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ikaruga
review entry |
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In a genre that is all but dead, Treasure continues to please us. Ikaruga, the inspiration to the legendary Radiant Silvergun, is Treasure's
latest phenom. With so much depth and replay value, as well as amazing visuals and smooth control, this game belongs on the shelf of every hardcore gamer.
Story
Ikaruga is a top-down shooter, from the likes of the arcade classic Galaga. It starts with you, Shinra, the only one left of a group of fighters. After being taken down by the evil Tenro Horai, Shinra decides to take to the skies once more in his new ship, the Ikaruga. He is the last hope for his people, and must face the Tenro Horai Empire all by himself. However, none of this really matters once the game starts. This is a shooter so there are no FMV's, plot twists, or any of that jazz. Story is a pretty low priority in a game like Ikaruga. The focus here is on relentless, fast-paced, twitch-based action and that is what Ikaruga is all about.
Gameplay
The game's scoring system is color-coded. Destroying enemies in multiples of three (three black, or three white) yields more points; you are awarded with extra lives as your score climbs higher. Ikaruga's unforgiving letter-grading system awards you a rank of A through F at the end of each level, which will likely keep you coming back
to get a higher score.
All of these things add up to a pretty unique gameplay experience and a rough one.
You'll quickly see that Ikaruga is a very tough game. Though there are only five stages, it soon becomes clear that adding anymore would make the game near impossible to finish. Ikaruga gets pretty difficult in the later levels, which will give your switching finger quite a bit of exercise. Similarly, the end level bosses are extremely unforgiving huge bosses that take quite a bit of punishment before they fall. You get a infinite number of continues, to boot. Not to mention there are three difficulty levels. If you want to master Ikaruga, it all comes down to stage by stage memorization and patterns. To this end, Atari has included a special mode that allows players to post their rankings onto the game's official website using an in-game password system.
Ikaruga allows for simultaneous two-player cooperative play, which adds a whole new layer of enjoyment to the game. This allows for the possibility of using different strategies and tactics, and it definitely feels like an accomplishment to finish a few levels with a partner. Conquest mode allows you to test your skills at individual sections of stages you've previously completed, or watch videos of an Ikaruga pro at work. Practice mode allows you to play through any stage in its entirety provided you've reached the stage on one credit in the game's regular mode. Several unlockable extras lie in wait for expert players, though most can be reached simply by playing the game for a set number of hours.
Graphics
2D shooters aren't known for amazing visuals, but Ikaruga manages to pull off some serious eye candy. Everything except the bullets are fully rendered in gorgeous
3D and it pays off. Flying high above the 3D landscape is a nice visual treat, and the explosion effects are fantastic. The game also runs at a solid 60 frames per second, with dozens of ships and hundreds of bullets on screen at any given time. If there's a downside to the visuals, it's that things aren't terribly colorful. Expect to see lots of whites, blacks and grays.
Graphically, Ikaruga really isn't anything we haven't seen before. It is, after all, a straight port of a nearly two-year-old arcade game. Even though there aren't any fancy FMV sequences to be found, Ikaruga's ships are full 3D models, set against some very nice,
backgrounds. While it certainly doesn't push the envelope of the
GameCube's hardware, the game does maintain a consistent, visually pleasing look.
Sound
Ikaruga's soundtrack definitely seems inspired by the shooters of the past, relying heavily on synthesized music. The sound effects are well-done, with some nice explosion effects when a boss enemy is destroyed. The game's announcer can get a little annoying, especially since it's near-impossible to understand anything it says. In the end, Ikaruga's audio is much like its visuals, nothing
new.
Final Thoughts
Ikaruga certainly isn't for everyone. It is aimed at hardcore gamers, through and through.
The game's high degree of difficulty is a firm testament to this. If you're up to the challenge, this game is definitely a breath of fresh air, Ikaruga is intense, addictive, and just flat out fun to play. It isn't going to astound anyone in the audio or visual departments, but the gameplay is something special and when it comes down to the wire, that's the part that really matters.
Rating
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Jesmond Borg -
GameCubicle Reader |
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