Review - Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena

Developer/Publisher: Starbreeze Studios/Tigon Studios/Atari
Release Date: April 7, 2009
Available On: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Genre: Stealth shooter
Number of Players: 1-12
Strong Points: Excellent value for the money; Butcher Bay presents a challenging experience with few flaws; voice acting is top notch; Butcher Bay conversion looks and feels like an Xbox 360 game, rather than a port of a five-year-old game; story through both games is captivating and compelling
Weak Points: Dark Athena strays too far from franchise strengths; shooter segments are average and unsatisfying
Technical Score: A
Artistic Score: B+
Final Score (not an average): B
Moral Warnings: Violent and blood run rampant throughout; profanity is featured heavily in the game; brutal one-on-one combat a major part of game play; sexual references to rape and masturbation in both games

In 2004, right around the same time that everyone in the gaming industry had seemingly lost hope for movie tie-in games, “The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay” hit the original Xbox. Unlike many games related to movies where the player is asked to play through the events of the film itself, “Riddick” asked players to play a prologue of sorts to the films that had starred the character, Richard B. Riddick. The game did this by throwing the player into a “slam" (a prison), throwing away the key, and then taunting: escape.


Riddick’s subsequent escape is chronicled in “Escape from Butcher Bay,” the first and strongest part of “The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena,” and its sequel, the eponymous “Dark Athena.” Much like “Thief” before it, “Riddick” is a first-person stealth game with an initial focus on brutally disabling both guards and fellow inmates. This is “Riddick” at its finest; the shooting elements, while solid, tend to be frustrating and more twitch based than anything else, detracting from the real strengths of the game.

Sadly, this also means that the latter half of “Dark Athena” isn’t what it could be. Once the player gains the SCAR, a remote detonating mine launcher, the game turns into something resembling a weak run-and-gun shooter. This disrupts an otherwise methodical game, replacing the basic risk and reward mechanic with trial and error, something that may work well with the likes of “Doom,” “Quake” or “Painkiller,” but most definitely does not play to the strengths of the developers here. That’s not to say that developer Starbreeze doesn’t know how to make a game with shooting as its focus, however. For example, their previous effort, “The Darkness,” featured shooting game play more prominently than it is here, but then that game also gave you an adequate health system, along with enemies that weren’t overpowered. In this case, the elements of what makes for a good stealth action title don’t equate a quality first person shooter, and herein lies “Riddick’s” main problem.

Beyond that, “Riddick” is a stunning success. Adding to the already well-implemented stealth game mechanics are adventure elements, requiring conversation but little finesse. Characters give side quests and scant background information, and that’s about it, but where that would be a shortcoming in other games, it works to the benefit of the game here, adding some depth without breaking up the flow of the game itself. “Riddick” is also hard, recalling “Butcher Bay’s” original release, and in itself indicative of the way that difficulty has been toned down in the five years since the game first came out. In “Butcher Bay,” the challenge is rewarding; in “Dark Athena,” it becomes something along the lines of prohibitive.

First person combat is one of the most intriguing and well-implemented aspects of “Riddick.” Not gunplay; I’ve already established that leaves something to be desired. Instead, I’m referring to fist fights, which are far more common in “Butcher Bay,” but still integral to “Dark Athena.” From stealth take downs to simple one-on-one brawls, impacts and attacks sound real and carry weight when they connect. This alone places “Riddick” in far more brutal territory than many M-rated games, its only comparison in brutality — but not depravity, since the “Riddick” universe does have a moral center, and a defined one at that — being the “Manhunt” series of games.

“Riddick” is also one of the more visually inconsistent games released to date on either the Xbox 360 or PS3. This is mostly due to “Butcher Bay’s” status as a polished port. Both games are good looking, and unless you were previously aware, you wouldn’t know that “Butcher Bay” was a port. Even so, “Dark Athena” holds the edge here simply because it looks smoother and the animation — and consequently, the characters — feel more realized and lifelike.

Enemy AI is a problem, proving to be both stupid and hypersensitive. Relying partially on line-of-sight and partially on extrasensory perception, the enemies in both “Riddick” games automatically discover the player when out of cover or in light, and otherwise haphazardly rely on line-of-sight, which enables the player to brutally kill the enemy. However, unlike other stealth games, such as “Splinter Cell,” where the player must hide the bodies of the dead or unconscious, here that never really comes into play, although it’s suggested. There’s just no real reason to hide the bodies. The guards aren’t smart enough to do anything about it if they find a body, and unlike other games, there’s no varying levels of alert or awareness to hinder the player’s progress and make their job harder. This does not, however, make the game play any less exciting or visceral during the stealth segments; it simply surprises me that such a basic element of stealth gaming could be left out of the equation, though with how solid the majority of the game is, it’s more a disappointment than anything else.

Of course, this wouldn’t be a big-budget action game without excellent voice acting, and here “Riddick” does not disappoint. In the first game, Vin Diesel, Cole Hauser, Xzibit and Ron Perlman all turn in top notch performances, only to be handily outclassed by the voice cast of “Dark Athena,” which includes Lance Henriksen and Michelle Forbes.

Much of the problem with the content with Riddick lies in the language that’s used by the various characters on display. Enemies use the full-range of profanities normally featured in an R-rated film, from variations of the f-word to lesser profanities, including blasphemies. One character drops the c-word twice and then mentions raping a female character that Riddick is helping out. Every word in the book is used during the course of both games, possibly — improbably — more in “Dark Athena,” a game not even set in a prison. In “Butcher Bay,” occasional references to prison rape are made. “Dark Athena” also has an inmate masturbating with his back to the player. Blood and gore splatter the walls, and enemies display wounds from attacks that they’ve received. Both games encourage players to hunt down and disable enemies, which can include brutal weapon disarms, unarmed kills and armed kills, all of which showcase Riddick’s particular brand of bloodlust.

“The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena” comprises the best value seen in games since “The Orange Box,” and also contains one of the best Xbox games ever made. It is a testament to the fact that good movie games can and do exist, if the developers care about the project enough to implement quality game play. However, with that recommendation comes a warning: both “Riddick” games are astoundingly brutal, profane and dark, unrelenting in the atmosphere of oppression and captivity that they convey. This is a game based on an R-rated film franchise and is not for children; those mature enough and willing to venture into a prison and slave ship will find a rewarding, disturbing experience very much unlike any found on any system to date.


-Drew Regensburger (drew@revolve21.com)
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Review - Left 4 Dead

Developer/Publisher: Valve Corp. (Certain Affinity Xbox 360 version)

Release Date: November 18, 2008
Rating: M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language

Available On: PC, Xbox 360

Genre: First Person Shooter

Number of Players: 1-8 (online), 1-2 (local split screen)
Strong Points: Online and offline play; fast pace; solid gameplay; easy drop-in-drop-out play; lots of humor; high replay value; well-crafted horror setting (lighting, sounds, etc.); gives everyone a “this one time..!” story; lovable characters; ZOMIBES.

Weak Points: Not for everyone; limited weapons; single player is not enough to justify a purchase; just as described story is even less than a typical B movie; limited map selection (though DLC will increase this); the nature of the game can make getting an exact party difficult.
Technical Score: A-

Artistic Score:B+

Final Score (not an average): A

Moral Warnings: Lots of swearing (including GD and JC); “God is Dead” is spray painted a few locations; lots of violence; blood (splatters on HUD) and head explosions; violence includes sounds such as hearing your teammates screaming for help while being assaulted by various undead


Do you have your plan? Everyone needs one. I have had my plan for surviving the zombie apocalypse since I was about twelve. It predates my plans for supercomputer takeover, but not communist invasion. Whether you have one or not, Left 4 Dead gives us the best method for weeding out which of our friends you really want to keep around when the dead start shuffling; or rather running. Breaking from the Resident Evil and George Romero norm of stumbling, moaning brain eaters, Valve is following closer to the 28 Days Later style of dashing cannibals. I think this is mostly a control decision.

If Valve does one thing right, it is first person shooters. If you pit a team of four people who can headshot from the hip against old school zombies it might start out fun but lack of challenge will quickly kill the game. So instead of taking the Resident Evil or Silent Hill path of confining controls Valve chose a balance. They used fast zombies (“infected”) and “special infected," and they kept the shooting simple. There is no aiming down the sights (except with a scope) and no leaning to peer around corners or cover. As a straight FPS, L4D is rather basic, including when compared to Valve’s own products. They take this and implement it in a very “get from start point to safe room” gameplay style with lots of obstacles and events to make it fun along the way.


Another thing that you always need for your survival plan is guns. Lots of them and ammunition, too. This is something I have mixed feelings for in L4D. They provide two tiers of guns. The first consists of pistol, pump shotgun, and Uzi; the second has dual pistols, auto shotgun, assault rifle, and hunting rifle (the only gun with a scope). This basically limits the player to four weapons with nearly no variation. Even though it is a more practical design, I can’t help but be upset. Each gun is made very well however; great sounds, kick and firepower will keep you happy with what you do have. For a bit of an extra punch someone ran ahead of you and made large quantities of Molotov cocktails and timed pipe bomb grenades, both of which are perfect for killing massive quantities of zombies in a short period of time. But be careful with those Molotovs since survivors are flammable, too!

The last thing you need for firepower are the actual bullets, and they are fairly scarce in this game. As they should be. While this is not a resource managing game, if there was no end to the number of clips a survivor could carry, then nothing would stop them from holding down the trigger the entire game. I feel they hit the spot nearly on target, as I rarely have run out of ammo but often would if the group missed an ammo stockpile. Funny how there are heaping piles of all sorts of bullets lying around on tables at such a chaotic time (left by the same person as made the grenades?). I do think the shotgun could use a few fewer rounds as I have yet to run out and the assault rifle could use with perhaps one clip as I regularly run out with it.

But just who’s plans worked well enough to live long enough for you to play as them in L4D? Luckily, making great characters around the player through scripted events is something Valve takes pride in and does very well in L4D. I have talked with several people who, before knowing too much about the game, claimed that it would be much better if it was more customizable, specifically if it allowed players to make their own players. At first, prior to launch, I was leaning in favor of their argument. After playing it, though, I have to say they are completely wrong. Valve chose four characters and built the world around them. They each have very specific responses to locations, events, situations, and each other. They also have very specific voices, and I think this is incredibly important. Voice chat is a must, of course, but hearing the responses of the characters is incredibly moving, both in a uplifting and funny way, but mostly in a terrifying way as they are dragged kicking and screaming through near death again and again.

The four characters quickly grow on you and give you a feel for them and the situation; it associates them with the danger in a way that you would not get with a generically created avatar with the same voice as half the other players. You will be disappointed if you expect a great story but what you will get is a great experience. Most of the story that is there is told through writing scrawled on walls and floors through the levels and particularly in the safe rooms. From “God is Dead” and “We deserved this” and the like to messages for missing loves ones to a list of how many zombies the writer had killed. Portal, which was also a survival story without much story, used similar messages to depict the tales of those here in the past, to give you hints for what you may do in the future, and leave you with a chuckle now.


When, at last, one succumbs to the inevitable and becomes one of the undead, it turns out to actually be just as exciting as being alive, maybe even more so. When not playing through the game with three friends, or as many bots as needed to fill out the team, you can pit your team against four other former survivors in the Versus mode. Instead of respawning in a closet as usual there is no respawn at all and if at least one team member does not make it to the safe room they lose the round. As of the time of original writing, only two of the four campaigns are playable for Versus, but the rest will be added later for free by Valve. Until then, the rush of hunting down the other team in either a city or forest is more than enough.

Versus tends to make the game even more intense and exciting. While the AI is generally quite good, nothing compares to a living (or not so living), thinking human controlling your enemies. There is also nothing as exhilarating as pouncing a survivor as the hunter (a hoodie wearing, super jumping special zombie) or pulling one as smoker (a gangly special infected with a extra long tongue it uses to grab and pull as if fishing for humans) in a place you know no one will be able to save them. The point of that is that L4D makes you, as a survivor, completely dependent on your teammates. Without them to cover you, melee a special infected to save you, or to help you up you will die. When health reaches zero the survivor becomes incapacitated (with a “three strikes and you are out” rule for death) and will slowly bleed to death. Similarly, when pounced or hooked by a smoker, there is no way for you to free yourself.

The third special infected is not as deadly directly, but can wreak even more havoc; the boomer is a bloated zombie with a puke ability that will “slime” survivors and blur their screen. But that is not the worst of it. The regular infected are attracted to this goo and a horde of them will instantly spawn and come after anyone with it on their skin. The last playable infected is the tank. Basically the hulk lost his green and decided he likes to eat brains. Players are randomly chosen to play as the tank and will enjoy super strength and rock throwing abilities. I find it is better just to punch however, especially since logs and cars make for better people squishers than rocks. The last special infected is not playable but is perhaps the creepiest. The witch sits patiently in her spawn location crying and wailing until “startled.” Spooking a witch is very foolish. She instantly incapacitates anyone she hits at best and can kill them regardless of health. Stay away at all costs unless you are very good with the shotgun and can take her out before startling her. Otherwise turn off flashlights and don’t shoot around her or even get close.

On a more exact level, Left 4 Dead has a great interface and matchmaking system for easy play on both platforms. Getting a party is easy, just getting a party of people you know (the most fun way to play) can be hard and awkward, though it isn’t necessarily the game’s fault. Getting exactly four or eight people can leave teams lopsided, and if you want to play expert, you absolutely need four players. PC servers are sometimes buggy and good connections aren’t as common as they should be; it always takes a minute to properly establish the connections.


Sound plays a major role in any kind of horror or survival setting and Valve hits every note perfectly. From specific events to themes for witch and tank spawns to the sound effects, everything fits perfectly. The fear the witch’s cry incites or the terror of hearing the tank’s theme is incredible. Almost as good as those are terrible is the completion sound played when you make it into a safe room.

But that rewarding sound doesn’t come easy since the AI does an excellent job of keeping it challenging. Usually it does well for Survivor campaigns but it just doesn’t cut it in expert. It does have a few kinks still to work out, as they will do stupid things as all AI tend to do, but they generally function very well. In Versus it can actually be an advantage to have a bot on the Bloody Harvest campaign as they can "see" through trees and shoot infected when you would never have noticed. Valve also made a director AI that monitors stress levels of the survivors and sets up ratios against the number of infected currently spawned and killed and other factors to manipulate the game around the players. Hordes will be spawned suddenly or a witch or tank will be placed based on the player’s behavior and how well they are performing. Several times I have felt that the director hates particular teams when playing Versus, but that team has always been my own. so maybe it is just me. Versus, in the name of fairness, has also forced all tank and witch spawns to be in the same locations for both teams. In Versus, the teams take turns playing through each chapter of the each campaign so the second team will always know exactly what to expect as far as those two major obstacles are concerned. Hardly fair in my opinion.

Visually, both versions look very good. The Source engine is at its finest, but this game shows it is also clearly on its last legs. They are good but not great and certainly not amazing when compared to many other titles coming out. Valve did a very good job of prioritizing just what looks good, especially the animations. The faces of the survivors are depicted very well, and they portray their emotions (generally horror) particularly well. A special situation also throws the player into third person view and temporarily takes away control of the player. These situations provide a chance to see just how great he animations really are. Whether a hunter has you pinned to the ground and is tearing you apart, a witch just ran past and pushed you aside, or you are helping a teammate up, the animations and vocal responses fit perfectly. All the character models also look very good, the generic infected in particular have an immense number of skins keeping htem fresh visually, if not physically. Keeping with the B movie feel, this screenplay comes complete with a film grain slider bar to fit your personal preference when fighting off hordes of zombies. Oh, and there are several great explosions in the game that will make you smile, so don’t worry.

Left 4 Dead grabs the player and his friends and throws them right into a well crafted apocalypse with fun characters and terrifying enemies that will have them sweating bullets. Do you shoot the zombies and risk the harsh punishment of friendly fire, or do you call out and hope your friend reacts in time? Will you bleed out before your friends make it to you? Can you sneak past the witch, or will she completely destroy you with her Lady Deathstrike claws? I suggest you let the other guy go first.

I think the best part of Left 4 Dead is when you are talking about it. Nearly every time you play, it gives everyone playing a story to tell. A time you just made it to save all three of your team mates... or didn't. A time you blew a tank off the roof or were the tank and punched them all off. The possibilities are nearly endless and even though each campaign can be played through in roughly two hours, the variables of just Versus make them infinitely different in so many ways every time. In the four player Survivor campaigns there are different difficulties to create a constant challenge.

Besides the obvious violence the biggest issue this game has is language. Nearly every word in the book besides the f bomb is used and fairly regularly at that. It is not overly gory but there is plenty of blood. Fortunately, there is hardly any sexual content except a few zombies in hospital gowns show bare bottom.

When everything is lined up, I have to say that Left 4 Dead is an incredibly fun, incredibly replayable game simple enough for nearly anyone to enjoy but having enough depth and strategy for the hardcore. I can’t recommend it enough to those not put off by its moral content, especially with Valve’s promise and track record of content updates.

-Paul Alfred Brown, guest reviewer
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Review - Dead Space

Developer/Publisher: EA Redwood Shores (EARS)/EA
Release Date: October 14, 2008
Rating: M for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence and Strong Language
Available On: Xbox 360, PS3, PC
Genre: Action-Horror
Number of Players: 1
Strong Points: Strategic gunplay forces player to pick their shots; effective creation of atmosphere that permeates game world; strong story drives player along; plenty of replay value
Weak Points: Game tends towards easiness; boss battles are inventive, though not challenging; game seems too short (10-12 hours long); unlocked items cannot be carried over to a new save at a harder difficulty
Technical Score: A
Artistic Score: B
Final Score (not an average): A
Moral Warnings: Combat revolves around dismemberment of enemy limbs; blood spray hits everything and coats the player character; profanity shows up every once in a while, from “f***” to “s***”; imagery throughout tends to be very disturbing and is designed to unsettle the player in an effort to create an effective atmosphere


Imagine taking two of science fiction’s best horror movies-Alien and Event Horizon-throwing them into a blender with Resident Evil 4, and then sprinkling in elements strongly reminiscent of Scientology. Dump that goop onto a pan, throw it in an oven, and what comes out should be Dead Space.

Dead Space is one of the "new" EA’s first forays into something called the original IP, an experiment that has brought new life with games like Mirror’s Edge, Spore and Skate. These are unlicensed games, unestablished properties, and they are not necessarily going to bring in as much revenue as, say, a Madden or Call of Duty title would.


In this instance, the experiment is largely successful: Dead Space is a game that, while never exactly adventurous with its game play elements, does what it sets out to do very well. Everything here is borrowed from another game. The camera and game play, from Resident Evil 4; the way that the story and environment mesh, including presentation of certain story elements, from Bioshock; these and many more influences litter the halls of the USG Ishimura, a place dense and claustrophobic with the newly dead and newly reanimated.

You control Isaac Clarke, an engineer who, along with the crew of a repair ship, has been dispatched to help the crippled vessel called the USG Ishimura. Clarke has a personal stake in the mission, however; a woman named Nicole Brennan, Isaac’s ex-girlfriend, is a doctor stationed aboard the ship. Upon docking (sorta) with the ship, it soon becomes pretty apparent that there’s something very, very wrong with the Ishimura, and that maybe repairs aren’t going to cut it. The crew is missing. The halls are darkened, and the walls splattered with blood. And there are... things roaming the halls, things that don’t seem to die. It is through this that Isaac must traverse to figure out what went wrong, to save the repair ship crew, and to save Nicole.

Things aren’t going to be easy on that front. Dead Space introduces an element to the game play that challenges the player to pick their shots, and pick wisely. Enemies don’t go down by headshots, and they don’t go down from hits to the body, at least not very easily. Instead, the developers force the player to aim at the extremities: it slows down the target, and, for some reason, enables the player to kill enemies (called Necromorphs) far faster than if the player shot at the head or the body. This slows down the pace of a game that could have been a sci-fi reimagining of RE4, and also makes the game much gorier. It also encourages ammo conservation since, like many horror games, ammunition becomes more difficult to come by in the later stages of the game.

Dead Space has twelve missions in it which generally last an hour each (less if you don’t take your time). Each of these missions tends to have a very simple structure - the player receives orders, tries to fulfill said orders, has to clear out a ton of enemies, maybe has to solve a puzzle, and then returns to mission start. A tram that transports the player around the ship connects all missions, and through this most areas are revisited once or twice, though never for reasons that are illogical. The developers wisely chose to have you revisit an area if a reasonable item was there. If you have to search a dead body, check the morgue; if you have to reactivate the engines, you go to the engine room, etc. Nothing is out of place, and the progression always makes sense.


Game play variety is where Dead Space falters. Most of the time, the game has you running from point A to pick up an item at point B, with a couple of monster closets and rooms to best along the way. This isn’t exactly boring because Dead Space manages to be consistently entertaining throughout the length of its ten or so hours. But it isn’t exactly varied, either. Variety comes into play in two areas: zero gravity and zero oxygen sections. Since you’re traversing what is essentially a crippled freighter floating dead in space, you’re bound to run into areas on the ship where external repairs have to be made or internal malfunction has caused some sort of gravity or oxygen deficiency. These sections of Dead Space add some more flavor to the mix, and they tend to be executed quite well with the exception of one ridiculously unnecessary asteroid shooting segment, a set piece that has controls so terrible that they reminded me of the worst parts of the N64 game Shadows of the Empire. That is to say that they’re loose and unresponsive, spurring multiple attempts to complete the segment should the player be compelled to do so.

Graphically, Dead Space is gorgeous. The Ishimura, where most of the game takes place, is a varied environment, not all gray corridors and atmospheric lighting. No one area on the ship looks the same, which is great for the progression in the game. Texture work on both character models and environments is right up there with the best of them. Lighting is phenomenally impressive and animation is the same. All of it lends credence to the idea that you, as Isaac, are really on the ship and really experiencing the horrors that might be lurking behind every door and around every curve. On the other hand, any printed text in-game tends to be too small on an SDTV; I got a headache a few times after playing too long, which is a problem.

Side story bits, inventory, and the on-screen map are handled through a pop up menu since the game does not actively pause (except for when you press the Start button) for pretty much anything. All of this adds to the game but is essentially optional and not required to complete the game. Upgrades for weapons, new weapons, and suit upgrades are all handled like this, too, except through collection of valuable items as the player travels the ship. Upgrades are handled through a workbench feature which is much like leveling up, RPG-lite style, while new purchases and suit changes are handled through a store that you can generally access around tram stations.

The audio is, likewise, amazing. From sound effects to voice acting, everything rings true to the genre and never comes off as cheesy or misplaced. All of the music in-game adds tension and contributes to the ominous atmosphere that the developers were going for. Add in the excellent use of surround sound, and at times it really does feel like you’re surrounded by the enemies that populate the ship, fighting for your life.


Gore is prevalent in Dead Space. The entire combat system is based around the player strategically dismembering enemies. Blood often splatters the walls and floor and, sometimes, Isaac’s body. There’s also a ton of frightening images strewn throughout the game from imposing boss enemies (three of them, I think) to standard, disturbing horror fare (bodies being autopsied, an apparent suicide, etc.) meant to unnerve the player. Profanity doesn’t tend to be a problem, which means that it’s not featured throughout the game, though there are some instances of curse words, one or two of which is the f-word. A major facet of the story deals with a cult-like religion; some of the religious concepts that the followers believe in are detailed for the player, though there’s not much exposition on that front.

Dead Space is easily one of the best games that I’ve played in the last year. It’s not perfect, and it’s certainly not original, but it’s a great example of what happens when a good idea meets strong execution coupled with a compelling story and universe. However, while Dead Space is certainly well done, it’s definitely not frightening, and hardly creepy. The atmosphere, while set up well, isn’t exactly successful in creating an ominous tone; I can honestly say that I was only mildly creeped out once or twice during the game, and those times were due to incidental happenings in the game world, only one of which I’m sure the developer had anything to do with. That said, those going in expecting an excellent story and a great game can’t go wrong here; those expecting to be scared like they were playing Silent Hill 2 should maybe rent Dead Space first.

-Drew Regensburger (drew@revolve21.com)
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Review - Gunstar Heroes

Developer/Publisher: Treasure Co., Ltd. / Sega
Release Date: September 9th, 1993 (Genesis), December 11th, 2006 (Virtual Console)
Available On: Sega Genesis, Virtual Console
Genre: Shooter
Number of Players: 1-2 players (local)
Strong Points: Fantastic feel; great looks; customizable weapons
Weak Points: Co-op may be frustrating; fairly short
Technical Score: A
Artistic Score: A-
Final Score (not an average): A
Content Warnings: Cartoonish gun violence; brief flatulence humor; female characters are clearly feminine, but they are fully dressed


Gunstar Heroes is a game that looks back to an era of gaming where staying alive while getting from point A to point B in spite of hordes of drones was perfectly acceptable. Originally released in 1993 as the first title from developer Treasure (known especially for its mastery of arcade shooter gameplay as seen in games like Ikaruga), Gunstar Heroes embodies the very essence of the classic run-and-gun genre. Adding its own twists and ideas to the genre, Gunstar Heroes is an incredibly solid package overall that is certainly worthy of its status as a classic among the more long-time gamers.

The premise of Gunstar Heroes' gameplay is as simple as it gets: fight your way through legions of foes to reach the boss at the end of the stage, defeat the boss, move on to the next mission and do the same thing until you succeed in becoming the game's savior. However, it is exactly this no-frills approach that makes it possible for the game to focus on captivating players through engaging twitch gameplay mechanics.

Though gunplay is central to Gunstar Heroes, gun fire alone will not ensure survival. In addition to firing guns, players can jump, grab hold of ledges, hang from and crawl along said edges, slide tackle enemies, throw enemies (including throwing them while in the middle of a jump), jump off of walls, and perform headlong diving attacks (also useful in escaping hazard zones). This expanded array of moves might bring to mind the idea that Gunstar Heroes resembles the Mega Man X series, but the ability to acquire different guns, and use custom combinations of the guns, is what does more to tempt gamers to draw a connection between these games. However, in spite of these similarities, Gunstar Heroes is much more akin (in intensity, feel, and linearity) to the game that defines, for many, the run-and-gun genre, Contra.

Indeed, Gunstar Heroes has some form of a story line to provide motivation for beating the missions, but it is not something that would really motivate fans of the game (or genre as a whole) to continue playing if the gameplay doesn't. At the end of the day, Gunstar Heroes prioritizes gameplay over all other things. The absolutely spot-on responsiveness and simplicity of the controls is strong evidence of this.

One of Gunstar Heroes' most pleasing mechanics is the ability to find different gun powers. There are four base gun types that you can find in the missions (you choose which you want to begin with at the very beginning of the game, though it can be swapped out): a rapid shot, a seeking shot, an electric shot, and a fire shot. Players can carry two gun powers at a time, and they have the option to use just one power at a time or (as is much more common) combine two powers to create other powers. Powers can be doubled up (that is, to say, that a player can have two rapid shots fused together), but the combinations tend to be more interesting and useful.

Though the combinations all have advantages and disadvantages, some combinations seem to make most of the boss fights exceptionally easy. Still, those combinations are actually rather ineffective when facing masses of enemies during the majority of the level prior to the boss chamber. Because of this, the gun combination options do balance themselves out.

As mentioned previously, Gunstar Heroes was Treasure's first game project. However, with its team consisting of veterans from Konami, Treasure shows a mastery of its available technology from the start. The graphics in Gunstar Heroes are, without doubt, amazing for the time and hardware the game was released on.

Graphically, the character sprites are lively, well animated, and fun in design. The missions take place in a very vividly crafted world with all sorts of things happening in the backgrounds. Still, the frantic action in the foreground will likely cause gamers to miss the work put into the surrounding world if they aren't careful to look for it. Nevertheless, regardless of how frantic the action becomes, there is rarely (if ever) any graphical slowdown. As if icing the on the cake, Gunstar Heroes even makes (good) use of three-dimensional graphic technologies for effect.

The sound department can hold its own weight, too. The sound effects fit the game well. Likewise, the music is upbeat and driving. The sound drives the game's feel very well. However, the music isn't likely to remain with gamers after shutting the game off.

For all of the technical and artistic successes of Gunstar Heroes, the moral fabric of the game must be examined, too. Fortunately, Gunstar Heroes is no worse than most gamers familiar with the genre and era would expect. Gunplay is, obviously, central to the game. However, the deaths in the game are as clean as they can be (enemies bounce back and disappear in a simple explosion of flame). Though sexuality is practically nonexistent, there are a couple of female characters in the game that are given fully feminine figures; this is hardly worth mentioning, however. No profanity was found in the game. Brief flatulence humor seen in the form of a boss character's attack. Finally, though insignificant to gameplay, those who watch the story segment that plays before the title screen will see brief mention of a spell and summoning. This has little-to-no bearing on the gameplay, though, and it really isn't something to be terribly concerned with.

At the end of the day, Gunstar Heroes is one of the best uses of $8 on the Virtual Console. The gameplay holds its own well over ten years after its release. The sheer level of fun that this game offers provides a lot of replay value. Even today, the graphics (technically and artistically) are pleasing on the eyes. In every way as a game, Gunstar Heroes has withstood the test of time and remains a thoroughly enjoyable classic worthy of that title. It is well worth the cost of admission to all self-declared gamers who will not be bothered by the game's moral content. Period.

-Kenny Yeager (kenny@revolve21.com)
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