R Type Final
And so we shall die as we have lived… by shooting buttloads of aliens
Tags: R Type Final Categories: PS2 Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Jake McNeill on Jun 21st, 2004
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| R Type Final (title page) | 1 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Action | No | ||
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I love old-fashioned shoot-em-ups. Love ‘em to pieces. I see that good ol’ 2D gameplay (even if it’s behind a façade of 3D graphics), accompanying tons of crap flying all over the screen that’ll kill you if you so much as touch it, and I get all nostalgia-y. Ain’t nothing as pure as a game where the only goal is to shoot every damn thing you see and not die. Only problem is, I forget that I suck at these games.
I leaped at the opportunity to review the latest and apparently final (thus the title) installment of the R-Type franchise, and upon getting my hands on it, gleefully ripped off the cellophane, shoved the disc into my PS2, blasted through the menu screens… and died. And died. And died. Oh, thank the videogame gods for the creation of the continue, and the easy mode for that matter. Yeah, I usually start off every game on the normal difficulty, the default level of challenge that the game’s creators generally feel to be just right for the average game player. Sadly, I regret to announce that on this level of difficulty, I was no longer able to function somewhere late into level 2.
Changing the difficulty to “Bunny rabbits will slowly approach you and make a valiant attempt at looking fearsome”, I have to admit, I feel like a pussy. But a slightly less dead pussy. I suppose some may want to know “Is the game hard for people who actually are good at these games?”, and to that I think the answer is “not particularly”, although those who aren’t experienced with the R-Type games may have to get used to some of the unique qualities of the series.
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Most notable is the force. Apparently, Luke Skywalker didn’t have any clue what Obi-Wan was talking about, because the force is actually a mechanical glowing sphere thing that acts as a shield, power-up, and weapon all in one. The Death Star would’ve been a lot easier to take down with one of these babies. Early on, it becomes vital to learn how to best use this detachable weapon, which absorbs anything enemies toss at it (for use later in a screen-clearing ultimate attack), damages foes on contact, can be chucked across the screen and called back to your ship at will, and can attach to either the front or back of your ship.
When attached, the force fires one of three powerful lasers, obtained by collecting power-ups spread throughout a level. You can only have one of these three at any given time, which asks the player to actually think about which weapon they want before mindlessly grabbing any power-up. This, my friends, is something I do not care for. In a game that asks the player to focus solely on blowing stuff up, having to decide between the red weapon, the blue weapon, or the yellow weapon at any given time seems a tad distracting.
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In addition to the variety that this and the other power-ups give the player, players will also be able to unlock over a hundred different ships, each one with customizable weapons, power-ups, and even color schemes. Sure, some of them are just variations on each other, but it’s hard to complain when you have over a hundred ships to choose from, each one customizable. That’s pretty damn cool, and the game even goes a step farther by giving you ten slots right at the front to save your favorite ships. Now that is considerate.
The game’s graphics are decent for a PS2 game, but nothing mind-blowing, although there’s some nice details here and there. In the game’s second level, everything that touches the water interacts with it, causing ripples that make abandoned boats floating on the sidelines bob up and down. In the third level, which has you fighting all around a giant spaceship laying waste to a city, the camera spins around the ship as you move to the opposite side later on, and in doing so gives you a great view of all the damage you’ve done to it so far. The different laser attacks and whatnot are also worth mention, as they’re generally pretty inventive and interesting-looking, even if they’re not graphically staggering.
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Of course, graphics aren’t the reason to play a game like this anyways. For a game like this, you’re in for the gameplay, and it has that in spades, with a decent amount of replay to be had in unlocking all the ships and seeking out that much-coveted high-score. And while R-Type Final doesn’t really do anything dramatically revolutionary or truly outstanding for the genre, it’s still a fine title that certainly makes a strong final chapter in one of the cornerstones of the genre.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ A wonderful final chapter in a great series + TONS of ships and customizability + Plenty of variety |
8.5 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Graphics aren't mind-blowing - Doesn't do anything revolutionary |
|
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| If you enjoy games like this, R-Type Final is a must-have title. Simple as that. | |
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Tags: R Type Final
Posted by Jake McNeill on Jun 21st, 2004 and is filed under PS2 Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
