reviews

 Star Soldier R

-Vertical Shmup, 800 Wii points, Single Player, Online leaderboards

Karous, Radirgy, Chaos Field, Shikigami, and those Shmup VC games have been around for a while, but it's hightime we took back a classic. The Star Soldier series started on the Turbo Grafx 16, and worked its way up to the N64. 2 Gameplay modes, 3 Ways to hold the controller, and enough replay value to keep you playing for a while (if you can keep up). 

 You can play either 2 minute or 5 minute games. As every other shmup goes you have to shoot all the enemies on the screen, but Star Soldiers R has an interesting way of pushing you into it. First of all they run the clock down every level, making you grab pick-ups for time. The other part is the power-ups, which will make you run 3 times as fast as normal, give you bots (Blue orbs in the picture above) which shoot at your enemies for you, and shields which you will rarely come by. This makes the game more tense and will push casual players away. This game gets much better as you learn the system, and will add on replay value for months to come. As an addition you also get the Quick Shot mode, which is just trying to find out how many times you can press the button per minute, and once you have your scores you can upload those digits to a Leaderboard to see your rank internationally.

 You'll be trying to run through the game faster because you're so pressed for time. Level design is as generic as can be, but the map will change how you shoot. Over top of structures, you have to shoot down pillars to hit the enemy, or stay away from them. Pick ups are scattered around these buildings, and bombs can go off to kill who you need to. On your HUD you have your Combo meter which counts the enemies killed per life. The game may seem too score minded but you'll have a good time with it, and it's interesting movement components. Replay ability is hard to comeby in games today, but this is one that deserves my nod.

  Having the ablity to play with the Wii Remote, with the nunchuk or using the Classic controller is a dream, but where's the 'cube love? Any oldschool or hardcore player will love this game because of it's roots but some who are unfamilar with the series might want to stay away. 800 Wii Points is an average price, but it may seem like a lot because you've never played it.

 I may be too kind giving it that kind of rating. Take off a point or two for nostalga and you still have a solid game. If you can shell out 800 Wii points...save up 2 more and buy Lost Winds. That game is awesome! If you have 1800 then deeply consider it. Very good title that came out of left field and a classic you won't put down.

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