Metacritic Games

Triggerheart Exelica (Xbox 360)

[Xbox Live Arcade] Mankind's newest and best weapon is the Triggerheart, a humanoid weapons system with a human-like personality. When the Ver'mith attack, only the Triggerhearts Exelica and Crueltear have the power to destroy the enemy. In the classic vertically-scrolling Japanese arcade shooter Triggerheart Exelica, each weapon has a different combat style, but both can perform unique anchor shots. Anchor an enemy ship, capture it to use as a shield, or throw it back into the fray to cause massive damage. With five levels, three difficulty settings, and all the usual Xbox LIVE leaderboards and achievements, Triggerheart Exelica is a fast-paced, full-featured arcade shooter. Unique anchor shot element: The Triggerhearts can anchor enemies, capture them to use as a shield, or toss them back into the field of battle to cause havoc. V.B.A.S. (Variable Boss Attack System): The game dynamically reacts to your skill level. If you have a low score, the bosses will be slightly easier to defeat. Carry a higher score, and the bosses become more challenging. High-def graphics: Fully compatible with HDTVs, the graphics bring the top-down shooter genre to a new level of intensity. New background music willl have you grooving to the rhythm as you destroy the Ver'mith. [Warashi]

Warashi Inc.
Shooter
Players: 1
E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older)
Developer: Warashi Inc.
Released February 27, 2008

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

63 / 100

Critic Reviews

90 Worth Playing
Triggerheart Exelica is one of the best XBLA games I've played on the 360, so if you like vertical shooters of old and new; if Radiant Silvergun, Parodius or Do Don Pachi mean anything to you; or if you enjoyed the recent Omega Five, you'll be perfectly at home with Triggerheart Exelica.
80 Totally360
A breath of fresh air to see a vertical scrolling shooter that actually adapts to the players skill set.
78 Team Xbox
Despite the glaring flaw of a cramped field of play, there’s no denying that Triggerheart Exelica is still a blast to play. Nonstop action teamed up with unique gameplay elements and easy to use controls make this just the game to please those of you longing for a good ol’ fashioned space shooter.
75 1UP
I enjoyed Triggerheart, but the game's length is both a good and bad thing -- it has only five levels, and most players will be able to beat them all in about 30 minutes.
75 Kikizo
On one hand you have a bright, colorful, highly addictive shooter that'll flex those twitch gaming muscles a bit. On the other hand the game is very short, and if you're not a hardcore fan of the genre, and don't care about leaderboard rankings and hunting down Achievement points, then there won't be any incentive for you to bother with the game after completing it once.
70 PALGN
Triggerheart: Exelica is a good little shooter that's held back by a lack of value for anyone other than the hardcore.
70 X360 Magazine UK
A solid shooter that will have many a leaderboard junky glued-fast for weeks on end. [Issue#31, p.118]
70 EuroGamer
With the majestic and genuinely eye-popping Ikaruga waiting in the wings, you can happily keep saving your 800 Points without missing out on anything special.
60 Jolt Online Gaming UK
What is important is the difficulty to distinguish between things you’re supposed to collect and things you’re supposed to avoid, especially when the screen fills with lasers and power ups. Even after several hours of play, dying because of this was fairly common.
60 GameSpot
Triggerheart is a passable arcade shooter, but doesn't offer enough to make it worth the asking price.
60 Console Monster
Think of it as an appetiser before the main course - Ikaruga, which as soon as it's released Triggerhearts will not have a look in!
60 MS Xbox World
To sum this up, this game is your standard scrolling shooter, it's nothing special and nothing majorly appalling.
60 Official Xbox Magazine
Triggerheart Exelica is the kind of brutally difficult bullet orgy that shooter otaku love. [May 2008, p.76]
57 IGN
Like most arcade shooters, the experience is brief. The challenge is there for those who would like to memorize attack patterns and master the five levels, but there isn't anything that feels exciting.
50 Games Radar
Despite the enjoyment of slinging bad guys around like giant wrecking balls, Triggerheart's indecisive difficulty, average looks and short length render it a bad choice for any but the most devoted shooter fans.
50 NZGamer
In the end, Triggerheart fell down as a game that didn’t grip me or leave me with the desire to appreciate more fully, so there was very little personal enjoyment.
40 Xbox World 360 Magazine UK
A gimmick in need of a game. [May 2008, p.97]

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