Parents' Guide to PewPew Live

This is a simple, yet fun game that should keep players amused, once they figure out what's going on. Essentially, players try to shoot at and destroy or possibly avoid items in PewPew Live. In one mode, items that appear to be small airplanes move in a line toward you. In another, asteroids float by in space. A few aspects aren't initially clear due to the fairly sparse instruction you receive. You'll have to hunt for the formal tutorial, which is different from the brief intro they're shown, and the instruction in general relies mostly on visual imagery to explain things, which may leave players with some questions. Certain aspects, such as the Quick Pause feature, which will periodically freeze the screen in games unless you disable it in the settings, aren't really explained at all. With just a few words shown on each game mode's main page, players may not know what exactly they're trying to do at first. Before starting to play an Asteroids game, for instance, the screen just says "Euclidean space is overrated." A Configure Ship page contains model, trait, and bullet options, but no information on how to obtain them.

The app sports festive retro graphics that are reminiscent of 1980s video games. In addition to the five official game modes, players can try their luck at a number of designs submitted by the other players. They can also opt for either a single player option or face off against random opponents in games, which offers some variety. With practice, players should be able to figure out the basics -- and there's no harsh penalty for failing, because you can just click on the "Play again" button and try again. There isn’t a huge focus on earning points or in-app currency, and there's nothing to buy to enhance gameplay -- the app doesn't have ads or a store section. The focus is solely on playing, which is refreshing -- and more than makes up for PewPew Live's somewhat spotty game instructions.