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Ikaruga (X360)

• Developer: Treasure Co., Ltd.
• Publisher: Treasure Co., Ltd.
• Genre: Shooter
• Official Website: http://www.xbox.com
• Score: 5 of 5: Purchase

Make no mistake, Ikaruga falls into that "bullet hell" subgenre of shoot 'em ups that have dedicated fans. The gameplay is fairly simplistic, but its simplicity will keep players entertained for hours. The ship the player controls can switch "polarities" to absorb enemy attacks of the matching color. When enough energy is accumulated, it can be released into a multi-directional blast that can take out several enemies at once. In later levels, switching polarity becomes essential, particularly when the screen gets flooded with both colors of bullets at the same time.

The premise of Ikaruga is simple. Everything is out to kill you. Therefore, if it moves, SHOOT IT! Ok, so maybe the plot is a little deeper than that. It involves a grand rebellion led by a man named Tenro Horai who obtained the "Power of the Gods". Horai essentially establishes an empire called "The Divine Ones" and begins his conquest. An elite federation called the Tenkaku stages an attack on Horai and fails horribly. One of the Tenkaku pilots survives the assault and awakens in the village Ikaruga, which consists of exiled people who built a ship of the same name as their village. The pilot swears to exact his revenge and that of the villagers and takes up the reins of the Ikaruga.

New to this version of the game are online leaderboards which allow players to see how they rank against the rest of the world. Some of those scores in top 10 slots are staggering. Speaking of which, players can save replays of their runs through the game when playing on default settings and they are automatically uploaded when ranking in on the world leaderboard. That means you can actually SEE how that #1 player managed to rack up all those points and perform that one-coin clear.

The most welcome addition to the game, however? Online play. This is what the Ikaruga fanbase has been waiting for since the game's inception. The online play is extremely fun and very addicting, much like the single player mode. In three matches I played with a friend, there was no lag to speak of, so the action keeps moving at the normal pace. The game supports a system link multiplayer mode as well, which allows two players to participate using two separate screens.

The Xbox Live Arcade version of the game boasts the same great visuals that were presented in the original game, upscaled to into high-def resolutions. It still supports the original's "TATE" mode, allowing for the screen to be rotated to more appropriately fit the display the game is being played on. The soundtrack is intact and awesome as it ever was, with epic orchestration to keep players on the edge of their seat. Be forewarned: this game is HARD. The Achievements are pretty vicious, for one thing. As for the game itself, the first stage might not seem so bad, but as players progress, the difficulty will sharply increase. The game may only be five levels long, but they'll be the best five levels in any shoot em up you've ever played. This game is a must have.

Apr 16, 2008 | 1 comments
John Marques