''Warning Forever'' is a

freeware Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the ...

fixed shooter Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charac ...

for the

Windows Windows is a group of several Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, W ...

platform written by Japanese indie developer Hikoza T Ohkubo and released under the name of his software house, Hikware.

Gameplay

The game is broken into stages; each stage is a single boss battle, resulting in a constant stream of bosses. To progress to the next stage, the boss must be completely destroyed within the time limit. The game starts with a default time limit of 180 seconds, with 30 seconds rewarded for every boss defeated and 20 seconds lost for each time the player is destroyed. The player flies a relatively small green ship. There are no

power-up In video games, a power-up is an object that adds temporary benefits or extra abilities to the player character as a game mechanic. This is in contrast to an item, which may or may not have a permanent benefit that can be used at any time chosen ...

s - the player's only weapon is a very rapid-fire revolving cannon which is fired by holding down the shoot button (Z key by default). By default, it fires straight ahead with a small spread. Alternatively, after the switch button (D key by default) is pressed, a green arc is displayed originating from the ship and widening as distance increases. This arc represents the spread of the weapon fire and does not change while the weapon is firing. It can, however, be modified based on the ship's motion while not firing. The arc will rotate slowly to face the direction opposite the ship's motion. Also, the arc will widen as the player moves toward the enemy and vice versa. The main gameplay feature is the bosses change from stage to stage. Based on how a boss is destroyed, the next boss will adapt itself to defend against previously used strategies and force the player to change tactics. For example, if the front section of one boss is destroyed the next boss will have increased armor in that area. If the player's ship is hit by a certain kind of weapon, but still defeats the boss, the next boss is likely to have more weapons of that type. The game does not include music, but provides instructions in the read me file on how to provide one's own music. It also includes sound effects.

Reception

Download.com awarded the game a 5-star editor's rating and described the game as a classic in the making, "Warning Forever will entice nearly every gamer who enjoys a space shootout". The staff of

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...

, writing for gaming blog 1up.com said "This game is among the most addictive platform shooters in the business".

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...

Jim Rossignol James Michael Rossignol (born July 1978) is a British video game journalist and critic, as well as an author. He has also branched out into games, founding the company Big Robot in 2010. Biography Rossignol started his career as a reporter ...

named ''Warning Forever'' among a top 20 list of ''Summer of PC''

Freeware Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the ...

games in 2006. Other reviews are from

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa dist ...

and

Rock, Paper, Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' (also rendered ''Rock, Paper, Shotgun''; short ''RPS'') is a UK-based website for reporting on video games, primarily for PC. Originally launched on 13 July 2007 as an independent site, ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' was acquir ...

. This game is part of the permanent collection of the travelling exhibition Game On 2.0, shown for instance in the

Ontario Science Centre The Ontario Science Centre, formally the Centennial Museum of Science and Technology, is a science museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the Don Valley Parkway about northeast of downtown on Don Mills Road just south of Eglin ...

2013, as example in the category

Indie game An indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game typically created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. ...

s.GameOn/Games
at ontariosciencecentre.ca (2013-05-20, archived)

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Official site
2003 video games Fixed shooters Indie video games Video games developed in Japan Windows-only freeware games Windows games Freeware games