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This thread has been linked to the game 'Ikaruga'.
Got this today, felt like doing a mini review.
This game really is a touch of genius. You probably know it's a classic 2D scrolling shoot 'em up, and that instead of having the usual selection of power-ups, you can switch between being white or black. And I must say that it's probably the best decision made in a game for years.The enemy ships are either white or black, and depending on what polarity you are affects what happens:
Same polarity:
Their shots can't hurt you.
You absorb their fire with the bulliet eater technique, which powers up your homing missiles.
When you destroy them they fire 4/5 shots at you.
Different polarity:
Their shots will destroy you.
You inflict double damage on them.
You earn double points for destroying them.
When you destroy them they don't fire any shots (unless you're playing on Hard)
But what makes it so great is that there are advantages to both ways. If you change to the same polarity as them you will be safer, and you can power up your lethal homing cluster missiles attack, but then again you can destroy them quicker and get a higher score by being brave and making yourself vulberable.
Also you can build up your chain combos and earn huge amounts of points by destroying 3+ ships of the same polarity. Naturally, you will be faced with ships and fire of each polarity at the same time for most of the game. The strategy element therefore is remarkable, and getting anywhere will require quick thinking and quicker reflexes. Another thing that struck me was that unlike the Monkeys Balls games, it has never once left me feeling frustrated, and I've never felt like the game was being unfair or irritating at anytime.
The graphics are pretty much what you'd expect, at some points I thought it could have done with some improved back grounds, but then when you think of the amount of ships and bulliets on the screen at one time, it's acceptable. Besides, if you actually want to be half good at you won't have time to admire the background anyway.
There's a few game modes, the normal story mode, trial mode (which is just the first 2 chapters, with unlimited lives for the first chapter), practice mode (choose a level to practice), Conquest; where you can choose a stage of a level and work on your technique, you can choose the difficulty and also if you want to play in slow motion for refinement. And of course, there's the 2 player co-op which I havne't tried yet.
There are also 4 modes you can unlock (I don't know what they are yet). They require things like beating Trial Mode on normal with one credit (continue), and beating the story on normal with one credit (which would only take...say..a year). But they can also be unlocked in a SSBM way, the first of the four will be unlocked after 5 hours of play time, the second 10 hours and then 15 and 20 hours for the others.
Lastly, there is a challenge mode, with is the story mode on normal, you are given one credit and you have to get the highest score possible. You will also get given a code, which I'm guessing is your score in some form of encryption; you can enter it on the website to enter your score in the world rankings. The top 5 for each category win a prize when it ends (July 31st).
Summary:
+ Classic retro action
+ Quick thinking
+ On the fly strategy
+ Hours and hours of game play
+ Extremely addictive
+ Very challenging
+ Enter world rankings
+ 2 Player co-op
- Slow down when a boss explodes, although it doesn't really matter because it's the end of the chapter.
- Doesn't give you cash for a high score.
- ..er..that's it.
And one final thing. I've spent ages playing it today, and I made it into the world rankings! Yep, for a whole glorious 15 minutes I was ranked as the 100th best player in the world at Ikaruga. I've been knocked off now, but I took a screenshot as a memento:
www.geocities.com/whitestripes15/ikaruga.JPG
This game really is a touch of genius. You probably know it's a classic 2D scrolling shoot 'em up, and that instead of having the usual selection of power-ups, you can switch between being white or black. And I must say that it's probably the best decision made in a game for years.The enemy ships are either white or black, and depending on what polarity you are affects what happens:
Same polarity:
Their shots can't hurt you.
You absorb their fire with the bulliet eater technique, which powers up your homing missiles.
When you destroy them they fire 4/5 shots at you.
Different polarity:
Their shots will destroy you.
You inflict double damage on them.
You earn double points for destroying them.
When you destroy them they don't fire any shots (unless you're playing on Hard)
But what makes it so great is that there are advantages to both ways. If you change to the same polarity as them you will be safer, and you can power up your lethal homing cluster missiles attack, but then again you can destroy them quicker and get a higher score by being brave and making yourself vulberable.
Also you can build up your chain combos and earn huge amounts of points by destroying 3+ ships of the same polarity. Naturally, you will be faced with ships and fire of each polarity at the same time for most of the game. The strategy element therefore is remarkable, and getting anywhere will require quick thinking and quicker reflexes. Another thing that struck me was that unlike the Monkeys Balls games, it has never once left me feeling frustrated, and I've never felt like the game was being unfair or irritating at anytime.
The graphics are pretty much what you'd expect, at some points I thought it could have done with some improved back grounds, but then when you think of the amount of ships and bulliets on the screen at one time, it's acceptable. Besides, if you actually want to be half good at you won't have time to admire the background anyway.
There's a few game modes, the normal story mode, trial mode (which is just the first 2 chapters, with unlimited lives for the first chapter), practice mode (choose a level to practice), Conquest; where you can choose a stage of a level and work on your technique, you can choose the difficulty and also if you want to play in slow motion for refinement. And of course, there's the 2 player co-op which I havne't tried yet.
There are also 4 modes you can unlock (I don't know what they are yet). They require things like beating Trial Mode on normal with one credit (continue), and beating the story on normal with one credit (which would only take...say..a year). But they can also be unlocked in a SSBM way, the first of the four will be unlocked after 5 hours of play time, the second 10 hours and then 15 and 20 hours for the others.
Lastly, there is a challenge mode, with is the story mode on normal, you are given one credit and you have to get the highest score possible. You will also get given a code, which I'm guessing is your score in some form of encryption; you can enter it on the website to enter your score in the world rankings. The top 5 for each category win a prize when it ends (July 31st).
Summary:
+ Classic retro action
+ Quick thinking
+ On the fly strategy
+ Hours and hours of game play
+ Extremely addictive
+ Very challenging
+ Enter world rankings
+ 2 Player co-op
- Slow down when a boss explodes, although it doesn't really matter because it's the end of the chapter.
- Doesn't give you cash for a high score.
- ..er..that's it.
And one final thing. I've spent ages playing it today, and I made it into the world rankings! Yep, for a whole glorious 15 minutes I was ranked as the 100th best player in the world at Ikaruga. I've been knocked off now, but I took a screenshot as a memento:
www.geocities.com/whitestripes15/ikaruga.JPG
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Lol.
This has been good stuff to read.
Still, I like WS, hes a good man - And most things he states are true. He's blocked me on MSN I think, but thats his choice I guess. (Why I don't know)
I sometimes (somehow) get invited into MSN conversations with people like Kyz and Parr and others and they repeadetly type words like
"Booby's"
"Analsex"
"hur hur"
Its so god damn annoying. Please if your going to invite me into a multiple MSN orgy - have a civilised conversation??
This has been good stuff to read.
Still, I like WS, hes a good man - And most things he states are true. He's blocked me on MSN I think, but thats his choice I guess. (Why I don't know)
I sometimes (somehow) get invited into MSN conversations with people like Kyz and Parr and others and they repeadetly type words like
"Booby's"
"Analsex"
"hur hur"
Its so god damn annoying. Please if your going to invite me into a multiple MSN orgy - have a civilised conversation??
Heh. Read from page seven onwards. Comedy gold, these arguments are.
Hoho.
Hoho.
I missed all this.
Stupid me.
While you were all becoming friends, or at least; not enemies, and becoming hippies I was trying to play Mario Kart on my GBA under a dull light.
Grr.
Stupid me.
While you were all becoming friends, or at least; not enemies, and becoming hippies I was trying to play Mario Kart on my GBA under a dull light.
Grr.
YeY!
It all ended... hippy-ly.
Indeed.
It all ended... hippy-ly.
Indeed.
Blank wrote:
> Maybe he just has selective bouts of it. Such as when Nintendo are
> being criticised.
Meh, nothing wrong with that.
> Maybe he just has selective bouts of it. Such as when Nintendo are
> being criticised.
Meh, nothing wrong with that.
Maybe he just has selective bouts of it. Such as when Nintendo are being criticised.
He clearly can.
There's no point in "having it out".
Because Whitestripes can't read.
Because Whitestripes can't read.
You two have it out together.
I'm off to make more innuendos about Parr and Kyz, and, also, plan my corporate uprising from the inside.
I'm off to make more innuendos about Parr and Kyz, and, also, plan my corporate uprising from the inside.
WS Super DX wrote:
> Get lost Blank.
>
> If you hadn't noticed, we've resolved everything and we don't need
> people like you stiring everything up again.
I'm not trying to stir anything, and I'm not talking about anything related to the conversation you are having with the others. I'm talking about what you constantly do to me, nobody else, and that HASN'T been resolved.
Ironically you keep "Stirring everything up again" many times in this forum. You often take an argument from one thread into others and it's boring, especially as you have no basis for the argument anyway.
> Get lost Blank.
>
> If you hadn't noticed, we've resolved everything and we don't need
> people like you stiring everything up again.
I'm not trying to stir anything, and I'm not talking about anything related to the conversation you are having with the others. I'm talking about what you constantly do to me, nobody else, and that HASN'T been resolved.
Ironically you keep "Stirring everything up again" many times in this forum. You often take an argument from one thread into others and it's boring, especially as you have no basis for the argument anyway.
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