Series Review: The Simpsons PS2 Games

Game: The Simpsons: Road Rage

Console: Sony Playstation 2

Developer: Radical Entertainment

Release Date: 24th November 2001

As the first Simpsons game on the PS2, Road Rage had a lot to live up to in a new console era. The basic plot of the game is that Mr. Burns has taken over Springfield's transit systems, and is operating them in a way that is endangering the health of the citizens. To combat this, Homer (and subsequently other citizens of Springfield) begin trading as a taxi service to compete with Mr. Burns' buses and attempt to earn enough money to buy the public transport services back. 

There are 4 gameplay modes in Road Rage; Sunday Drive allows players to explore Springfield freely without the option to earn money, Mission mode challenges players to complete 10 missions in order to unlock a surprise, 2 Player mode operates a strange competitive taxi system where players compete to deliver the same passenger to their destination, and Road Rage, the main mode is where money is earned driving the citizens of Springfield around.

As a big fan of Crazy Taxi, I couldn't help but notice the similarities between the main game mode and the gameplay of the Crazy Taxi series, and apparently nor could Sega as they filed a lawsuit against the developers of this game (and settled out of court). The controls are nowhere near as tight as those of Crazy Taxi; circle is used to brake normally and square for handbrake, which contrasts with the majority of driving games, and when using the handbrake it's anybody's guess where the car will end up facing. 

After each turn earning money in Road Rage mode, it's added to the cumulative total and players can decide whether to unlock a new stage or character once certain financial targets have been reached. There are 6 stages to drive around in total, and 17 vehicles to choose from (though they all handle equally badly). The overall map and layout of Springfield is good, but there don't seem to be enough places of interest, shortcuts or secrets to keep exploration interesting. 

The mission mode involves crashing into a set number of things as a certain character, or delivering a passenger to a specific location whilst avoiding Mr. Burns. This mode is fairly uninteresting until Stage 8 where it becomes almost impossible due to the tight time limit, and ridiculous starting camera angle. Until the time starts players are only able to see behind them, resulting in a head on collision over half the time. I gave up after far too many attempts at having fun in this mode. 

Graphically the game has a nice cel-shaded cartoon effect and Springfield has a good variety of locations from the show, despite a general lack of detail. The voice clips and character speech are one of the best parts of the game, as they're often humourous and with a fairly large range of characters, the repetition is almost tolerable. Overall there's not a lot of reasons to pick up this game; the main mode is a shallow Crazy Taxi rip off and the missions are badly designed. 

Rating: 48/100
Grade: D

Game: The Simpsons: Hit & Run
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Radical Entertainment
Release Date: 16th September 2003

Usually when reviewing games, I like to complete them if possible to get the fullest impression of the story and overall gameplay available. Upon starting The Simpsons Hit & Run, I was pretty confident that I'd be able to breeze through the story and review the game after a single sitting, or maybe 2 at the most. What I found was a children's game that was so inadvertently challenging because of many factors, that I had to skip a few missions at the end of the game because they were just too hard to do.

Things start out innocently enough; players control Homer through a fairly easy tutorial style level. Each level in the game has 7 story missions, as well as side missions, races, collectibles, and gags to find. Missions typically contain one or more of four main gameplay elements; collecting, racing, chasing or destroying. Each of these are fairly self explanatory and are completed in vehicles for the most part (only a few collecting missions require on foot sections).

To start a mission players must simply follow the instruction in the top left of the screen, which usually involves going somewhere or talking to someone. A cutscene plays upon arrival, detailing the plot of the mission before telling players the first objective and getting the mission underway. There are 7 levels in total in the game, with Homer, Bart, Lisa, Marge and Apu as playable characters. The controls for each are pretty much the same, as players are able to run, jump, kick and drive vehicles. As was the case in Road Rage, the acceleration, brake and handbrake buttons are mapped differently from most driving games.

The in game currency; coins, play a big part in the game as a whole. Some missions require specific vehicles and outfits that must be purchased with coins. In parts of the game missions of this kind appear almost back to back, requiring players to farm for coins around the map if they're not in possession of enough. I've never liked mandatory map exploration as a game mechanic, and as nicely mapped as the game is, these coin collecting sections easily become tiresome.

As players damage objects and run over people with the vehicle, Hit & Run points are gained, and added to the meter in the bottom right hand corner. If enough segments of the meter are filled, Hit & Run mode is initiated and police will chase after players, attempting to 'bust' them at the cost of 50 coins. This can occur at any time in game, even inside of missions. While the police are fairly easy to get away from, if there are other objectives, it can make things more difficult.

Another contributor the game's difficulty are the strict time limits; missions in later levels hardly allow enough time to drive to the destination, and as there are no checkpoints this can mean doing entire missions repeatedly until the perfect run is achieved. If the onscreen action gets particularly intense, the framerate tends to slow to around 15fps, which makes it much harder to precisely control your vehicle. The AI can also affect the difficulty of missions, with later races being almost impossible to win, and NPC cars being generally unpredictable.

Graphically the game seems a little dated and blocky in appearance, although this can be forgiven as it's based on a cartoon. Objects do have a tendency to clip through one another, and there are a few bugs which can impede gameplay a little a times. The music behind gameplay varies for each playable character and fits the overall mood very well. The voice clips and overall humour of spoken lines in the game are good, even if some are repeated from Road Rage.

Overall Simpsons Hit and Run is an enjoyable, if ultimately difficult sandbox game which takes a lot of the best elements of the Simpsons cartoon and uses them to construct a decent and humuorous plot. While there's not a huge variation in the types of missions available, they're usually pretty fun. Despite my problems with the game's difficulty and other problems, it's still one of the best transitions from tv show to videogame around.

Rating: 73/100
Grade: C

Game: The Simpsons Game
Console: Sony Playstation 2
Developer: Rebellion Developments
Release Date: 30th October 2007

Based loosely on The Simpsons Movie of the same year, The Simpsons Game is the only PS2 release in the series to not be based around driving. Instead, each of the Simpson family has special powers which allow them to complete tasks inside levels in order to complete the game. Homer has the ability to roll into a ball through eating, inflate through inhaling helium, and turn into a Gummi Bear through eating Gummi Bears. Bart can fire a slingshot, climb certain walls, and glide with his cape. Lisa is able to control various objects through meditation, and later in the game attack via meditation, and Marge is able to rally mobs to break or build certain objects. Maggie is given the power to crawl through vents, and push buttons with her dummy, but to a certain degree she's an extension of Marge's powers as she's carried around levels by Marge until being needed.

There are 16 stages in total, all with cartoon cutscenes before, during and after the mission has been completed, most of which have a good deal of classic Simpsons humour. The first set of 5 levels acts as somewhat of a tutorial for each character's controls, the next set of 6 build upon each character's powers and advance the storyline, until the final 5 levels; each of which is a parody of an existing video game. Levels range from around 5 minutes in length to 40 minutes or more. There's a target time for each level, but I only managed to meet one as some of the objectives take some figuring out.

Gameplay varies from level to level to a degree; players control up to two characters per level, and must avoid or defeat enemies using the somewhat clunky fighting controls, whilst platforming and using their powers to complete objectives. Switching between characters is controlled via the d-pad, but whichever character you're not controlling changes to being controlled by the AI. This can be a problem when trying to execute a strategy on some levels, as the other character will jump off ledges, or generally away from where you want them to be, within seconds of switching.

A lot of the level objectives seem to require players to complete them in the specific way that the developers intended; even plausible strategies for completing objectives are rejected in favour of "how you're meant to do it". Scattered throughout levels are collectibles for each character, as well as 'video game cliches' that can be found by any character. While it's nice to have some collectibles, there's no reward for rounding all of them up, and their only purpose seems to be padding the game out.

Despite the larger budget and amount of content featured in The Simpsons game, there's still quite a few problems with it. For a start there are many camera issues; often it's hard to get the view exactly where you want it, and other times a wall or object can completely block your view of the on screen characters. Another issue is that the AI character can often get in the way when trying to fight or platform, as they're completely impassable.

At one point in the game, I managed to fall completely through the floor of one level which meant that I had to restart the console, and subsequently the level. The checkpoint system works to a degree, but the only time you'll ever need to use it is when the AI has constantly taken hits from enemies, just as your character also loses all of their health. Overall this issues affect the entire game and can detract from the fun somewhat.

Graphically the game is much like the cartoon in its gameplay sections and its 2D approach works well in almost all aspects. The cutscenes for the game are just like an episode of the show, which for me is far better than the 3D style cutscenes in Hit & Run. Much of the game's humour comes from lines spoken by the show's characters. As these are performed by the show's voice actors and written by the show's writers, they're always of high quality and generally very funny, as are a lot of the parody elements in the game.

Overall The Simpsons Game is very much a game for fans of the television show, but unlike many games based on television shows it's extremely faithful to the source material. In terms of gameplay, things can get repetitive, linear and generally awkward at points, but if you're willing to endure that there's a semblance of a game underneath which is pretty hilarious in many respects.

Rating: 73/100
Grade: C

Game Review: Sonic Chaos

Game: Sonic Chaos
Console: Sega Master System
Developer: Sega
Release Date: 25th October 1993

Released for the Master System only in Europe, South America and South Africa, Sonic Chaos was a Game Gear title for the rest of the world, much like the previous Master System instalments in the series; Sonic The Hedgehog and its sequel. Sonic Chaos differed from these by adding many elements from the 16 bit version of Sonic The Hedgehog 2 such as Tails as a playable character, Sonic's Spin Dash, and many of the level themes.

There are six zones featured in the game, each with three acts, the third of which is always a boss battle after a short section of platforming. Chaos Emeralds can be gained by collecting 100 rings in either of the first two stages of a zone, and then completing a bonus stage. Once all six Chaos Emeralds have been collected, the good ending can be viewed, although this only refers to a credits screen instead of "Try Again" flashing up on screen.

The movement controls for the game are a little slippery overall, and precision platforming is a little hard to achieve, especially in bonus stages. There is however a good variety of moves available to players as both Sonic and Tails. Both characters can perform the spin dash by pressing down and then the jump button, Sonic can perform the Super Peel Out, (making its debut in this game) by pressing up and then the jump button, and Tails can fly for a short while with the same combination of buttons.

There are also a couple of interesting items which appear in boxes through many different stages. The rocket boots are a Sonic-only item which allow him to glide quickly through the air still under the player's control, which is helpful to pick up long rows of rings, or to reach high places quickly. The spring item allows both characters to bounce along the level until they hit a wall, and reach places that are inaccessible with a regular jump.

Each act of the game is fairly short compared to the 16 bit games, and even previous Master System Sonic games. Most can be completed in under a minute if players are rushing through them without bothering to collect 100 rings to access the bonus stages. There's also a slight lack of enemies or real platforming challenges in most levels which makes the game a lot easier than many other Sonic titles.

The bosses of each act have fairly predictable patterns and aren't too difficult to beat, though they're not pushovers either. In a lot of ways the overall difficulty of this game reminds me of the early Kirby games in that the stages aren't particularly difficult to get to the end of and there are different ways to do so, including flying, defeating all of the enemies as you go, or just using sheer speed.

Graphically the game looks pretty good for being an 8 bit title. There's definitely some more detail than in the first two Master System Sonic titles. I had no trouble discerning enemies, rings or powerups from backgrounds and levels, and boss designs were interesting and varied. The soundtrack of the game feels a bit lacklustre for a Sonic title, especially considering the music from 16 bit games, but it's not bad or unlistenable at all.

Overall Sonic Chaos is a very different type of Sonic game to most; it doesn't particularly matter if you don't pick up all of the Chaos Emeralds on your way through the game (there's even the option to ignore them completely by playing as tails), levels are short and fairly easy meaning the the game can be completed in under an hour. This gives it a relaxed replayability for me as it's something I can run through without much difficulty, and that I know won't take hours or too much frustration to beat.

Rating: 73/100
Grade: C

Game Review: Crackdown

Game: Crackdown
Console: Xbox 360
Developer: Realtime Worlds
Release Date: 20th February 2007

As I recently acquired an Xbox 360, I thought that my first review should be an exclusive for the console, and something that's been almost universally recommended to me by other 360 owners. Crackdown is a free-roaming sandbox style game which tasks players with cleaning up the three gang-infested island regions of Pacific City. To do this, high ranking members of each gang must be discovered and eliminated to increase the chance of success in taking out the kingpins.

Taking on the role of a genetically enhanced agent of justice, players work alongside "The Agency" in tackling the gang infestation. Once players are close to the location of a gang boss, they'll receive an agency briefing on the exact whereabouts, skills and job role of the boss in question and can decide whether attempting to eliminate them is a good idea. Also dotted around the map are "supply points" to be discovered and used as respawn points.

As a genetically enhanced agent of justice, there are 5 key skills which can be improved. The first is agility; improved via finding agility orbs scattered around the rooftops of the city, completing rooftop races in a fast enough time and making kills from height. This skill proves to be important from the outset, as scaling buildings and jumping up to 30 feet in the air make fighting gangs far easier. Driving skill can be improved by running over and killing gang members, and completing checkpoint races, but I didn't find cars to be a particularly effective method of getting around in the game and ignored them if possible, in favour of jumping everywhere.

Explosives skill is improved by killing enemies with explosives and gives greater power and range to rocket launchers and grenades used by players. The strength skill is improved by killing gang members with your bare hands (or feet), and can be very useful as a means of quickly taking out opponents, once your agent is strong enough to kill gang members in one hit. Near the end of the game, I'd often kill kingpins by kicking them to death, rather than gunning them down because it seemed to be far more effective. The final upgradable skill is firearms, which is improved via making weapon kills and helps with accuracy and damage done with guns.

Bosses and Kingpins are usually hidden in some of the more unique buildings that the map has to offer; an oil rig, building site, and the tallest building on the map are just some of the more memorable locations. Players must work their way to the boss's location through much resistance from gang members and eliminate the boss, without losing their health. Luckily player health and armour regenerates when they're not being attacked and in the event of being killed, players can respawn at the nearest supply point to give it another go, almost immediately.

Pacific City itself has some interesting buildings and scenery across its three islands; most offices and tower blocks can easily be scaled by a player with enough agility skill, and swimming to boss locations for a better vantage point is a common tactic. As the game cycles through night and day, the amount of gang members on the street changes, but apart from this there's not a lot of variation in events. I'd have liked to have seen a few more touches like these to give the population of Pacific City personality as a whole.

The game's overall plot relies heavily on the simple fact that players are helping the agency take down gangs by taking out their key figures and kingpins. No external plot events occur; the game's story is comprised of players eliminating the gang members. Similarly there's no character development or interest in the player character or even the bosses and kingpins really, as we're only told basic information about them.

Although Crackdown controls fairly well after a little while playing the game, the driving and shooting mechanics aren't as polished as they could be. I found it difficult to complete road races due to the poor handling of most vehicles (even with upgraded vehicle skill). I also had difficulty with the aiming system early on in the game which seems to pick targets randomly, as well as being frustrated when bombarded with enemy rockets later in the game which resulted in my character being thrown from rooftops like a ragdoll.

The AI which features in the game often feels below par; there were several occasions where I'd be standing next to a gang member without them even noticing, yet enemies several buildings away could get a clear shot on me. Another example of poor AI is evident when above any roadway watching traffic; within a few seconds there's typically a huge vehicular pileup for seemingly no reason. My final complaint of the AI are allied agents, who will target the player after any minor mistake that results in injury to an agent or an innocent. As it's fairly easy to drive into either, players must deal with being hunted by The Agency as well as gang members fairly often. These problems give the game a less polished feel overall and can lessen the immersion.

There are a variety of weapons featured in the game which can be swapped out once acquired and taken to a supply point. While the game didn't make this particularly clear, upgrading your weapons is a great help in being able to do more difficult hits on gang bosses. It's surprising that there's not a hint to tell players this, as throughout the game the agency's boss constantly provides informative, but often irrelevant hints. After around an hour players will have heard every hint available, but they continue indefinitely and can't be turned off without taking away all speech from the agency boss.

Graphically Crackdown features elements of both realistic and cartoon styles; character models have shading and outlines which look distinctly animated when compared to some of the building and landscape details. On the whole the game's style and world as a whole contribute to its character and mood. Alongside this is the music from the in-game radio which features a carefully chosen selection of many lesser known acts with a dark electronic/dance style, giving the cities a real sense of being overrun by crime and gangs.

Overall while I have many minor complaints about Crackdown; including the constant hints, interruption to gameplay from Agency Briefings, the driving and shooting mechanics and its very simple and predictable plot and ending, it's still a game which is a lot of fun to play and complete. For me the sense of free roaming was somewhat held back by a lack of things to do other than rooftop races, road races and killing gang members, all of which are core elements of the game. Despite this, I'd recommend Crackdown as an enjoyable sandbox game with RPG style levelling up elements and a great sense of fun.

Rating: 77/100
Grade: B

Collection Review: Taito Legends 2 Part 3

Game: Grid Seeker
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1992

Grid Seeker is a shoot 'em up which employs a clever gameplay twist to differentiate itself from other games in the genre. Players have a set of  GRID weapons which can be positioned anywhere around their ship. These collect enemy bullets and once charged earn bombs for the player to use when they desire. There are also three types of ship to choose from, each with different top speeds and shot types.

As players work through levels, there are powerups and upgrades which can be collected. The helper upgrade summons allied helicopters or jets to fight alongside the player, and GRID powerups change colour periodically, changing the power they'll give to players. Once picked up, the GRID powerups change the player's bomb attack into an even more powerful special attack with lasers, fire or mist depending on the colour.

Graphically the game is eyecatching and impressive, with many different types of enemy ships, tanks and ground units. The colours are bright and its pretty easy to see what you're doing, even when the screen is crowded with enemies. The musical accompaniment to the game is fitting and particularly enjoyable with an optimistic and fast paced feel.

Overall while Grid Seeker's difficulty does end up getting a little high a few levels in, the GRID system helps to keep levels manageable. Unfortunately the levels reset at each continue, meaning that they must be completed in 5 lives or less, but most shoot 'em ups are even harder than this. Other than these small complaints though, Grid Seeker is a fairly enjoyable game.

Rating: 64/100
Grade: C

Game: Arabian Magic
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1992

Arabian Magic is a beat 'em up which was more than likely inspired by the Disney film Aladdin which came out in the same year. Players must fight through 7 stages, each with their own boss to reclaim the 7 jewels and return the king from monkey to human. There are four playable characters, each with their own stats and method of attacking, and players can earn Genie special attacks by collecting magic lamp, or beating certain bosses.

Two of the four playable characters use swords as their main attack, giving them good short range combat skills, and the other two characters use longer range attacks; a flail and a ranged magic attack. I found that on some stages, the longer range of the magic attacks was helpful to defeat enemies without taking damage, but on the whole the characters are fairly well balanced.

A few of the stages change up the Beat 'em up formula a little; pictured above is a flying carpet stage which reminded me of surfing in Turtles in Time. There's also platforming on some stages where players must avoid various traps and obstacles to continue. These small changes of pace give a nice variety to gameplay, and keep players from getting bored.

The Genie special attacks mentioned earlier are also an interesting part of gameplay. Once collected, the genies can be summoned at any point during gameplay to help players defeat enemies. Although the player is not in direct control of the genie, their attack is synchronised to the player. These special attacks can be helpful to beat some of the harder bosses, and especially the final boss.

Graphically the game looks nice and retains a 16-bit style with smooth animations and movement for all characters. Although there's not a huge range of enemy sprites, the bosses are all well designed and varied. The game also excels musically with a great soundtrack to accompany play, and give players the feeling of being in a different land.

Overall while the story is pretty simple and seems a little strange in places, the gameplay of Arabian Magic is spot on. It's not particularly difficult to beat, but some of the bosses can give players a run for their money. The genie attack mechanic works well and can't be overused, but there could have been a wider range of normal attacks for each player to use.

Rating; 81/100
Grade: B

Game: Dungeon Magic
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1993

The second beat 'em up in a row, Dungeon Magic doesn't seem to be related to Arabian Magic in any way despite the similarity of their titles. In contrast to many other beat 'em ups, this game features many different 'rooms' filled with between 2 and 10 enemies on the way to bosses. Players can choose which paths and exits to take from rooms, and must use their navigation skills to reach the boss room, as marked on the map.

There are four playable characters to choose from; Ash, Gren, Cisty and Vold. Each have different strengths and weaknesses, but overall none of them feel particularly powerful against the enemies featured in the game. Even using special attacks is sometimes fruitless and there aren't a lot of ranged attack options, which means the game is mostly centred around close range combat.

Graphically the game has detailed sprites and environments but is let down by their size relative to the screen (they're pretty big, when compared to the traversable area of the screen) and the isometric viewpoint, which makes hitting enemies particularly difficult at times. Enemy designs are generic fantasy fare such as lizardmen and werewolves, and bosses include demons, giant snakes, a spider-woman and more.

Ultimately Dungeon Magic's experimentation with the beat 'em up formula leaves the game feeling a little disjointed and unappealing. When combined with the mediocre fighting, character choice and forgettable soundtrack, the game ends up feeling outdated and hardly worth playing.

Rating: 46/100
Grade: D

Game: Darius Gaiden

Console: Arcade

Developer: Taito

Release Date: 1994

Most of the shoot 'em ups on this arcade collection have suffered from the same problem; being too unforgiving in terms of difficulty and continues. Darius Gaiden brings an answer to both of these problems in that players are allowed to set their own difficulty levels for each stage before play begins (although they wouldn't be able to in arcades), and the game restarts players exactly where they left off when they lose a life, or a continue which means that with enough credits, anyone could beat the game.

Another difference between this and standard shoot 'em ups is the branching paths presented to the player after each stage in a similar style to Outrun. Both choices are shown after a stage boss is beaten, and players have a short while to choose which stage they'd like to attempt. While the music and some bosses are the same across different stages, it's a nice touch which adds a lot of replayability to the game. 

Graphically Darius Gaiden is both visually pleasing and technically impressive. The above screenshot doesn't give a full representation of the true amount of colour and effects showcased in the game. It'd certainly be interesting to play this game while under the influence of various substances. Musically the game is enjoyable, but not consistently excellent; there's a few tracks which I liked quite a bit, as well as some which were mediocre.

Overall the game is an enjoyable shoot 'em up thanks to many of its features. While the levels themselves are quite short, and bosses tend to take quite a lot of hits before being defeated, the sense of progression and variety of the levels give a lot of interest to the game as a whole. If you're a fan of shoot 'em ups, this is well worth checking out.

Rating: 75/100
Grade: C

Game: Elevator Action Returns
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1994

While its title may sound a little mundane, Elevator Action Returns isn't short of action. Players are tasked with attempting to collect information and disarm bombs by entering red doors within a building that is filled with elevators. To reach all of the red doors, players must plan their route and avoid/kill enemy agents who get in their way. The stage ends once all red doors have been entered, and players have made their way to the exit point.

Gameplay is reminiscent of Shinobi or Rolling Thunder, in that enemy agents will shoot from behind objects, or across the floor and players must duck/jump to avoid their shots. There are different types of enemy including armoured agents, dogs, and robots. The action can get a little repetitive after a few buildings worth of play, but overall the concept is good. Controlwise I only had two complaints; the first is that it's not possible to shoot and crouch while standing in an elevator, as it just goes downwards again. With the controls as they are there's no easy way to fix this, but it can be frustrating at times. My second complaint is that where elevator tracks are short, it's very easy to get crushed by opponents riding them from above, even if players set off before the enemy.

Graphically the game is pretty simple, and so doesn't quite match up to other games of the era. Nonetheless it's pretty easy to keep track of what you're doing, and explosions look pretty cool. The music that plays behind the game doesn't seem particularly fitting at first, but the funk style provides character and ambience to an otherwise fairly chaotic game.

Overall Elevator Action Returns has a good concept which is well executed for the most part, and which provides players with a fresh set of platforming challenges in combination with run and gun style shooting. For this alone it's definitely worth a try, but there's not quite enough variety to make it a true classic.

Rating; 68/100
Grade: C

Game: Space Invaders DX
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1994

Space Invaders DX features 3 different modes of gameplay; Space Invaders mode, which allows players to play any of the original arcade cabinets including black and white, cellophane, colour and upright versions, VS game mode which features powerups and a more competitive style, and finally Parody game mode which replaces the regular sprites with joke characters.

The two player mode is pretty interesting and works well as a competitive game, but it still has many of the limitations of the original. The other modes all suffer from being pretty much the same game as ever, providing only 5 different versions of Space Invaders with very little difference between them. Considering that Super Space Invaders '91 is on the Taito Legends 2 collection also, this makes for a pretty poor showing overall.

Graphically the game attempts to throw back to the original era of Space Invaders in all but parody mode. There's no real improvement on the old graphics, but they're classic so it's hard to complain. Musically there's only the few notes from the original game included, which is a shame as this could have been updated in the two new modes.

Overall this mini collection of Space Invaders games suffers the fate of most Space Invaders collections; it's too samey and repetitive, and there's little reward in playing all of the different styles unless you're a super fan of the game series.

Rating: 45/100
Grade: D

Game: Cleopatra Fortune
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1995

Cleopatra Fortune is a puzzle game in which players must align falling blocks in such a way that they fully surround gems and statues. Once they do, the entire 'tomb' disappears and causes the blocks above it to fall into its place. Blocks can be rotated as they fall, and come in many different shapes. The only rule is that they always contain some block segments, to surround gems and statues with.

As the game progresses, the speed of the levels gets faster. Until around level 30, the game is incredibly easy as players hardly even need to play to entomb their gems and statues. Once the speed increases however, it's a lot easier to make mistakes and gameplay usually ends pretty quickly once a fast enough speed is reached.

Graphically the game resembles other puzzle games of the time such as Columns. The visuals are passable, but could have been a little sharper and more colourful. The music which accompanies gameplay is suitable for a puzzle game, and is enjoyable to listen to whilst playing.

Overall Cleopatra Fortune is a very simple game which is easy to get the hang of, and play at low levels. Once the speed increases it becomes much harder to maintain gameplay, and most players will struggle past a certain point. Personally I prefer Columns and Tetris as puzzle games, as their challenge escalates more evenly and allows for better all round planning of moves.

Rating: 60/100
Grade: D

Game: Gekirindan
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1995

The sixth shoot 'em up on this collection, Gekirindan follows its 3 main characters through various time periods as they attempt to save human history from being destroyed by 'Huge-Boss'. Each main character's fighter ship has a different shot pattern, meaning that different strategies can be employed when using each ship. There are also power-ups that fire alongside the player's main weapons, which are homing lasers, napalm and missiles.

There are 6 levels in total, each set in a different time period. Overall the game is a lot easier than many other shoot 'em ups, although it still holds a fair amount of challenge. One of the main issues is that enemy bullets are coloured very similarly to explosions, so if there's a lot of action onscreen at any one time, players may have difficulty detecting dangerous incoming fire.

Graphically the game is very impressive, especially on the title screen where 'Huge-Boss' makes an appearance. The levels are well designed and each era has a different feel which keeps gameplay interesting. The soundtrack to the game is comprised of various remixes of the first level's theme, to fit with whichever time period is currently being played. While this is an interesting idea, it means that there's little variety to the music, especially as the game is also without boss themes.

Overall Gekirindan makes for an interesting shoot 'em up experience, both in concept and gameplay. Compared to Darius Gaiden, there's not a lot of replayability, as it's the same layout each time. If you can get past the slight problems with being able to see enemy bullets at times, then it's an enjoyable experience that is perhaps a little short.

Rating: 62/100
Grade: C

Game: Puzzle Bobble 2
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1995

Known as Bust-A-Move 2 in US, Puzzle Bobble 2 features 3 styles of puzzle based play. Firstly there's puzzle mode, which is the main mode; this features alphabetically listed sets of puzzles which progress in a branching path, like Outrun. Secondly there's vs. Computer mode where the game is played competitively until one player runs out of space in their play area, and lastly there's vs. Human mode which mirrors vs. Computer mode, with 2 human players.

The aim of Puzzle Bobble games is to shoot coloured bubbles into the play area so that they make a touching group of 3 or more, at which point they'll disappear. The game is won in puzzle mode when the board is completely clear of bubbles, though many of the puzzles feature extremely easy ways of clearing the board with a single bubble, such as a line of one colour at the top of a board.

Graphically the game features nice background graphics and cartoonish game visuals. The characters are nicely defined and varied even if there's no real difference in who you're facing in terms of gameplay. The soundtrack is light hearted and has an almost childish simplicity. Unless you're playing for a long time it shouldn't get too repetitive.

Overall Puzzle Bobble 2 offers more of the gameplay you'd expect from the series, with new sets of puzzles and a decent vs. mode offering. Fans of the series, or puzzle games in general are likely to enjoy this, but it'll seem like a very simple title for those who haven't played before.

Rating: 62/100
Grade: C

Game: Space Invaders '95
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1995

Fitting squarely under the heading of 'Cute 'em Up', Space Invaders '95 is surprisingly varied, innovative and fun. While players are still tethered to the bottom of the screen, and there are several sections based on classic Space Invaders play, boss stages make a return from Super Space Invaders '91, and there are also several bonus stages inbetween main stages.

Gameplay consists of 32 main stages which feature adjustable difficulties (at least on this collection), but none of which are ever too difficult to complete. There are five different characters/ships to choose from, all of which have slightly different charged attacks. The entire game takes about 20-30 minutes to complete and has some really exhilarating parts, especially for a Space Invaders title.

Graphically the game looks far better than any previous instalment, featuring a large number of cute and varied sprites in a detailed but cartoon style. Thanks to this style it's easy to see what's happening on screen all of the time, and dodge enemy bullets in the classic shoot 'em up style sections. Soundwise the game features nods to previous titles in its music and sound effects, as well as updated and new content.

Overall Space Invaders 95 is the best title in the series for its willingness to change the gameplay style of the original game in many sections; often Space Invaders titles get too caught up in being nostalgic and this holds them back. With interesting bosses (including a nod to the Darius series) enemies and levels, this game is well worth a try even if you find the original Space Invaders boring.

Rating: 77/100
Grade: B

Game: Ray Storm
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1996

As the fifth generation of home consoles was finding its footing, 3D effects in shoot 'em ups were becoming more and more common; Ray Storm is the first example of this from this collection. The game features a lock-on laser system in addition to more conventional shoot 'em up gameplay, and follows action through 7 futuristic stages from Earth to Outer Space. While most levels are short, there's a boss at the end of each level which usually takes a fair amount of shooting to beat.

Players can choose from two ships, one with a constant laser beam as its main weapon and the other with regular shots. The secondary weapon for both ships is a lock-on laser. There's also the option to choose between manual and automatic control for the laser. With automatic control, the laser will fire whenever it locks onto an enemy. The final attack option for players is a special attack which locks onto and damages all on screen enemies, but its use is limited and recharges with successful primary weapon hits.

Graphically Ray Storm is pretty impressive for its time; the 3D effect looks far more advanced than most PS1, N64 or Sega Saturn games, and enemy ships are nicely detailed. The music for the game ranges from relaxed space flight style tunes to frantic boss battle themes, but never feels particularly fitting or memorable.

Overall while the game is technically impressive, its gameplay lacks some of the more unique and enjoyable features of truly classic shoot 'em ups. The lock-on laser system has some worth, especially if left on auto in later levels, and the overall difficulty is generally good. To play this in an arcade in 1996 would have been almost mind blowing, but today it feels decidedly average.

Rating: 61/100
Grade: D

Game: Puchi Carat
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1997

Puchi Carat is an action puzzle game heavily based on Breakout. Players must destroy gems by bouncing a ball from the bottom of the screen upwards. Instead of losing a life when the ball goes out of play, more rows of gems come down from the top of the screen, increasing the chance of losing. There are three game modes, much like in Puzzle Bobble 2; Single Player, Player vs Computer and Player vs Player.

In Single Player mode a set number of lines of gems must be cleared to beat each difficulty level, and in the competitive modes players can send gems over to the opponent's screen by playing well, thus increasing their chance of losing the game when the gems reach the bottom of the screen. Depending on the difficulty level, there are different numbers of opponents to beat.

Graphically the game is colourful and well detailed. The characters which feature as backgrounds are well animated and drawn in a Japanese anime style. Sometimes it can be a little hard to keep track of where the ball is due to the colourful nature of the gems and animations behind the action. Musically the game features a funky almost easy listening style accompaniment.

Overall the game is a little too similar to Breakout for my liking, and only seems to be enjoyable in short bursts. There's no real story or progression to the vs. Computer mode, and the Single player mode seems to drag on too long without any real action. As a puzzle game, Puchi Carat fails to capture players imaginations.

Rating: 48/100
Grade: D

Game: G Darius
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1997

The final game on the Taito Legends 2 collection is G Darius, a shoot 'em up from the Darius series. It contains many elements from previous series such as branching paths, almost trippy backgrounds and fish based bosses, but also adds a new enemy capture mechanic and power-ups which level up the player's weapons. There are 5 stages to the game in total, and a total of 15 stages when all paths are considered.

One notable difference between this and other Darius games is a step-up in difficulty. While bosses were always pretty tough to kill, they've been given even more health, and even the regular stages are full of enemies and bullets which makes progress pretty tough, even with infinite continues. The new enemy ship capture mechanic works quite well, as players are able to send out a Capture Ball which converts any small enemy ship into an ally who will fight alongside the main ship.

Graphically the game has some 3D cutscene sections as well as the 2D gameplay. In certain parts players must shoot right to left, which makes for an interesting change. Overall though the game doesn't look as polished as older titles such as Darius Gaiden. Musically G Darius is pretty poor, featuring a few completely unlistenable tracks amongst its soundtrack.

Overall this is a disappointing way to end the collection as the game is decidedly mediocre in pretty much every aspect. The few good ideas that the game does have are heavily outweighed by the bad, and on the whole gameplay gets less and less enjoyable as the game continues.

Rating: 45/100
Grade: D

So after 39 arcade games, Taito Legends 2 has been fully explored. It's definitely got a wealth of titles to play, even if the standard of said games is largely varied. The earliest titles featured on the collection are interesting if a little simple, but it's the 1990s which really shine with 4 entries into my arcade top 10 ranking.

With such a large selection of games it's a little difficult to rate the collection as a whole, but I'll be taking into account it's interest level, features and any extra content that's included. What stuck out most for me was the fact that every game's options were customisable; many difficulty levels and key reassignments were available for all games which meant that the controls were known from the outset, and players were able to change the options to suit them.

Thanks to this impressive feature, and at least 12 arcade games that I can fully reccomend, this is one of the best collections I've taken a look at. It's true that there are 8 games on the collection which I'd warn against playing, but they're still interesting pieces of arcade history, especially for players who haven't had a chance to experience them.

Overall Collection Rating: 70/100
Grade: C

Collection Review: Taito Legends 2 Part 2

Game: Bonze Adventure
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1988

Kicking off part 2 of 3, Bonze Adventure is a platforming game where players control a Japanese monk, guiding him through seven 'hells' to get rid of the evil spirit from King Emma-O. The game gets even stranger once play begins with spirits, ghosts and all manner of odd creatures attacking from every angle. The only weapon the player has to defend themselves with are rosary beads which can be thrown at demons to defeat them.

There's a certain amount of curve on the throw of these beads, and it can be hard to hit enemies which are low down and close to players, or on a different height level. From the beginning the game is pretty difficult, and one hit from an enemy spells instant death, so there's no let up either. Even with infinite continues, on easy mode it became pretty difficult to get past the fourth 'hell'.

Graphically Bonze Adventure looks great, in a cartoon like 16 bit style. The enemies and levels are interestingly designed and the mood of the game is consistently pleasing. Unfortunately the soundtrack isn't quite as good; some of the tracks are listenable and don't go too badly with the atmosphere, but the fourth level's theme literally sounds like someone washing up.

Overall the game is mediocre due to its mid-to-high difficulty, forgettable platforming and lacklustre soundtrack. It's not a bad game by any means, but there's plenty of this style of arcade game around from this era, so standing out is important.

Rating: 47/100
Grade: D

Game: Nastar
Console; Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1988

A sequel to the fairly popular game Rastan, Nastar sees players guide the titlar hero through castles filled with enemies as they hack n' slash their way to the end. The first thing I noticed when I began playing was how slow Rastan walks; he's probably one of the slowest platforming heroes I've controlled in a video game. This is frustrating, but the control woes get worse as there's massive delay on his jump, and the screen often lets you get to the far right hand side of it before actually scrolling so that there's no way to see what's ahead.

Assuming players don't instantly quit due to these issues, the game has a nice variety of attack options as well as three different weapons to choose from. Enemy death animations are very well done and have them exploding into a pile of guts, which makes things a little more satisfying, and the ability to defend from attack with the shield is another plus.

Graphically the game is a mix of impressive and not so impressive graphics. Animations are nice and smooth, but the lines around characters and some details look a little strange. Overall the colour and level design is good. Musically the game is at its best when there's no voice clips over the soundtrack, but this happens fairly often and can be offputting.

On the whole, Nastar's control issues make it far more difficult to play than it needs to be, and hack n' slash games that came a little later seem to do a far better job. If players do manage to reach the last level of the game, no continues are allowed past that point, meaning that there's a final frustrating factor to consider before picking up the game.

Rating: 33/100
Grade: E

Game; Raimais
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1988

From the outside, Raimais may look like a strangely named, brightly coloured Pac-man clone, but it's a little more than that thankfully. Players control a vehicle which picks up dots whilst travelling around a maze. Once all the dots have been collected, the gates to the next level will open. The player's vehicle is chased by enemies which will cause the player to lose a life if they collide. Scattered around the maze are powerups which can be used to defeat the enemies.

There are lots of levels to progress through, and even different endings depending on the player's skill level. The control is generally good, with the option to boost if needed although sometimes this can mean that players are travelling too fast past a turning to make it around the corner. The difficulty steps up after the first few levels and later on its almost impossible not to take a few hits.

Graphically the game is brightly coloured, if a little simple sprite-wise. The game looks more like an 8-bit title than a 16-bit one, but as a puzzler it doesn't matter too much. The music is the major draw for this game with many enjoyable and fast paced tracks accompanying the rapid gameplay.

Overall Raimais is an interesting action puzzler that controls well, but can feel a little too fast at times. With infinite credits, it's fun to progress through a batch of levels but there's not a great deal of progression in terms of the level design. Replayability is the feature this game lacks the most.

Rating: 63/100
Grade: C

Game: Cameltry
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1989

Cameltry is an oddly named puzzle game where players must direct a ball around a maze by moving the maze around the ball. It's also possible to shunt the ball upwards by pressing a button. There are four difficulty levels, each with their own set of courses, and the aim of each course is simply to get to the goal at the end within the time limit. Numbered blocks are dotted around the course and count down to the goal as players progress.

Also dotted around the maze are powerups and time penalty blocks. Powerups give players either points or more time to complete each course, while penalty blocks take time away. At the end of each level, a time bonus is added to the time remaining, and this is how much time the player has to complete the next course. The level design is very good, especially in the later, more difficult courses and the only one that feels impossible is the final level of the game.

Graphically Cameltry displays some nice textures and backgrounds, despite its simplicity. The bright colours and fast paced gameplay go well with eachother, and penalties/bonuses are easy to spot. While there's not many tracks that accompany gameplay, the few that do are of a good standard and fit well with the mood of the game.

Overall I'd reccomend this as another fun action puzzler that reminded me a little of Marble Madness in its execution. The physics and controls work very well and are simple enough for anyone to master. My only complaint is that there's little reward apart from score for finishing a level, and there's no real story or background as to why players must guide this ball through the maze.

Rating: 69/100
Grade: C

Game: Don Doko Don
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1989

Don Doko Don is a platforming game where the aim is to smash enemies with a hammer before picking them up and throwing them either into other enemies or to their death elsewhere. If players touch enemies before they've been smashed, they'll lose a life, and if players aren't quick enough to pick the smashed enemies up, they'll recover and begin to roam the level once again. There are various levels in the game, including bosses every 10 levels which require a little more practical thinking to beat.

The controls for the game are simple, and allow players to move around the level, jump and smash with the hammer easily. To pick smashed enemies up, all that's needed is to collide with them. Once picked up, smashed enemies are thrown with the hammer button. While the controls work well, by the fifth or sixth level there are many enemies roaming the stage, and some levels aren't particularly well designed, making progress difficult at times.

Graphically, the game is one of the best so far with some parts which reminded me of the original Playstation, alongside the 16-bit overall feel. Things can get rather chaotic at points, but on the whole it's pretty easy to tell what's going on at any given point. The music for the game is largely forgettable although I quite liked the boss theme's fast paced sounds.

Overall Don Doko Don could be more enjoyable; with better level design, less overcrowding of enemies at points and more boss fights interspersed with the action it could have been very enjoyable. That's not to say that it isn't fun at points though, and it's notable for some good graphics along the way.

Rating: 48/100
Grade: D

Game: Insector X
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1989

Insector X is a shoot 'em up with an insect theme, challenging players to progress through its levels, killing insects with their gun, the power-ups provided and the bug spray special weapon. The power ups give players double shot, increased shot power and increased speed which are extremely useful.

The game is pretty difficult for a number of reasons; the first is that there's usually a fair amount occurring onscreen at any one time, but also when players lose a life (and you only need to get hit once), they're returned to a checkpoint in the level, rather than being allowed to carry on until they lose a continue. This means than any particularly difficult sections must be cleared in one go rather than sacrificing a few lives to get through.

Graphically the game is in a cartoon style, with bright colours and interesting background. The character designs for each insect and animal are well executed and many have different expressions within the same species, giving a sense of variety. Once again the music is pretty standard and isn't particularly good or bad.

Overall Insector X seems to be a game for fans of shoot 'em up games only, as a lot of skill is required to get past even the first level. While there's never a huge amount of bullets or enemies on screen, the one-hit deaths and being returned to checkpoints upon losing a life add to the difficulty quite a bit. With a few changes, this could have been a really enjoyable title.

Rating: 61/100
Grade: D

Game: Violence Fight

Console: Arcade

Developer: Taito

Release Date: 1989

With one of the most generic game titles I've ever seen, Violence Fight does exactly what it says on the tin. Pitting two fighters against one another in a series of bouts to determine a winner, that's pretty much all there is to the game. The strangely named fighters (Bad Blue, Lick Joe etc.) each have different attributes and excel in either punching, kicking or general agility.

The gameplay is clunky and difficult to control with any certainty. The best way to win fights seems to be mashing the punch button whilst moving towards your opponent, at least against the computer. If players manage to win two rounds in a row, they earn a bonus round against a tiger which if beaten increases their stats. This is incredibly difficult though, and the final bout even more so.

Graphically the game looks pretty good, and is even reminiscent of Street Fighter II at times although it's gameplay couldn't be further away from SFII. At times comic book style onomatopoeia will appear behind an attacking player as he downs the opponent, which gives play a nice effect. The sound effects used don't vary enough as I wasn't sure who was getting hit when listening just to the voice clips. 

Overall Violence Fight is a short and fairly simple fighting game with poor controls and general gameplay, as well as an unimpressive stats system and sound effects. There was a sequel to Violence Fight, so it'd be interesting to see how many of the faults have been fixed. On the whole though there's far better arcade fighters out there. 

Rating: 30/100

Grade: E

Game: Euro Football Champ
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1990

Euro Football Champ is one of the more interesting football arcade games for a number of reasons. Firstly there's the ability to "Play Rough" when not in possession of the ball. This option includes shirt pulling, punching, kneeing and kicking other players while the referee isn't near enough to see what's going on. Besides this, slide tackling is the "safer" option for players to get the ball off opponents with.

Passing and shooting are the available options when players are in possession, and for the most part these are responsive and work almost as well as in later football games. Scoring goals can be a little difficult as the goalkeepers have incredible skills, especially at higher difficulty levels, but it's definitely possible. My only complaint of the passing in the game is that sometimes players will pass to teammates who are inexplicably off the edge of the pitch, resulting in a throw in.

Graphically the game looks very nice, with a 16-bit feel and some 3D effects here and there. An especially amusing event occurs when the ball goes wide of the net, as photographers are stationed either side, and can be knocked down by the force of the ball. The music featured when a goal is scored is enjoyable, but other than this there's no music which accompanies play.

Overall Euro Football Champ is a fun little arcade soccer game which gets a little too hard due to the opposing team's defensive capabilities in the latter stages, but features many interesting touches. It'd definitely be interesting to play a home console version of the game, if it handled as well as this does.

Rating: 73/100
Grade: C

Game: Growl
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1990

When I first read the plot of Growl as it scrolled up the screen in the opening of the game, I didn't quite know what to make of it. Essentially players are tasked with stopping poachers and hunters from harming animals. As the game is a beat 'em up, there's plenty of enemies to beat and there's also plenty of weapons to beat the with. Controlwise players have an attack button, a jump button and control of their movement, although depending on where an enemy is in relation to the player, different attacks will be used onscreen.

There are four different characters to choose from, each with different attributes (although it didn't seem to make much difference). Their designs were fairly interesting, but there's no information about who they are. The action takes place across three main stages, but each of these have a number of sub areas. Each sub area, and main area leads seamlessly onto the next, meaning that weapons can be taken with players through the course of the game, if desired. The fact that there's absolutely no loading once the game begins is impressive.

From the outset, its clear that the game will be full of weapons and explosions as you're given a rocket launcher as the game begins, and many enemies have grenades to aim at the player. There are also guns, whips, swords, rocks, barrels, and boxes which can be used as weapons. An interesting feature of the guns is that once they're empty ammo wise, they can still be used as melee weapons, which can come in very handy.

Bosses appear through the course of the game, and some can be pretty difficult. Overall though the difficulty is manageable, and experienced players should be able to get by on 10 or so credits. At certain points during levels, animals will come to your aid and trample enemies for you. This can be especially helpful when there are up to 16 enemies onscreen at any one time. There's also a platforming stage appearing in the middle of the game which breaks up the fighting action and challenges players in a slightly different way.

Graphically the game is impressive both stylistically and in the fluidity of its animations. There's a great range of attacks for only having a single attack button, as the player character will often interact differently with enemies depending on the situation. The music for the game is also enjoyable, with a soundtrack that matches the intensity of the action. There's a little bit of voice acting at some points, but the less that's said about that, the better.

Overall Growl is an excellent arcade Beat 'em Up with a great variety of weapons, plenty of explosions and enemies to kill, a good amount of challenge, and some impressive little touches which make it a cut above the rest. A version of this game came out for the Sega Mega Drive, and after playing the arcade version, it's something I'm keen to pick up.

Rating: 87/100
Grade: B

Game: Gun Frontier
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1990

Gun Frontier begins with an overly long explanation of the setting for the game, especially for a shoot 'em up. Once onto the first stage though, the action is fast paced and enjoyable with plenty of enemies to shoot down as you'd expect. There are power ups which increase the number of bullets players can fire at once, and bomb power-ups which players can collect to increase the power of their bombs.

As the levels progress the game gets harder until the point where it's not as much fun because death occurs almost instantaneously after restarting. This is another shoot 'em up where you're reset each time you're hit, rather than at each continue. There are some interesting parts in the first three levels, and the enemy ship designs are interesting and fit the concept well.

Graphically the game seems a little weak for the time, but it's not bad. Enemy bullets are easy enough to see onscreen and explosions are handled nicely, despite a little slowdown in places (though I'm unsure if that's the PS2). The music for the game is very well done and easily one of its strongest features, it certainly overshadows the sound effects which are pretty average.

Overall Gun Frontier is a 'by the book' shoot 'em up with no real unique selling point. It gets pretty hard after a while, and apart from being decent gameplay wise, players shouldn't expect to be wowed in any department except the soundtrack. Unless you're a huge fan of shoot 'em ups, there's better ones out there.

Rating: 60/100
Grade: D

Game: Liquid Kids
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1990

Liquid Kids is a water based platforming game which seems to be aimed at children or at least a younger audience, from looking at its visual style. Players must rescue their kidnapped friends by making their way through stages, and stunning enemies with water balloon style projectiles. If more than one enemy is hit at one time by the water balloon, a score bonus item for the player appears once they've been defeated.

The game isn't particularly hard, especially if players throw water balloons around incessantly and move through the level at a reasonable speed. It's possible to make the balloons larger by holding down the attack button before releasing it, although this isn't necessary in too many places. Even the bosses featured in the game hold little challenge, as they have slow moving and repetitive patterns and are very easy to hit.

Graphically the game is very nice, featuring a cute visual style based on various animals, and items based on cakes and sweets. The music too seems very much aimed at younger audiences, and because of this it can be hard to take seriously. Overall Liquid Kids is an interesting piece of arcade history and perhaps something that enticed some younger players into gaming. Perhaps if I'd encountered this at a younger age, it'd hold some nostalgia for me.

Rating; 50/100
Grade: D

Game: Super Space Invaders '91
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1990

Space Invaders is probably one of the most well known gaming franchises ever, with a release of some kind on almost every console up to the 6th generation. Super Space Invaders '91 is the 5th instalment in the arcade series and features some major changes to the Space Invaders formula which include far more interesting background, different attack patterns, bosses, powerups, and a shield feature.

There are over 50 different "rounds" to play through, and with each the attack pattern of the invaders changes. Sometimes invaders drop downwards when shot, meaning that it's more difficult to clear the bottom row, other times they expand when there's nothing next to them, and they're shot. This keeps gameplay far more interesting and varied than the original game.

Graphically the game seems a little behind the times, espeically in terms of the backgrounds and sprites which are almost inbetween NES and SNES era graphics. Musically the game is good especially when fighting bosses, but the sound effects are still the same as the original game which is a nice throwback.

Overall I'm not sure 1991 needed another version of Space Invaders, but at least its a definite improvement on previous instalments. There are 2 later versions of Space Invaders still to come in Part 3, so it'll be interesting to see what further changes are made to the series. All in all, it's still Space Invaders at heart, but with plenty of interesting changes to keep players amused for far longer.

Rating; 67/100
Grade: C

Game: Metal Black
Console: Arcade
Developer: Taito
Release Date: 1991

A sequel to both Gun Frontier (reviewed a little earlier) and Darius II, Metal Black is a side scrolling shoot 'em up. Players can collect neutrons to charge their laser which can then be fired at enemies as a special attack. Bosses appear at the end of each short level and take far too many hits to beat, to the point where players have to charge and use the special attack laser fully at least three times, while shooting the boss constantly, to win a level.

Graphically the game is nice in places, the larger explosions when bosses are beaten give a sense of achievement, but other than that there's nothing particularly impressive. The music for the game fits the action well but isn't something that'll stay with players for long once they've finished with the game. Overall Metal Black is a standard shoot 'em up that lacks any real distinguishing features and ends up being rather uninteresting.

Rating: 59/100
Grade: D