Senior Staff Writer Chris "Pwyff" Tom jumped into a play session with END Games Entertainment's Scott Brown and Ryan Seabury for a game of Vorp!, a new Facebook game combining 2D spaceships with DotA mechanics.

In an attempt to keep Vorp! all about the action, there are no shops in Vorp!'s DotA mode: players must blow up enemy ships in order to collect the precious experience and Vorp that they release upon death. Experience can go toward training up new abilities, while collected Vorp acts as a nice energy refill for the pilot. Thus, confident players can really play on the edge of their seats by delving deep into enemy territory on low energy, only to recover it back from an opponent's death.

Combining Vorp!'s 2D space shooting genre with the DotA concept also allows for characters with unique skills and abilities. For the play session, I tried out Countess Cindria, pilot of the Angel Fire, who comes equipped with a flamethrower, a deadly afterburner that comes on whenever Cindria uses her boost, a projectile deflector and a self-destruct explosion. Other ships include Follado Bokuvski's Hirudo, a ship that fights by stealing its opponents' energy; Barmgalot Bandersnatch's Jabberwocky, a brute of a ship that rams opponents with saw blades; and Sinead "Hestia" Kierce's ANT Mk. I, who plays more like a classic spaceship with bullets, mines and missiles.

Of course, like any Facebook game, Vorp! does rely on microtransactions to support itself, but unlike most Facebook games, players can earn almost all key features of Vorp! by simply unlocking achievements and playing games for Bang! points. These points can be used to purchase upcoming new ships, like Orbinik, a rogue satellite that fights by collecting other people's weapons while using the environment, and physics, against his opponents. 

Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with END Games Entertainment's ability to seamlessly blend the classic 2D space shooter genre experience with everyone's favorite DotA mechanics. So if any of you find yourself craving those old days spent blowing up your friends in SubSpace or Star Control 2, I suggest you hop onto Facebook to check out Vorp! for some classic spaceship mayhem.

Christopher "Pwyff" Tom, Senior Staff Writer