Genre: Shooter
Developer: Hexage
Publisher: Independent

Like many indie games, Radiant plays heavily on a "retro" theme, with sprites and character art that are very deliberately pixelized in guise, yet displayed in high resolution. The engine places a wonderful glow effect around each sprite in the game, and between the glow effect and the ultra bright, colorful imagery, Radiant is a perfect example of a retro-themed shooter done right.

Most Android games lack music altogether, but Radiant's developers obviously understood the importance of audio; so, they acquired a single, solitary song for use in the title, and having even this one tune contributes greatly to the game's atmosphere. Unlike many other Android titles, the sound effects were created specifically for this game, and the humorous dialog sound effects and constant chiming during gameplay are memorable and unique.

Radiant is played with the device held in landscape mode, and involves using said device's trackball or dpad in order to move a spaceship back and forth along the bottom of the screen, ala space invaders, all while the ship automatically shoots are swarms of colorful baddies. The stages are paced excellently between interesting enemy arrangements, witty dialog, and well-designed boss fights. There is also a simple yet interesting weapon upgrade system in place.

Even as a budget title on actual handheld gaming platforms, such as the PSP, Radiant would stand out as a solid time-waster with excellent replayability and a trendy style. Among the usual crop of sub-par Android games then, Radiant truly shines. It is a fantastic modern-day take on the classic Galaga formula, but with its own twists and a clever story to tell.