Sometimes all you really need is a bit of quick shooting action. Beyond Helios [$0.99] aims to fill that need in a game that feels like an homage to classic arcade shooters like Sinistar. Minus Sinistar itself, of course. No one can imitate that guy. You'll hop in your ship of choice and fly around freely in overhead stages set in space. There are a number of targets you'll need to take out, enemy ships that will hassle you as you attempt to do so, power-ups that will give you a temporary boost, and some hazards that will kill you if you bump into them. It's a pretty fast-paced game and there are some rough edges here and there, but overall there's a fair bit of fun to be had here for action fans.

Beyond Helios is a score-attack shooter. It's apparently endless, throwing one procedurally-generated stage after another at you. Given that, stages will often contain a different number of targets from playthrough to playthrough. Sometimes you'll have an easier time progressing through stages as a result, though the downside is that you'll probably end up with a lower score. Besides aiming for a high score, the other thing you'll be looking to do is to collect gems. The game has a bunch of ships you can use, but all but one is locked at the start of the game. Each ship has its own unique properties, and some of them are definitely more useful than others. You can buy new ships in the game's shop by forking over a hefty chunk of gems. Regardless of the ship you're using, the basi...