0 Day Attack On Earth

Lacking the massive fanfare for Final Fantasy XIII or Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, it would’ve been easy to accidentally skip over this small DLC title. Identified only by a non-descript sign, we nearly walked past 0 Day Attack on Earth, if not for the welcoming host who smiled and waved us over. But we’re glad we stopped on by.

The premise is simple. Really simple. The fact sheet for the title literally states the following: “In 0 Day Attack on Earth, you are the pilot of a heavily armed aircraft, and Earth’s last hope against alien invasion. Battle gigantic UFOs above cities modeled from real satellite imagery!” That covers it. Nothing more and nothing less is needed.

A dual analog shooter, the player uses the left stick to navigate an aircraft through an alien-infested city, all the while using the right stick to aim and fire a constant stream of ammunition at the invaders. Giant missiles and area attacks can be employed with a shoulder button, the opposite being used to momentarily boost your ship's speed.

While seemingly simple, the alien invaders have brought a diverse arsenal of ships with them. Some are small aircrafts resembling your own. Others trample city blocks on spindly legs and others still are more impressive “mother ship” like vessels. Each type of ship requires the player to employ a unique strategy to topple it—blind firepower alone won’t always work. For the largest ships, the player must aim precisely to take out a ring of defenses, leaving an unprotected core ready for the taking.

Large black clouds populate the map randomly and must be avoided, lest the player have a death wish. Probably part of the initial invasion, these clouds add another layer of difficulty to an already chaotic playing field.

We talked briefly to 0 Day’s producer, Masanori Ichikawa, who was able to communicate the basic stats of the game without a translator present. Ichikawa confirmed that there will be 21 stages, all taking place in major cities throughout the world. Our session appropriately took place in Tokyo (being TGS and all), but New York City has also been confirmed. Each stage will be timed, and all enemies must be taken out before the countdown hits zero or it’s game over. Your ship can respawn a set amount of times, making it a bit easier to reach that final goal. Ichikawa also explained that upgrades to your ship will become available with time, with over 50 ships to choose from as they become unlocked. Upgrades will include improved weapons and so on.

The part we were most excited about is multiplayer, allowing for 4-8 friends to join in on the fun over XBLA. Versus mode was also confirmed. Ichikawa explained that split-screen will not be an option.

0 Day Attack on Earth will hit Xbox Live Arcade soon. Sadly, that is as sold of a date we could get. But after playing 0 Day Attack on Earth at TGS, “soon” can’t come quick enough.