Ikaruga is bloody hard!
Got a couple new games in the past week. I'll start with the most recent, Ikaruga.
Been wanting to play Ikaruga for a long, long time. Originally a Japanese-only Dreamcast game, then ported to the Gamecube, where it was first available in the U.S., it is now available on Xbox Live Arcade.
This game is all it's hyped up to be. From just an hour of play, I'm convinced that it really is one of the top shoot 'em ups of all time. It's hard as hell, though. I thought I could do, at least, relatively decent. I'm getting my ass whooped on just the first boss.
The game has an interesting mechanic that sets it apart. You can reverse the "polarity" of your ship from black to white. You can shoot enemies as either color, but get double damage if you are shooting enemies of the same color. You can also absorb bullets of that color. So, managing your ships polarity while fighting a mix of black and white enemies adds a real extra element of strategy. In good shooters, you're already using all your wits just to find that little space of safety in a screen full of bullets. Now, you have to do that and be concerned with your ship's polarity at the same time.
While the game isn't pushing any boundaries of the 360's hardware graphically, it's a nice looking game. It is just like the DC/GC games, but rendered in high-def, so it looks a bit cleaner. The moving 3D backgrounds are quite epic, though, and the music adds to that feel.
If you're a fan of 2D shoot 'em ups and are willing to deal with some severe frustration (which you should already be used to if you are a fan of the genre), definitely pick this up. Awesome at ten bucks.
Earlier last week, I also picked up Williams Pinball Hall of Fame for the Wii (It's also available on PS2 and PSP, I believe - though missing a couple tables). Another cheap game that you'll get more than your money's worth out of. It's just pure pinball - in all it's glory. No new gimmicks or additions, just the original tables exactly as they were. As far as I can tell, the physics are accurate. One particularly nice touch is that the game offers a walkthrough of each table explaining all the scoring opportunities and how to achieve them, so you can play knowing what you're doing rather than simply trying to keep the ball in play (though, you generally ought to do that, too).
Pinball seems to be a lost art these days. For those of us that appreciate it, though - this is a nice gift. It also proved to me that my memories were not rose-tinted. Pinball is still fun.
