop action teamed up with unique gameplay elements and easy to use controls make this just the game to please those of you longing for a good ol’ fashioned space shooter.

I enjoyed Triggerheart, but the game's length is both a good and bad thing -- it has only five levels, and most players will be able to beat them all in about 30 minutes.

On one hand you have a bright, colorful, highly addictive shooter that'll flex those twitch gaming muscles a bit. On the other hand the game is very short, and if you're not a hardcore fan of the genre, and don't care about leaderboard rankings and hunting down Achievement points, then there won't be any incentive for you to bother with the game after completing it once.

With the majestic and genuinely eye-popping Ikaruga waiting in the wings, you can happily keep saving your 800 Points without missing out on anything special.

Triggerheart: Exelica is a good little shooter that's held back by a lack of value for anyone other than the hardcore.

A solid shooter that will have many a leaderboard junky glued-fast for weeks on end. [Issue#31, p.118]

Triggerheart is a passable arcade shooter, but doesn't offer enough to make it worth the asking price.

What is important is the difficulty to distinguish between things you’re supposed to collect and things you’re supposed to avoid, especially when the screen fills with lasers and power ups. Even after several hours of play, dying because of this was fairly common.