--GAME OVERVIEW--
Fireball 2 is an elegant and satisfying arcade-survival game about dodging swarms and triggering bombs. Take control of your fireball and weave through the massive flood of enemies. Lure the flood towards bombs and trigger them, either directly or indirectly, to take out as many enemies as possible.
--BOOST, NOVAS AND UPGRADES--
You'll be able to jump right into Fireball 2, as the controls are pretty easy to learn: Move with the left stick (or mouse), boost with any button. Your boost is unlimited, but using it constantly is not always the optimal strategy, as you are forced to move at max speed while boosting. The faster you move, the faster the flood of enemies react.
After destroying enough enemies, a Nova is created from their sparkling remains. These Novas not only unleash a large explosion, but they also upgrade your fireball! No need to choose which upgrade you want; your fireball becomes bigger, faster, AND tougher with each Nova you unleash. Level up your fireball to max power, and every Nova becomes a SUPERNOVA! And if you're patient with your Novas, two of them merge to form a blackhole that grants you invincibility for a short time.
--LOCAL 2-PLAYER CO-OP--
Fireball 2 lets a 2nd player join the action at any time. Though having 2 players is an advantage in many games, because your fireballs have a limited capability to fight the flood of enemies, no adjustment in the difficulty of the game mechanics is used when a 2nd player joins. In fact, dead players can be revived by Novas.
--DAZZLING VISUALS AND A FLOOD OF ENEMIES--
Fireball 2 unleashes the power of your GPU and high-refresh monitor to create a modern arcade experience with crystal clear visuals and up to 100,000 enemies at once. The background comes alive while over a million particles bring life to the smooth motion and explosions. A 1440p monitor with a 120hz refresh rate (or better) is recommended but not required.
--A MODERN ARCADE EXPERIENCE--
Fireball 2 has 2 difficulty levels, 2 gameplay modes, and multiple starting waves, along with a combo-based scoring system to encourage high-scoring gameplay. Looking for a more relaxing experience? Just start on Wave 1 on the default difficulty. The pressure slowly ramps up as you ease into the action, with each Wave changing the size of the world and pattern of enemy spawns.
Normal mode sees the action moving smoothly, with enemies being more predictable and in constant pursuit. Once your mind embraces the flow, you’ll be moving, boosting, and destroying enemies in smooth, sweeping motions. On the other hand, Chaos mode is a bit slower and reactive. Enemies are slower and try to prevent you from reaching bombs, while also spawning from your movements. The result is a bit more chaotic, and you’ll need to anticipate enemy movements and take more risks to survive.
Whichever mode you play, Normal difficulty allows you to survive minor mistakes with relative ease, while Hardcore mode--unlocked when you reach Wave 11--is a different beast. Hardcore mode ramps up the player and enemy speed, and doubles the damage from enemies. Those simple changes amp up the gameplay intensity and pressure, as any mistakes have the potential to end your playthrough.
Both difficulty modes (and game modes) use the same scoring system, but all 4 are tracked separately. The exponential combo scores encourage herding as many enemies into a single bomb's blast radius as possible, but overdoing it has a subtle drawback. Going for massive scores reduces the number of Novas generated. Your style of play determines the balance of scoring vs. survivability.
