Thank you Black Shell Media for sending us this game to review!

There is no backstory behind Quick Slick Deadly so your main goal is to complete increasingly difficult levels and master the three classes of ships that have their own unique set of missions and fighting styles.  As intriguing as this game sounds, the implementation is unfortunately lackluster. 

In the beginning, only the Fighter ship is available to pilot and the other two unlock after some levels are cleared.  The Fighter ship doesn’t have a very powerful attack at first but as enemies are destroyed its area of effect increases.  If three of the same type of enemies are destroyed it learns their attack and it will be available as the secondary weapon.  There are power-ups that will prevent you from learning their attacks so you may want to use or avoid them at your discretion.

After a few missions are completed, the Survivor ship unlocks.  The Survivor ship does not start off with an attack.  However, it can absorb enemy attacks and can do a blast attack if enough energy is collected.  While all of the ships benefit from speed boost rings, the Survivor ship can become invincible when its speed gauge maxes out.     

The last ship to unlock is the Trickster.  It’s difficult to maneuver with its powerful boomerang attack, but once mastered, it becomes a force to be reckoned with.  If the energy bar is filled, the enemy’s attacks are reflected back at them.  Also, at its maximum speed it can destroy enemies by crashing into them.

Mastering the ship’s attacks and maneuvers is critical to successfully completing each mission.  In fact, the missions leave little room for error.  Many have strict victory conditions by either completing levels under a specified time, destroying a certain number of foes by a particular method, or by achieving a minimum letter grade.  I think the lowest grade letter is D (which is what I often received) and the requirements are typically a C or better.   

Many levels have destructible environments and beneath the rubble you’ll find power-ups that can boost your speed or energy levels or replenish your health. At the beginning of each mission your health bar is only half-way filled.  It doesn’t take many collisions or attacks to deplete it entirely.  When your ship gets destroyed a new one will respawn and one-hundred points from your score will be deducted.  The replacement ship will only have half of its health as well.

The scoring is very stingy and there is little wiggle room for mistakes.  In fact, many of the levels have multiple paths to take and by choosing the wrong one, you will not have enough points to earn you a passing grade to unlock the next mission.  Each level is scripted and you’ll have to memorize its patterns in order to master it.

In general I didn’t find the missions or this game very entertaining.  I found myself scratching my head and wondering how to pull off a certain attack with the limited resources to work with.  After a few tries I would rage quit and play another game instead.

The repetitive and unimpressive graphics will not blow you away.  Thankfully, the background music was decent though.  The voice acting, on the other hand, sounded like it was read by a computer narration application. 

In the end, the game wasn’t fun enough to hold my interest.  The asking price is a low $2.99, but I’d give this game a pass unless it’s on sale.  Some software websites have given this game away for free and that’s probably your best bet.