SketchFighter 4000 Alpha: When Doodles Come to Life

You’ve probably seen games like Tetris and Quinn before, however you probably have never seen a game like SketchFighter 4000 Alpha from Ambrosia. The whole game was inspired by the doodles on your 6th grade math homework. From dialog boxes to actual gameplay, SketchFighter is consistent with a “sketchy” design. The game itself is a 2D shooter, and is played with a triangular spaceship that can fire pellets, missiles, and other weapons (think Asteroids with more enemies and an actual map).

SketchFighter has both a single player mode and a multiplayer mode. In the single player mode, you travel through different levels, fighting enemies and bosses. You collect power-ups, defeat enemies, and eventually die many times, since it’s quite a difficult game, at least to me. It’s also not a quick game, and takes a while to complete. I have been trying to kill the crab boss of the second level for a couple days, and I’m nowhere near close to finished. The bottom line is that SketchFighter is hard, but rewarding. The multiplayer mode was also quite fun, and was a good break from the single player mode.

You can play over the internet, on the same keyboard, or on a LAN. When I first logged into the internet lobby, there were no players there. I really wanted to try it, so I got into the SketchFighter IRC channel and got one of Ambrosia’s employees to play with me. When playing multiplayer, you can choose between cooperative and competitive modes. In co-op mode, you are tied to your peer with a string of sorts and must complete the level together, which is a really neat idea. Competitive mode lets you compete for the most points. Multiplayer play was very fun, but there weren’t many players out there just yet.

In addition to its other game modes SketchFighter also offers a map editor. I have never been much into creating my own maps, but if you’re the creative type, this might be for you. My favorite part of SketchFighter is its interface and graphics. I think it was a risky graphics choice, like The Wind Waker, but it turned out for the best. Little details like the eraser marks left behind dead enemies and it’s great sound scheme make this game remarkable. SketchFighter is available from Ambrosia Software and goes for $19.