Post by Exeox on Apr 19, 2004 12:22:20 GMT -5
Ikaruga
"A beauty in it's own right."
Genre: Scrolling Shooter
Platforms: Dreamcast, Gamecube and the Arcade
Publishers:[/b[ Atari
Developers: Treasure Games
Players: 1 - 2 Players
I'd like to consider myself a shooting veteran within these sort of games, I'm a big fan of them. I have many emulated Space Shooters on my hardrive, Gradius & R-Type for example, and I consider myself a big Scrolling Shooter fanatic. Little, to too late, I discovered Ikaruga. At first, I was unsure as of to buy it. And, including the fact I'd never heard of the game, I thought I'd have little chance of finding it. However, I found it sitting as a preowned game; I had the upmost spirit to pick it up.
Shooting games have succeded in throwing tremendous amount of crap at us in the past. Many Shooters end up repetive, drab, boring and unoriginal. Ikaruga is none of them. Ikaruga is original, fun, beautifal and challenging. There are many games to step up to the standards of Ikaruga. Let's not beat around the bush, the design in Ikaruga is fantastic. The backgrounds look brilliant, the designs of the enemys are fantastic and the originality of each level is enormous, from city backgrounds, to unique obstacles and breathtaking design, it's brilliant.
"Even if you are not a Scrolling Shooter fan, you still have to appreciate the amount of thought and quality gone into Ikaruga."
The Gameplay of Ikaruga is outstanding, as you'd probably expect, the gameplay of this game is very simple, like all Space Shooters. And, If you said that, you wouldn't be wrong, Ikaruga is simple....with a slight twist.
Your ship has the ability to change polarity between white and black. When you change to White, only black bullets can hurt you and white bullets, you absorb. And, Vice Versa. Also, when you are a certain colour, shooting your opposite colour will do double damage. This slight polarity changing thing throws a whole new Strategy and effect of charm into the game. Tip-Top reflexes will be required and Polarity is one of the most upper important aspects of the game.
Another thing about most Space Shooting games, is that they are usally very hard. This game is no different, in fact, this game is probably much harder than most I've played. Ikaruga is only 5 levels long, which is approximently thirty minutes of Gameplay; however, due to the games extreme difficulty level, you'll find yourself coming back for more each time. It's a very hard game, which can result in undeserving deaths at times and may get a bit frustrating.
"Casual gamers buy Ikaruga to realise how much they suck at Gaming."
Despite Space Shooters lacking depth, this one doesn't. There are many different modes you can play on this game: You can Practice on stages, You can use "Conquest", playing the demos slow or fast, slow for beginners. You can watch the Demo, send your scores onto the Ikaruga Website. You can play, Horizontal in three different variations, vertical in two different variations and there are 3 levels of difficulty for new and experianced gamers. So, it's a pretty deep game. Oh, and Ikaruga also includes a spiffingly fun Co-Operative mode, which is a d**n lot of fun. Oh, and there is no slowdown involved, not even in the biggest of battles. Quick loading times as well.
"You haven't seen quality until you've played Ikaruga."
Graphiclly this game is fine, I've seen better Graphics in my time, but these are fine. For what this game does, it does it perfectly fine. If not, even better. The background views and the enemys look brilliant. The Music and Sound effects never falters for me, they are top class. The music suits each level perfectly, the robot in the background is brilliantly sychronized too. The soundtracks really help encourage you play the game.
Exeox Likes
Top Class Gameplay +6
Co-Op Mode +5
Brilliant Design +8
Originality +4
Challenge +2
Exeox Hates:
Unfair Deaths -2
Vertical Screen Mode -3
25/29 - 29 x 3.45 = 100, so: 24 x 3.45 = 86.25 = B+
Exeox Reccomends Ikaruga to:
Retro Gamers
Hardcore Gamers
Shooter Fans
Conclusion
Even if you are not a shooter fan, you have to appreciate this game for standing out it it's own right. Whether you like this game or not, this game is a top masterpeice that provides a fantastic gaming experiance to anyone who has an eye for quality games and is patient will find a top game in Ikaruga.
"A beauty in it's own right."
Genre: Scrolling Shooter
Platforms: Dreamcast, Gamecube and the Arcade
Publishers:[/b[ Atari
Developers: Treasure Games
Players: 1 - 2 Players
I'd like to consider myself a shooting veteran within these sort of games, I'm a big fan of them. I have many emulated Space Shooters on my hardrive, Gradius & R-Type for example, and I consider myself a big Scrolling Shooter fanatic. Little, to too late, I discovered Ikaruga. At first, I was unsure as of to buy it. And, including the fact I'd never heard of the game, I thought I'd have little chance of finding it. However, I found it sitting as a preowned game; I had the upmost spirit to pick it up.
Shooting games have succeded in throwing tremendous amount of crap at us in the past. Many Shooters end up repetive, drab, boring and unoriginal. Ikaruga is none of them. Ikaruga is original, fun, beautifal and challenging. There are many games to step up to the standards of Ikaruga. Let's not beat around the bush, the design in Ikaruga is fantastic. The backgrounds look brilliant, the designs of the enemys are fantastic and the originality of each level is enormous, from city backgrounds, to unique obstacles and breathtaking design, it's brilliant.
"Even if you are not a Scrolling Shooter fan, you still have to appreciate the amount of thought and quality gone into Ikaruga."
The Gameplay of Ikaruga is outstanding, as you'd probably expect, the gameplay of this game is very simple, like all Space Shooters. And, If you said that, you wouldn't be wrong, Ikaruga is simple....with a slight twist.
Your ship has the ability to change polarity between white and black. When you change to White, only black bullets can hurt you and white bullets, you absorb. And, Vice Versa. Also, when you are a certain colour, shooting your opposite colour will do double damage. This slight polarity changing thing throws a whole new Strategy and effect of charm into the game. Tip-Top reflexes will be required and Polarity is one of the most upper important aspects of the game.
Another thing about most Space Shooting games, is that they are usally very hard. This game is no different, in fact, this game is probably much harder than most I've played. Ikaruga is only 5 levels long, which is approximently thirty minutes of Gameplay; however, due to the games extreme difficulty level, you'll find yourself coming back for more each time. It's a very hard game, which can result in undeserving deaths at times and may get a bit frustrating.
"Casual gamers buy Ikaruga to realise how much they suck at Gaming."
Despite Space Shooters lacking depth, this one doesn't. There are many different modes you can play on this game: You can Practice on stages, You can use "Conquest", playing the demos slow or fast, slow for beginners. You can watch the Demo, send your scores onto the Ikaruga Website. You can play, Horizontal in three different variations, vertical in two different variations and there are 3 levels of difficulty for new and experianced gamers. So, it's a pretty deep game. Oh, and Ikaruga also includes a spiffingly fun Co-Operative mode, which is a d**n lot of fun. Oh, and there is no slowdown involved, not even in the biggest of battles. Quick loading times as well.
"You haven't seen quality until you've played Ikaruga."
Graphiclly this game is fine, I've seen better Graphics in my time, but these are fine. For what this game does, it does it perfectly fine. If not, even better. The background views and the enemys look brilliant. The Music and Sound effects never falters for me, they are top class. The music suits each level perfectly, the robot in the background is brilliantly sychronized too. The soundtracks really help encourage you play the game.
Exeox Likes
Top Class Gameplay +6
Co-Op Mode +5
Brilliant Design +8
Originality +4
Challenge +2
Exeox Hates:
Unfair Deaths -2
Vertical Screen Mode -3
25/29 - 29 x 3.45 = 100, so: 24 x 3.45 = 86.25 = B+
Exeox Reccomends Ikaruga to:
Retro Gamers
Hardcore Gamers
Shooter Fans
Conclusion
Even if you are not a shooter fan, you have to appreciate this game for standing out it it's own right. Whether you like this game or not, this game is a top masterpeice that provides a fantastic gaming experiance to anyone who has an eye for quality games and is patient will find a top game in Ikaruga.