Cave of Wonders
HIGH Completing all ten stages of a new area on the first attempt.
LOW 10,000 feet so far.
WTF How is the spelunker supposed to get back to the surface?
HIGH Completing all ten stages of a new area on the first attempt.
LOW 10,000 feet so far.
WTF How is the spelunker supposed to get back to the surface?
HIGH Customizing combat robots is always a good time.
LOW How often the player has to sit through clunky, unnecessary bother.
WTF How did the Crayola-level character art make it into the final product?
HIGH Crazy levels and tons of charm.
LOW The game's over before you know it.
WTF Get rid of romance problems… by whacking them with a mallet!!
Developed by none other than Irem (makers of seminal shooter R-Type, personal fave Disaster Report, and others) this little guy and his hammer set out in an adorably irreverent and slightly absurd adventure.
A completely new interpretation of classic material, R-Type Command takes the revered side-scrolling space shooter away from its action roots and plants it deeply within the strategy genre. As bizarre as it may seem to rework something based on timing and reflexes into one of the slowest, most methodical styles in videogaming, my hat is off to Irem—it absolutely works.
According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Blood, Mild Fantasy Violence
The game's seeds of greatness are crushed by awkward controls and a lot of empty wandering.
According to the ESRB, this game contains: Alcohol Reference, Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes
In many ways, R-Type Final is the ultimate shmupper's shmup. It sticks fast to its hardcore traditions even when they are in danger of breaking the game—which they will for the many players who are simply unwilling (or unable) to allow such ruthless, patience-testing gameplay to grow on them.
Solid gameplay will always trump fancy graphics, but that doesn't mean that 2D titles can get by without any sort of graphical enhancements. But what can be done with a traditional side-scroller like R-Type Final to make it appealing to a new generation of gamers who've probably never even played the original in an arcade? How about, for starters, giving it some sparkling graphics and a quasi-3D engine (similar to the one found in last year's Contra: Shattered Soldier) while retaining all the twitchy trigger-finger gameplay of the originals?
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