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The twin-stick shooter formula has been copied and pasted in countless games since Geometry Wars proved the formula as the Xbox 360’s first killer app. PWN AGE: 31337 AD takes the concept, wraps a few Halo-esque game modes around it and ships it all out as one compact Xbox Live Indie game.

Off the bat it’s clear PWN AGE was not made by a big team. It’s graphical stylings are minimalist at best and basic shapes at worst. Your ship is a circle, you fly around in the empty space between box shaped barriers and fire your lasers at other circular enemy ships. Simplicity isn’t bad, but having a real artist handle the sprites would have made the game a little more interesting.

The game features a small single player campaign that takes the players through the paces of PWN AGE’s various game modes. You’ll play deathmatches, team deathmatches, and capture the flag. There’s nothing terribly inventive here, but the AI isn’t bad and it’s a decent time waster. However, the game’s primary focus is it’s multiplayer, but it suffers from the same malady that all indie games do; a small player base. During the review period there were never any players online to face, meaning the core game’s function is useless.

It doesn’t really matter if PWN AGE: 31337 AD is any good. Because it has no real userbase, and likely won’t, it’s really hard to recommend even looking at it. There is the option for same-screen multiplayer, but given the choice most would go for a more fully featured couch-combat experience. If you can convince at least 3 other friends to give it a shot there is some potential to have fun, but realistically this game is not really for anyone unless by some miracle PWN AGE: 31337 AD can overcome the obstacle more elaborate indie titles couldn’t.

PWN AGE: 31337 AD was released on January 8th 2010 for Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Indie Games.

Contest:
Ben Hansen, lead developer of PWN AGE: 31337 AD has given us an extra copy of the game to give away to one lucky reader. To enter the contest simply leave a comment below telling us what your last words would be before being jettisoned out of a space station’s airlock. A winner will be chosen at random and announced in an upcoming post, so stay tuned to see if you’ve won. As always, remember to leave your e-mail address so we can contact you and good luck.