Product description
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Brand new factory sealed
Review
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There's no denying that the space shooter isn't what it used to
be. The once-thriving genre, championed by such classics as
Gradius and Raiden, has boiled down to more of a nostalgic
pastime. People just aren't as jazzed about blowing away hordes
of alien space ships and racking up billions of points like
before. While the occasional shooter still shows up every now and
then, it seems like it'd take a miracle for a company to produce
one that would rejuvenate the genre and renew public interest.
Leave it to Squaresoft to accept the challenge. And while the
fruit of its efforts may not be the miracle this genre needs for
a complete revival, it's just about as good as shooters get.
Einhander isn't particularly long, but shooters almost never are.
The half dozen or so stages are seamlessly interconnected and
demand just over an hour to plow through in total. Each stage -
in fact, each part of each stage - grows progressively more
difficult, such that you'll constantly face new challenges in the
form of smarter, meaner enemies and more of them. Likewise, the
mid and end-level bosses will constantly keep you guessing, as
they tend to be both unpredictable and versatile in their attack
styles. Even shooter veterans will have their hands full with
Einhander, though multiple difficulty settings make the game
accessible and enjoyable even for those whose hand-eye
coordination isn't what it used to be.
You star as an enigma who hails from the moon and swoops down
upon Earth's powerful defenses, seeking to eliminate them
single-handedly. You have a choice of three different
superpowered spacecraft to fly, with two more hidden ships
waiting to be discovered. Any of these handles beautifully, and
you can adjust its velocity at a whim. All come standard with a
typical peashooter that doesn't do much damage but gets the job
done when you're dealing with lots of weak enemies. Some of the
bigger flying vehicles and robots that'll come ning for you
will demand considerably more attention, but as reward for your
effort, you can snatch their weapons from them as they convulse
in explosive death throes. Over a dozen special weapons are
available for your destructive whim. These include a vicious
bullet-spewing Vulcan machine and its bigger, much nastier
brother the Juno; the massive Cannon, capable of tearing through
multiple nents with a single slug; and the Wasp missile
launcher that fires swarms of seeking rockets. Less typical
weapons in the arsenal include the Blade, a short-range but
powerful laser that can swirl around the hull of your ship
to vaporize anything in your vicinity; and the Riot, a lightning
that grows more powerful the longer you charge up its energy.
Each of these weapons can be swiveled between two positions, both
having equivalent strategic importance. Further complicating the
situation, these special weapons pack limited ammunition, meaning
you need to make your s count. Unfortunately, outside of all
these great weapons, there are no power-ups or bonuses to be
found anywhere. And you'll need all the help you can get out
there, since one direct hit to your ship spells destruction and a
trip back to the last continue point.
Finely tuned play mechanics aside, it must be said that a shooter
doesn't add up to much if it doesn't look good. Ideally, you want
to see as much detailed destruction crammed onto one screen as
possible, without any irritating slowdown. Einhander delivers all
that and more in full polygonal glory. The game flies by at a
furious, consistently smooth frame rate, and everything onscreen
down to the dinkiest enemy fighter is a carefully crafted polygon
with moving parts, flickering lights, and plenty of style and
attitude. Meanwhile, the background scenery is simply gorgeous.
Countless levels of scrolling, complete with colored lighting and
other impressive effects, make such settings as a futuristic
downtown and a watery robotics facility really look alive.
There's attention to detail all over the place, from undulating
reflections in the water, to flickering neon signs advertising
hi-tech nonsense. You'll fight any number of crafty enemy
nents along the way, and while the little guys explode in a
blaze of glory, the bigger ones get apart piece by piece.
But nothing compares to running into some of Einhander's boss
robots for the first time. Your ship may look pretty slick, but
it's nothing but a flea compared with the hulking, fully animated
steel monstrosities you'll face at the middle and conclusion of
each level in the game. These bad boys are as mean as they come
and at you with blistering beam weapons, machine s, and
just about anything else you can think of. And should you defeat
them, they really go out in style, with full-screen cataclysms,
enough to make you avert your eyes.
Einhander sounds good, but not quite so striking as it looks. If
anything, the musical score is a little subdued. Though the first
stage opens with orchestral chords and an operatic soprano, all
music thereafter is your typical rhythmic, ambient techno fare.
It keeps the adrenaline going, but doesn't hold up too well in
light of Einhander's graphics. Sound effects here are likewise in
the typical shooter style, with high-pitched explosions piercing
the soundtrack every inch of the way. Your ship's standard-issue
sounds disappointingly '80s, though the special weapons
you'll find along the way are appropriately deafening. Strangely
(or perhaps predictably) enough, Einhander is also riddled with
bits of German speech - usually shouted at you by the end-level
bosses.
Though there are some hidden areas in the game, for the most part
Einhander follows a set linear course. To help keep things fresh,
you can look out for secret weapons and ships, and you can
examine your performance once the dust has settled, with
Einhander's keen player ranking system. The various difficulty
settings and challenging bosses likewise lend Einhander much more
play life than your typical shooter, and on top of all that, the
game even sports a fascinating plot (fully revealed only in the
last stages of the game). It's an excellent game that boasts all
the assets that the best of its genre have to offer, as well as
many of their inherent shortcomings. With that in mind, it
probably won't make you a fan if you don't like this type of game
in the first place. But rest assured, if you like shooters,
you'll love Einhander. --Greg Kasavin
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction
in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written
permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot
logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc. -- GameSpot Review
