Xbox 360: Eschatos (April 2011)

[genetik]

J'aime beaucoup le sytème de point, avec les bonus qui augmentent lorsqu'on shoot rapidement les ennemis. Les 2 systèmes de tir, on switch souvent entre les 2 suivants les ennemis qui arrivent et la manière dont ils se pointent... Il est super joli, il a du punch juste comme il faut...un mode easy qui est le bienvenu pour moi ( ) et pour se familiariser au jeu, les changements d'angles ça rend super bien. A priori il y a 27 niveaux ou zones (certains niveaux sont très rapides) dans le mode classique (original mode). Je n'ai pas encore essayé les autres modes (Score Attack, Advanced mode...). Il m'a fait penser un peu au début à Raystorm HD...1ères parties en difficulté 'easy', je suis arrivé au 14ème niveau...puis en passant en difficulté 'normal' j'ai tout juste passé le 5ème niveau Il me reste de la marge...Par contre il n'y a pas de coop local et online on dirait...c'est dommage ! Il y a déjà beaucoup de monde sur les leaderboards et surtout des Japonais, comme c'est étrange !

Quick translation in English for non-french speaking folks. (it's not to the word, but fairly close)

I love the scoring system with the bonuses that keeps rising when you quickly take down enemies. There’s 2 shooting mechanism and you have to switch often between them depending on the enemy and how it's coming at you... The game is superb, it has the right amount of kick...There’s an easy mode, very welcomed for me and for anyone that wants to learn the game, the camera angle switches are very nice. There’s 27 stages or sections (some stages are very short) in the original mode. Haven’t tried the other modes yet (Score Attack, Advanced mode...). It kinda of reminds me of Raystorm HD...I got to stage 14 playing in easy mode and barely passed stage 5 on normal . From the looks of it, there’s no local or online coop...which is too bad! There are already a lot of people on the leaderboards, mostly users from Japan..how weird is that! .

[Wonderbanana]

I'm still torn between this and Bullet Soul.

I may just flip a coin

[Ghegs]

Got my copy today and started playing Eschatos, but after a few runs I was left oddly underwhelmed. I found the constant camera angle changes to be a bit annoying and sometimes confusing to the point of getting hit by something I thought I had dodged. They don't really add anything to the game in my opinion, more the opposite. So my initial impression is "meh" but I'll be trying it again later.

But Judgement Silversword. Oh hell yes. This is exactly what I've been wishing for, I have played the game on a real Wonderswan a lot and one of the reasons I eventually drifted away from it was due to the handheld's less than stellar control pads and non-backlit screen. But playing the game on a big TV with a good controller? Heaven. And the emulation is accurate, it's just like I remember it. Even better, you can remove the sprite flicker while still keeping the slowdown, so I'd say this is the definitive version. Even if I'd never play Eschatos again, for me the package was worth the price for JSS alone.

[gct]

Once I get my copy, Ghegs and I will battle once again for JSS! However, Super Laydock and Sensato Kurai have been curiously absent from this thread and the rest of the forum lately...

Ghegs you will have quite an headstart on me, mine shipped from yesasia via their free service and once I receive my order I may still be occupied with the Girl's Generation CDs I added to that shipment

[angrycoder]

After spending 2 hours with Eschatos, I was starting to warm up to it a bit despite not understanding the scoring.

Then I played JSS and Cardinal Sin. I forgot how good JSS was, and hadn't played Cardinal. Eschatos is a step backwards in every way. The 3d is mediocre and the rotating perspectives get you killed more often than they impress. The WS games just feel tighter and look and sound better.

That being said, I still think it is worth the 60 bucks just for Cardinal Sin & JSS. I just wish there was tate.

[mesh control]

Oh, crap. No tate?
ruhroh. I probably should have researched before I bought.

[dannnnn]

Eschatos itself has tate, JSS and CS don't.

[mesh control]

[drunkninja24]

Isn't the wonderswan aspect ratio taller than 4:3? It looks that way from what I've seen. That's probably why the WS games don't have a tate option.

[TodayIsForgotten]

After spending 2 hours with Eschatos, I was starting to warm up to it a bit despite not understanding the scoring.

Then I played JSS and Cardinal Sin. I forgot how good JSS was, and hadn't played Cardinal. Eschatos is a step backwards in every way. The 3d is mediocre and the rotating perspectives get you killed more often than they impress. The WS games just feel tighter and look and sound better.

That being said, I still think it is worth the 60 bucks just for Cardinal Sin & JSS. I just wish there was tate.

Forgive my ignorance, but where did you manage to get a copy for $60? Unless you are subtracting the total from eschatos... ???

[spadgy]

But Judgement Silversword. Oh hell yes. This is exactly what I've been wishing for, I have played the game on a real Wonderswan a lot and one of the reasons I eventually drifted away from it was due to the handheld's less than stellar control pads and non-backlit screen. But playing the game on a big TV with a good controller? Heaven. And the emulation is accurate, it's just like I remember it. Even better, you can remove the sprite flicker while still keeping the slowdown, so I'd say this is the definitive version. Even if I'd never play Eschatos again, for me the package was worth the price for JSS alone.

Lots of great news! Just what I wanted to hear (I'm a JSS virgin).

Once I get my copy, Ghegs and I will battle once again for JSS! However, Super Laydock and Sensato Kurai have been curiously absent from this thread and the rest of the forum lately...

I look forward to joining in with the scoring battles!

[Ghegs]

Once I get my copy, Ghegs and I will battle once again for JSS! However, Super Laydock and Sensato Kurai have been curiously absent from this thread and the rest of the forum lately...

I look forward to joining in with the scoring battles!

I'm waiting for you guys at my #9th place in JSS leaderboards. I'm still ~two million behind my earlier best score with the cart version, but at least I'm fighting the Twin Mirror Shields again.

[Kiken]

Guys, guys...: WALLPAPER BLIGHTNESS

[stryc9]

After having reservations about this one, watching the full run videos on Youtube made me break down and order this. It doesn't look like the best shooter ever created, but it looks solid. The things that helped push it over the edge for me were the fantastic soundtrack, the viewpoint when it changes to slightly behind your ship (when you fight the bosses and their patterns come right at the screen it looks cool), and lets face it; blowing up saucers is awesome in anybodies language
I know anything vert that's not Cave can get it pretty rough round here, but these sought of shooters are a bit of an aquired taste. I'm just hoping it's less Trizeal and more... IDK, something slightly better.
PS that sphere in the Shmups Logo is part of the Stage 1 Boss.

[gatsu25]

I was looking forward to this game quite a bit. I must say, I am every bit as excited about it now that I have it in my hands. It's not the best game ever, but it is very solid, and is tons of simple fun. As much as I love Cave, a game that goes back to simpler times is welcome in my eyes.

I felt that the perspective changes killed me a few times at first, but its almost the same as a new enemy formation the first time you encounter it. I now know what is coming in my run, and its not confusing at all.

Awesome music, solid gameplay, 2 fantastic Wonderswan games, and a new company taking a chance on a niche genre. I am happy to support this game, and am probably going to get the t-shirt as well!

[Despatche]

Shmups aren't "taking a chance" right now, they're basically vogue.

[BulletMagnet]

Coupla thoughts after spending a little time with my copy:

- I'd say the game's biggest single selling point is the amount of content on offer: 3 different modes in the "main" game (two of which have easy/normal/hard variations with separate score tables), plus the WS titles, which themselves have a few variations apiece, give you a pretty good variety of stuff to chew on, though the basics are much the same across them all.

- "Normal" mode is pretty simple - fixed power level, only items are occasional screen-clearers. There's some type of multiplier going here, but I'm not 100 percent sure how it works - you also appear to be rewarded for killing stuff quickly, but again there's probably more at work here than I'm aware of. "Time attack" is the same as "Normal" except you have infinite lives but lose a bit of time when you die. Pretty easy clear, but that's not really the point.

- "Advanced" mode is more interesting: you can power up your shots by picking up items, but this lowers the amount of shield meter you have. Canceling bullets with your shield gives you point items (there's a way to increase their value, but again I'm not sure what it is), so if you want to score well you'll have to make do with weaker guns.

- As you increase your "overall score" (think Giga Wing 2) you unlock more options, such as the ability to turn off certain effects, like shrapnel and smoke: I wonder if you can eventually turn off the perspective shifts, which are somewhat irritating, though not enough to ruin the game or anything.

- I've seen the Wonderwitch mascot appear a couple of times in-game, but I have no idea what makes her show up...I think I managed to "collect" her once for a point bonus, but I'm really not sure. Has anyone tried tackling the instructions/official site to give us some definitive answers?

- JSS and CS are both neat to have, though once more I need to look up an FAQ to find out exactly what I'm supposed to be doing in a few cases. The little buggers are deceptively tough: JSS can get nasty even on Easy!

I took a bit of a chance on this one, but so far I'm pretty well satisfied, especially since I jumped in quickly enough to get the soundtrack CD.

[Ghegs]

- I've seen the Wonderwitch mascot appear a couple of times in-game, but I have no idea what makes her show up...I think I managed to "collect" her once for a point bonus, but I'm really not sure. Has anyone tried tackling the instructions/official site to give us some definitive answers?

She's a hidden item. Shoot a specific spot long enough to uncover her and then pick her up for extra points. I'm not quite sure how the score is calculated, it might be that the first one you pick up is multiplier X 1000, the second one is 2X(multiplier X 1000), third 3X(multiplier X 1000) and so on...but like I said, I'm not sure.

I've found three of them so far. One is on the top of the pyramid, second is on the stage where a a lot of small enemies come down on visible paths, third on the stage with red and yellow pillars or whatever coming down. I forget the Area numbers, sorry.

[TheSoundofRed]

- "Normal" mode is pretty simple - fixed power level, only items are occasional screen-clearers. There's some type of multiplier going here, but I'm not 100 percent sure how it works - you also appear to be rewarded for killing stuff quickly, but again there's probably more at work here than I'm aware of. "Time attack" is the same as "Normal" except you have infinite lives but lose a bit of time when you die. Pretty easy clear, but that's not really the point.

The multiplier increases by managing to destroy all enemies on screen. I've managed to get a x10 multiplier by the end of Area 5 (first boss). It seems if you miss and enemy once you have a multiplier of 4 or higher it will decrease by half or so. Not sure on this one. I was hoping that the JSS shield multiplier mechanics would have crossed over, but from what I've found the shield has no added effect on the multiplier.

I'm really loving both Eschatos and JSS. A lot of folks seem to be criticizing Eschatos for it's lackluster graphics and simplistic gameplay, but that's precisely why I'm digging it so much. Plus the music is amazing.

[BulletMagnet]

The multiplier increases by managing to destroy all enemies on screen. I've managed to get a x10 multiplier by the end of Area 5 (first boss). It seems if you miss and enemy once you have a multiplier of 4 or higher it will decrease by half or so.

Hm, sounds similar to Zanac Neo...I'll hafta watch for this.

[TheSoundofRed]

Looks like the max multiplier for Areas 1-5 is 10. Managed to get 2.4mil by the end. Also, multipliers don't crossover after a boss since I lost my x10 after the Area 5 boss.

[Special World]

Thanks for the info, BulletMagnet. Hopefully I can find a mode among them that I like; they all sound somewhat wacky. I mostly got this for JSS and CS, but I'm sure there's a lot to love with Eschatos as well

[nZero]

Cardinal Sins is the best thing ever. What are all of the events in Greed? I'm only getting 60~70% scanning rate in that section.

Looks like the max multiplier for Areas 1-5 is 10. Managed to get 2.4mil by the end. Also, multipliers don't crossover after a boss since I lost my x10 after the Area 5 boss.

Depends on the difficulty level.

[TheSoundofRed]

Does anyone know what's up with replays in Eschatos? I see that someone has uploaded a replay on the leaderboards, but I can't figure out how to download it...

[nZero]

Does anyone know what's up with replays in Eschatos? I see that someone has uploaded a replay on the leaderboards, but I can't figure out how to download it...

You need Option Level 20 to download/view replays in Eschatos. Dumb, I know.

[TheSoundofRed]

Does anyone know what's up with replays in Eschatos? I see that someone has uploaded a replay on the leaderboards, but I can't figure out how to download it...

You need Option Level 20 to download/view replays in Eschatos. Dumb, I know.

Maan, I'm at Option Level 16 and I don't know what boosts the level... oh well.

[CptRansom]

Finally got to dig in... first credit was on Advanced Normal... what the hell is going on?? All I can see is that power up = shield down. Anyone figure out scoring for this beast yet? I'm loving it!

EDIT: AND ORIGINAL MODE IS AWESOME TOO. Seriously, this is already pretty much anything I could've ever asked for in a shooting game, and I haven't even tried JSS/CS yet!!

[TheSoundofRed]

Finally got to dig in... first credit was on Advanced Normal... what the hell is going on?? All I can see is that power up = shield down. Anyone figure out scoring for this beast yet? I'm loving it!

EDIT: AND ORIGINAL MODE IS AWESOME TOO. Seriously, this is already pretty much anything I could've ever asked for in a shooting game, and I haven't even tried JSS/CS yet!!

Advanced Mode:

-Shield depletes as you gain power ups.
-You gain items if you destroy enemy bullets with your shield.
-The more powerups you gain, the larger the items you get from destroyed bullets become.
-With each powerup you gain, the multiplier goes up x1, as well as killing all the enemies in an area.
-Multiplier decreases if you get killed, miss and enemy in an area.
-Items will revolve around your ship if you continue to hold the Shield button (not sure if this increases the point worth or not).
-Collecting the Golden F power up will turn all on screen bullets to items, as well as kill most enemies.

That's all I've got so far for Advanced Mode.

Normal Mode is pretty simple. Kill all the enemies in an area to up the multiplier. If you miss any enemies in an area the multiplier goes down. If you die the multiplier goes down. Destroying enemies or bullets with the shield has no effect on score, it is merely a defensive tool (it seems).

Hope that helps.

[CptRansom]

Had Normal mode figured out already, but those Advanced mode notes should be quite helpful! So basically power up as much as possible for multiplier, destroy enemy bullets with shield when you can for points, get the golden F when there's a lot of shit on screen for points, and don't let anything fly off screen for more multiplier?

Also, damn @ 2.4mil at end of Area 5. I think the best I've done is about 1.4. >.> Yikes.

[TheSoundofRed]

Had Normal mode figured out already, but those Advanced mode notes should be quite helpful! So basically power up as much as possible for multiplier, destroy enemy bullets with shield when you can for points, get the golden F when there's a lot of shit on screen for points, and don't let anything fly off screen for more multiplier?

Also, damn @ 2.4mil at end of Area 5. I think the best I've done is about 1.4. >.> Yikes.

The game gets pretty hectic in the later Areas, so I've had a lot of practice with those earlier areas

The first WonderWitch is in Area 4, right behind where the second large enemy shows up to the right with the three smaller enemies to the left. Like someone mentioned earlier, the second is at the tip of the pyramid right before the Area 11 (I think it's Area 11...) boss.