Impressions after 30 minutes of play back in 2003...
Right off, the graphics are just fantastic. This really hits you from the very beginning and continues to hit you as you get further into the game. Their quality combined with some pretty shocking Giga Wing 2-style camera panning can make concentrating on the game pretty tough at times, so switching play with a friend can be a good idea, just so you can take it all in. The landscapes and enemies are INCREDIBLY alien-looking. Yes, you seem to be flying through cityscapes and lush greenery, but it just looks so alien, and even otherworldly. There's a fabulous mixture of metallic created structures and craft and the most organic looking scenery and enemies I've ever seen in a shooter. It's really hard to compare it to anything else, but I'd have to say that the overall effect is as impressive as any other shooter I've seen, that includes Radiant Silvergun, yet it's not trying to be as flashy, and Ikaruga, but there is more variation and even more animation.
The sound is is pretty unusual. As first I was disappointed as there wasn't a great thumping soundtrack to get the adrenaline flowing and there's certainly nothing to hum along to. It seems to be made up of lots of sound effects and ambient effects with added small, light, music pieces to help things along at times. Like I said, it's unusual, and not what you might expect, but this really shapes the game as much as the graphics, and once you realise that you're not waiting for a soundtrack to suddenly kick in, you appreciate what has been done. All of this helps the the graphics to create a very alien/otherworldly feel, as mentioned before.
Gameplay is very R-Typey. You can select your speed, and select different ships (only 3 from the start) but apart from that, it's all present and correct. Seeing some of the old faithful weapons recreated with PS2 power is extremely cool. When I said R-Typey, it's a mixture of different ones. It's quite slow paced like the original, yet manages to flow more, almost like R-Type Leo (how about converting this one, Irem, you B******s???), which I guess is about right. While I personally much prefer Leo to the originals, I do think they allowed it to flow to the point where it has to be described as too easy. This one is more or less right in the middle. The first level isn't too tough, but it gets harder, althoguh never as difficult as some of the new breed of shooters like Mars Matrix or Ikaruga, for example.
Overall, it looks like an excellent game. How it will stand up to previous games in the series, and other top drawer classics, is hard to say after such short play, but first impressions are of an expertly produced title. If you're a shooter fan, you'll doubtless buy it anyway, but I guess it's nice to know beforehand they they haven't screwed it up! I'd recommend playing it at night with the lights off, as this will add massively to the effect. A good quality sound system also work wonders with this game! If you don't have one, I'd perhaps try headphones.
Overall very good condition with spine but see pictures for full details. ACTUAL ITEM PICTURED. Note that we only ever crop our photos. We never enhance/retouch them!
Right off, the graphics are just fantastic. This really hits you from the very beginning and continues to hit you as you get further into the game. Their quality combined with some pretty shocking Giga Wing 2-style camera panning can make concentrating on the game pretty tough at times, so switching play with a friend can be a good idea, just so you can take it all in. The landscapes and enemies are INCREDIBLY alien-looking. Yes, you seem to be flying through cityscapes and lush greenery, but it just looks so alien, and even otherworldly. There's a fabulous mixture of metallic created structures and craft and the most organic looking scenery and enemies I've ever seen in a shooter. It's really hard to compare it to anything else, but I'd have to say that the overall effect is as impressive as any other shooter I've seen, that includes Radiant Silvergun, yet it's not trying to be as flashy, and Ikaruga, but there is more variation and even more animation.
The sound is is pretty unusual. As first I was disappointed as there wasn't a great thumping soundtrack to get the adrenaline flowing and there's certainly nothing to hum along to. It seems to be made up of lots of sound effects and ambient effects with added small, light, music pieces to help things along at times. Like I said, it's unusual, and not what you might expect, but this really shapes the game as much as the graphics, and once you realise that you're not waiting for a soundtrack to suddenly kick in, you appreciate what has been done. All of this helps the the graphics to create a very alien/otherworldly feel, as mentioned before.
Gameplay is very R-Typey. You can select your speed, and select different ships (only 3 from the start) but apart from that, it's all present and correct. Seeing some of the old faithful weapons recreated with PS2 power is extremely cool. When I said R-Typey, it's a mixture of different ones. It's quite slow paced like the original, yet manages to flow more, almost like R-Type Leo (how about converting this one, Irem, you B******s???), which I guess is about right. While I personally much prefer Leo to the originals, I do think they allowed it to flow to the point where it has to be described as too easy. This one is more or less right in the middle. The first level isn't too tough, but it gets harder, althoguh never as difficult as some of the new breed of shooters like Mars Matrix or Ikaruga, for example.
Overall, it looks like an excellent game. How it will stand up to previous games in the series, and other top drawer classics, is hard to say after such short play, but first impressions are of an expertly produced title. If you're a shooter fan, you'll doubtless buy it anyway, but I guess it's nice to know beforehand they they haven't screwed it up! I'd recommend playing it at night with the lights off, as this will add massively to the effect. A good quality sound system also work wonders with this game! If you don't have one, I'd perhaps try headphones.
Overall very good condition with spine but see pictures for full details. ACTUAL ITEM PICTURED. Note that we only ever crop our photos. We never enhance/retouch them!
