Well, they did, so of course I didn't hesitate to waste a few credits (well, not after a rather lengthy wait, as the game is pretty popular). Here are my first impressions
:Graphics: I'm sure most of you have already seen some screens and/or videos, but anyway, this game looks fantastic! Much better than anything I've seen on Taito's five year younger Type X. The game is rich in textures, with lots of detail in the background (or should I say, on-ground). You're actually flying over rivers, ravines, forrests, dunes, etc, as opposed to a flat plane with a repeating 40x40 pixel pattern on it, as in Homura (blergh!). There's also a lot of detail in the stuff getting blown up. Lots of glowing shrapnel and smoldering chunks flying through the air. When you shoot tanks the turrets get blown of first, before the body explodes on the next impact. Nice little referrence to all those military shooters of the olden days
, I'm not sure how well it fits with the overall realism of the experience though.You've probably noticed the game's view isn't totally perpendicular to the ground, but rather at a slight offset angle, about 75° off the ground. I was a bit sceptical about this at first (Nanostray, Silpheed, etc), but actually the angle is about the same at which the screen of a Naomi cab is angled, so it feels very natural, and actually enhances your upper field of vision. Very nice!
And then there's of course the two babes in their proto-SS uniforms, who can say no to that.
Sound: Since the game is new, the volume was turned up all the way. The music is pretty similar to the smothh jazzy stuff in Border Down. Not my favorite shooter music, but pretty good nontheless. What really blew me away though were the sound effects. Man, when stuff explodes in this game, it REALLY explodes. None of that "fop! fop! fop!" shit you get in Ikaruga, this game goes all out "Badoooom!" and "Bhoooosh!" everytime you hit something.
Gameplay: Okay, down to the nuts and bolts. It's already well known that you can switch your heli's orientation either 45° to the left or right. This is done simply by moving either left or right while not firing. Then hold fire again, and the heli's orientation will be locked-in. Before starting to play you can select, whether you want to fire right, by moving left (and vice versa), or whether you would like to fire in the direction that you moved.
Not firing also does something else: It fills up your option meter. Start firing again with a full meter and a little option will appear to help you out. This option will stay at whatever orientation your heli was, when you dropped it off (so left, right or center) so you want to use the option to maximum effect by creating a devastating crossfire, or aiming it at some gigantic turret, while you take care of a swarm of little helicopters, etc. The option does have AI though, so once it attacks an enemy, it will continue attacking him from its angle even if he moves around, until the enemy is destroyed or the option timer has run out. The three collectible extra weapons are also meant for the option. The extra icons cycle through all weapons, and there is a vulcan, cannon and rockets.
Bombs can also be collected in the levels, and by bombs i mean like bunker-piercing thermonuclear devices, as these things have to be seen to be believed. They start with a small primary blast, upon which follows a screen filling and earth shattering secondary shockwave. Absolutely cool, but only meant as a last resort.
My main gripe with the game was the hitbox. Maybe it's because I've been playing Touhou shooters recently, so I'm not used to crashing when any part of me gets hit. I already talked about the realism of the graphics and sounds, but even the enemy fire feels very much like real warfare. No swirly bullet patterns here, just straight up volleys of enemy bullets, rockets, etc coming straight atcha. Trying to weave between bullets is thus very dangerous, so it's best to just always go straight for a large opening, and try to direct the rythm of enemy fire, by not staying in the same place for very long. Luckily the enemy fire always starts slower, and then speeds up, giving you some time to think about your next move.
Scoring is very uncomplicated, as least as far as I could tell. Depending on how many of the enemies you were able to destroy, your score gets multiplied at the stage clear screen. Using the option to destroy something gives you a bonus, as do left over bombs. High boss scores are rewarded according to the speed at which you dispensed them.
Overall: This game feels like the Medal Of Honor of shooting games. It looks great, it's loud and it feels like real war. The controls are intuitive and fun, and gameplay is very tactical, almost like a vertical hori-shooter. In this the game is probably the most old-school style one we've seen in many years, and it's been a long time, since I've been so thrilled simply at blowing shit up on a big scale (I think Einhänder was the last game that did this for me). In fact, I've been depressed all day for not being able to play Under Defeat.
So far I find this game absolutely brilliant, and I'd give it a preliminary score of 9.5/10. Finally a new shooter with that classic R-Type "I'll try once more and use the option in this way!" gameplay.
Now where's the news of a home port?
But if you're going to point out my "failing in logic", then please at least PM me the thread with your post so that I can read your argument.
