Tech Blog

[#1]

Square Enix don't only produce lengthy Japanese RPGs, they also publish a variety of titles including for downloadable services such as Xbox Live and PSN. I recently downloaded two retro shooter updates, Thexder Neo for PSP and RayStorm HD for Xbox Live Arcade, and one is pretty good, and the other is pretty bad.

Thexder Neo

Thexder Neo was originally developed for the NEC PC-88 (a PC released only in Japan) in 1985 by Game Arts, and was actually shortly after ported to the PC and sold by classic adventure game publisher Sierra, where it was, reportedly, a bit of a hit.

The IP is now owned by Square Enix, and it's been released on the PSN network for both PSP and Playstation 3. I played the PSP version, and I have to say, not having any memory of the title's release (and therefore no feelings of nostalgia) I can not understand why anyone would want to play this game.

The idea is pretty cool, in a very "80's anime" kind of way--you're a robot that can turn into a jet--but nothing else about the game is very well thought out at all. Apparently Thexder Neo has been updated and made slightly easier, but you wouldn't be able to tell, because it's incredibly hard. A 2D side-scrolling shooter, the game is full of tiny, tight corridors that you have to navigate very carefully while in jet mode, and tons of enemies to take on with lasers that--astonishingly--drain your health as you fire them. So if you want to survive, you have to be very careful.

The worst thing of all, however, is that you've only got one life, and if you die, there is no continuing. Die on the second level? You'll have to play the first again, and so on. It's brutal.

Thexder Neo is an attractive update that looks rather nice on the PSP's screen, but it's completely unrewarding to play. Only the most masochistic will be able to stick with it. I guess if I was going to give it a score, I'd give it... 1/5

RayStorm HD

This is a bit more like it. RayStorm isn't what I'd really consider a classic shooter, but it was well recieved when it was released on PlayStation back in 1997. A 3D vertically scrolling shooter, it's been updated with really lovely, clean and sharp graphics for XBLA, and not much else.

However, it's a pretty decent one, with a good scoring system. If you want to get high scores, you have to "lock-on" as many enemies as possible with your lasers and fire at the last seconds to gain a big multiplier, but it's made more difficult by the fact that you can only lock-on to enemies right in front of your nose. You can, instead, just shoot your normal bullets, so it's a matter of balancing the risk vs. the reward.

If there's a problem with RayStorm, it's that in its HD iteration you're flying vertically up a widescreen. It makes the space you have to move around in feel very cramped, which isn't really aided by the fact your ship is massive . It makes bullets a little harder to avoid than you'd hope.

The game includes a two-player mode, but unfortunately you can't play over Live, which largely limits this game to a single-player score attack once you've completed each of the three modes. It's fun, but the problem with RayStorm HD is ultimately that it costs 1200 Microsoft Points. At roughly $15, it's not great value, despite being very playable, simply because you will grow tired of it quickly unless there's some decent competition from your friends on the leaderboards (there isn't on mine.) However, it's fun while it lasts, so if I was going to give it a score, I think I'd go as far as... 3/5