Ikaruga
- March 26, 2003 13:28 PM PST
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The first flat-out shooter to see official U.S. release in ages is also among the most innovative the genre's ever seen. Look inside for a primer.
Do you consider yourself a "hardcore" gamer? Do crowds form whenever you visit an arcade? If so, then you were practically born to play Ikaruga?a classic-style vertical shooter that's impossibly beautiful and endlessly challenging. The GameCube preview version was so hardcore, in fact, that it even had a vertical display mode so you could turn your TV on its side for that true arcade feel.Ikaruga's underground popularity stems from one simple innovation?all enemies and bullets are colored white or black, and you can switch your ship's color at will. You absorb bullets of like color instead of taking damage from them; these bullets can then be launched as a screen-clearing set of guided missiles.
Got that? Great. Now, add to this the fact that you can destroy chains of like-colored enemies for progressive bonuses?the only way to get very high scores in the game. The result is a shooter that feels more like a puzzle game at spots; you'll be playing over and over to find new ways to maximize your bonus. You can even send your best scores to the world ranking on Atari's website for eternal posterity?or, more likely, eternal embarrassment.
