Sine Mora

Digital Reality and Grasshopper Manufacture have created an absolute revolution in contemporary game design that proves beautiful, original things can still be done beyond the realm of first- and third-person shooters. It's just as brave and elegant as Journey, while being as accessible and fun as a cherished Irem classic. Even if you think this game isn't for you based on genre, Sine Mora may unexpectedly surprise and delight you.

With over 60 different weapons and time manipulation combinations, a great score and look and some cool new gameplay elements, Sine Mora is a shoot 'em up that cannot be overlooked by any fan of the genre.

A rare shoot 'em up that successfully draws in the entire spectrum of players, and it's hard to get too frustrated with the frequent deaths you'll suffer in arcade mode when it's all wrapped breathtaking in a presentation that swings effortlessly from 2D to 3D perspectives. Above all, it's simply fun.

Grasshopper Manfacture and Suda 51 have dropped a true gem onto Xbox Live, and it's one that is well worth your time and money.

Sine Mora is exactly what the genre needed, a game that balances fun with skill and challenge, and doesn't alienate the general gaming audience for the most nice of audiences. The developers at Digital Reality and Grasshopper Manufacture put together a game that really strikes the right mix and will hopefully usher in a new era for the shmup genre.

A sublimely clever, well-designed, borderline impossible shooter. It will utterly consume you if you let it. [June 2012, p.71]

Grasshopper Manufacture prove once again they are the cream of the crop in making the extraordinary visuals. Only this time they add fantastic gameplay, which means this game is a masterpiece that is going to absorb you completely.

Sine Mora is one of the best games in the genre.

I'm usually not a huge fan of games like Sine Mora, but this one is really amazing. While it is a little pricy at $15, especially considering its length, I think that it is certainly worth the money. The story is also shockingly poignant, the graphics are beautiful, and the gameplay is challenging but precise and fun. Most importantly, it makes an intimidating genre open for new comers

Don't let the colorful graphics fool you though, Sine Mora is a shmup for the hardcore and is a unique entry into the fading genre.

No matter if you just miss the old days or if you are wondering why shoot´em´ups were a big thing back in then: Sine Mora is the way to go.

Sine Mora is a brilliant shooter that doesn't burst immediately into life. But once you pick up the ways in which it tests you, dicks you around, and emasculates you, it'll be one of the best abusive relationships you've ever been in.

Sine Mora meets all the expectations. Right now it's the best and prettiest shoot'em up on current-gen consoles. It's an artisticly amazing game - looks great and has a fitting soundtrack by Akira Yamaoka. I hope that the whole genre will draw from this game. It establishes new standards.

Sine Mora has a complex story with a ton of options that make for an interesting experience. Things like time manipulation, power-ups and a lot of different weapons ensure for a broad game with a lot to offer.

A great game, and a must have for shmup fans.

There's little to nothing to really fault the game for, so shooting fans are highly encouraged to pick up Sine Mora on Xbox Live Arcade for 1,200 Microsoft points ($15).

Sine Mora has something for pretty much anyone interested in shoot-em-ups. Whether you're new to the genre or a seasoned veteran, there's a lot to love, and for its price, it's hard to turn it down. If you're at all interested in the genre or action games as a whole, there's no reason not to check out Sine Mora.

Overall, Sine Mora is a game that is accessible enough that newcomers need not be scared away, yet deep and challenging enough that long time veterans of the genre will not feel short changed, it is not an easy balance to get right, especially with this type of game, yet Grasshopper and Digital Reality have done just that. Simply stunning.

Sine Mora's unique time mechanic serves a dual purpose. It gives less dedicated players a chance to enjoy one of the industry's more vibrant genres while simultaneously giving hardcore players a new spin on an age-old formula. I heartily recommend it to either group without delay.

It tweaks the recipe just enough to create an uncommon shooter. The visuals set a new standard for the genre, providing sights heretofore unseen in an arcade shoot 'em up.

When it comes to quality Sine Mora has practically zero peers this generation. If you've been craving a true modern classic since the days of Gradius V and R-Type Final then Grasshopper Manufacture and Digital Reality have provided the best possible reason we can imagine to return.

Visually engaging and packing enough variety to see you through to the end and beyond. Proof that, in right hands, classic side-scrolling shooters are far from dead.

At 1200 Microsoft Points, this isn't a particularly cheap experience, but for those devotees who will spend months, even years, forcing every last twitch and dodge into their muscle memory, it's money well spent. Clearly not one for casual players, this is a heartfelt love letter to one of gaming's thoroughbred genres and one that fans of the right temperament should experience without delay.

Quotation forthcoming.

This is one of the best games for Xbox Live Arcade. A fantastic shoot 'em up and a tribute to the old school games.

Digital Reality and Grasshopper Manufacture managed to port the old school genre of side-scrolling shooters into the modern age of videogames. Sine Mora is definitely worth downloading, not just for genre fans, but also gamers new to it.

Sine Mora is not only a breath of fresh air from a developmental perspective, adding new ideas to a old, yet ofter over-used genre, but it's also fun. Few games nowadays manage to look good, play well, and still offer a level of enjoyment on par with games that haven't existed since the Nintendo 64 era, but Sine Mora manages it.

Quotation forthcoming.

Sine Mora infuses classic shoot 'em up gameplay with time manipulation and a grim narrative that sets it apart from its peers in all the right ways.

Sine Mora is a shoot 'em up, a classic genre here refreshed thanks to the ingenious manipulation of time and especially to a refined technical sector. Lights, explosions and huge airships follow one another relentlessly on an always inspired and colorful background, while we're moving in a frenzy trying to dodge thousands of enemy fire coming from every direction. The game is not recommended to the detractors of the genre, which would find the high level of difficulty too much frustrating. All the high score lovers should instead pay these 1200 Microsoft Points with a smile on their face.

The entire game is surprisingly replayable after some time to unlock hidden characters and weapon combinations.

Sine Mora combines the best of 2D shooters with a dark storyline you have to see to believe. The result is an exciting action game that will remind gamers everywhere why they loved R-Type, Gradius and countless other horizontal shooters. Even with a short running time, Sine Mora is still a must-own shoot-em-up for the Xbox Live Arcade!

A welcome return to the "bullet hell" tradition, but offers enough new content and goodies like leaderboards and extra modes to keep it from being just another offering in the genre. It might be too tough for some, but hey, you gotta learn your skills somewhere, right?

Along with an awesome soundtrack and a smart sense of style, you'll at least enjoy the atmosphere being beaten to death on its more challenging areas.

Kudos to Grasshopper and Digital Reality: I didn't think that a side scrolling shooter could look this marvelous. This is a well-executed take on bullet hell action with a clever integration of slow motion.

Incredibly polished. [Issue#85, p.102]

Sine Mora is a pretty good experience. Any kind of player could enjoy this game, from the casual to the hardcore one. The gorgeous graphics, the awesome design and a simple but effective gameplay, are enough to keep you glued to your console for months.

To adventurous gamers of all stripes, and certainly those that count themselves among the genre's enthusiasts: pick up this one, sine mora.

If you're looking for an arcade game and fancy blasting stuff in gorgeous spectacular fashion, Sine Mora is something you should check out. It doesn't matter how proficient you are with the genre, as the game will teach you the ways of a shoot-em-up. If you are already knowledgeable about the genre, then ramp up the difficulty and see if you can get yourself through its meaty challenge.

All in all, Sine Mora succeeds in applying a different concept to a side-scrolling shooter and it works. There might be a few questionable thoughts about the storyline, but it certainly does not shed any negative light on its chaotic and addictive gameplay.

Sine Mora is incredibly pretty, and it features an interesting story and some unique gameplay elements. However, the checkpoint system will inevitably lead to frustration, even on the easiest difficulty. Additionally, this game is pretty short, and shouldn't take more than a few hours for those who don't spend a lot of time dying and redoing big portions of the campaign.

One of the most accessible entries in this most cultivated of genres. It's gorgeous and welcoming, built on time-honoured design but given a contemporary sheen, making it arguably the first truly modern 2D shoot 'em up in many a year.

It's another shining example of a European developer handling Japanese IP with care, remixing and refreshing the genres Japan's native developers often struggle to enhance and honour.

An awesome shoot'em up created by an amazing team. It isn't perfect, but provides challenges for also new players and high-level gamers.

If you're not a shooter fan because the genre doesn't appeal to you, Sine Mora probably won't change your mind. If you've stood on the sidelines because of intimidating difficulty levels, however, it's worth giving it a shot. You won't coast through the experience, but it remains fair and (most importantly) fun throughout.

Probably the best-looking 2D shooter ever made and an excellent genre introduction for the uninitiated. Not to mention a great advertisement for East/West collaborations.

I get the sense that Sine Mora was made by people who love the best of the older shmups and want to present what made them great to the merely curious like me who are never going to play old side-scrollers on the NeoGeo or Dreamcast or whatever. And one of the highest praises I can offer Sine Mora is that perhaps more than any other such game, it makes me want to get better at 2D sidescrolling shooters.

If you've ever enjoyed a shooter, you'll enjoy this a lot, and at the least, give the demo a shot to see if you like the time-based gameplay.

Sine Mora feels like an old-school shoot 'em up with a twist and modern beautiful graphics. This is highly recommended for both n00bs and die hard fans of the genre.

Sine Mora, crucially with Digital Reality's contribution, strikes a deft balance between madness and shoot-em-up fun.

Digital Reality wants to breathe new life into the shoot-'em up genre with Sine Mora. At a glance they succeed with beautiful backgrounds and lots of variation. Other satisfaction can only be extracted from getting the best high scores, because the story is simply all over the place.

If you like challenging games and retro gameplay this is a game to watch, and you probably have been expecting something like this for a lot of time. However, if you answer no to any of these questions you'd better let it go. This is a really challenging game, even in its lowest difficulty, and can become frustrating if you are not an expert gamer.

It's a solid package, but we have some gripes: ship movement often feels slightly oversensitive, and it's sometimes difficult to tell why you took damage, especially if the environment isn't clear on what is and isn't a hazard. Dropping powerups when you take damage is also incredibly irritating, as you'll likely take more hits struggling to retrieve them.

It excels in some unlikely areas, with lovely presentation values and intricately detailed backdrops. It's a fun diversion and while it's not entirely up to par in terms of mechanics, it also doesn't make itself redundant by centralizing all the focus to the one area that's already been perfected.

Sine Mora puts a cool twist on the shoot 'em up genre with its application of time and interesting storyline.

A good game, though not necessarily a standard bearer for shoot em ups. It's got a unique art style, tinges of Grasshopper's profane quirkiness, and offers some rather challenging wrinkles on the genre formula. Don't believe for a second that "casual friendliness" means putting a controller in the hands of your game-dabbler buddies and expecting them not to either melt down or wave a white flag.

Only average gameplay. [June 2012, p.79]

The game looks marvelous, and it's an impressive effort in this little-seen genre, but the gameplay is wrapped too rigidly around mechanics that feel a bit at odds with one another for me to feel good recommending it wholeheartedly.

A traditional Shoot'em Up served by a magnificent script and enticing storyline, with the added blissfulness of Akira Yamaoka's soundtrack. Too bad the hitboxes and readability of the levels and ennemies are less than stellar.