Raystorm HD arrived on XBLA from Taito this week, and if you’re a fan of challenging arcade-style shooters, you’re in luck. The rest of you, move along [No, take the time to read about it, you may like it.].[nggtags gallery=raystorm1]
Raystorm HD is a true arcade shooter, from everything including the graphics and sound, to the seemingly unfair gameplay at times. Plus, in 1996, it was actually one of those huge arcade games. Now, if you’ve spent time in arcades, or played titles like Ikaruga, you know exactly what you’re in for with Raystorm HD. The game will punish you, it will frustrate you, and it will kick your butt. Now, that’s not to say it’s a bad game – in fact, it’s quite fun for fans of the genre.
Let’s start off with the basics of the game. The game offers both arcade mode and extra mode, which is pretty much standardized in this style of game. Beyond those primary modes, you can unlock Stage Select and 13 Plane Mode. In each mode, players can choose from two ships, R-GRAY1 or R-GRAY2 – one of which can target up to 16 targets simultaneously and perform a high-powered concentrated attack, and other which targets up to 8 targets and can perform a widened-area attack. During the game, once you’ve used all lives, you can change your ship if you choose, until you’ve used all 8 of your credits. If you’re curious, including your lives and initial credits, you have 24 lives to start, whether you can get more based on your skills, because I seem to have no skill with these games. In terms of levels, players are presented with 8 levels that are set in a variety of areas from water to cityscapes, featuring large and often difficult bosses at the end of each one.
The game plays out as a vertical scrolling shooter, and enemies will come from all directions in specific patterns. As they cross in front of your R-GRAY, an on-screen cursor locks on to any that get near it, allowing you to destroy them using your lasers. Meanwhile, you can hold down the gun button to have a constant stream of weapon fire covering your front end. A helpful note, as soon as you begin the game, go into the options menu and switch your guns/lasers controls to the opposite buttons, it makes the controller much more comfortable. A meter in the upper left indicates your special power, and once used, you can refill it by destroying more enemies, or it will fully recharge if your ship is destroyed. Larger enemies give it a moderate boost when recharging, so try to kill those enemies first. At any time, if you are hit by a single bullet or laser by the enemy, you will die – get over it.
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Visually, Raystorm HD looks very dated. Though it’s high-resolution, and everything is in HD, the polygons themselves look very dated. Explosions, lasers, and pretty much everything in the game are all very generic looking, and it doesn’t have that extra polished appearance. Partly, we’re let down by these facts, but at the same time, it adds to the classic arcade-feel, therefore your opinions could easily differ from ours, depending on what you are looking for in this title.
Sound effects are on par with the visuals, generic effects from the explosions, straight over to the very underpowered sounding gunfire, which almost sounds like that particular effect is muted. Laser sound effects are noticeable, but again, nothing spectacular. The background music is decent, and similar to Ikraruga [I use this title as an example because it’s a similar style game.] and the catchy tunes keep you in the game.
When all is said and done, Raystorm HD is a solid piece of nostalgia for those of you that played in the arcade or on the Playstation release in 1997, but for newcomers, you might want to pass on this title. Dated visuals, lackluster sound quality, and the difficult gameplay simply don’t seem worth the 1200 :MSPoints: price point required for this one. Regardless, check out the demo, which only allows 90 seconds of gameplay, and decide for yourself. It’s a classic arcade experience in the comfort of your own home. For more information, head over to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace.
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