Mr Durand Pierre
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Ikaruga Review
First of all I'd like to say that Ikaruga has great gameplay. I'm sure you all know what it is by now, and yeah, the white and black switching is genius and really revolutionizes the good ol' 2D space shooter. Based on gameplay alone I'd give Ikaruga a 9/10, and its graphics and sound aren't bad either (not especially great, but I never let graphics or sound affect my reviews unless they're either really great or really bad), so why do I hate the game? Read on...
First of all, Ikaruga has a major longevity problem. The game is only 5 levels long and each level takes about 3-4 minutes to complete. So once you finally do beat it you can see the entire game in 15-20 minutes. Not cool. But it will take you longer to beat the game. Significcantly longer in fact due to Ikaruga's atrocious continue system.
You start the game out with 3 continues making it next to impossible to beat, even on easy mode. And for every hour you play you get another continue. And after you've played 6 hours instead of getting 9 continues it just gives up on you and gives you unlimited continues. What is wrong with this picture? The game gains its longevity through unfair repitition. Sure in any game you'll spend most of the time getting a game over and doing stuff over again, but in Ikaruga it ensures that this will happen to you whether or not you're a good player. And even at 8 continues the game is VERY difficult even on easy mode. Going through the same 3 levels for 6 hours until you can "earn" more continues is not my idea of a good time. And it gets worse...
Once you do get unlimited continues your goal is to beat your own high score. Yes, the game uses points. Really arbitrary ones which do nothing except inspire boasting and competition amongst die hard gamers. A friend of mine tried to justify Ikaruga's saving system by saying that the first 6 hours are "practice" for the unlimited continues and that the real goal of the game was to get a good score. That's bullshit. I tried playing the game once with unlimited continues and gave up due ot boredom. I had no motivation to do well. When your reward is simply a high number it does little to inspire you. Especially when points do nothing and continues are based on wasting your time. Here's an idea: points earn you continues as you play!
But imagine this for a moment: what if Ikaruga was a game consisting of 5 episodes, each episode consisting of 3 levels, and you could play any episode you wanted after beating it. And instead of continues you could start each episode with 3 lives and earn extras by getting points. Then Ikaruga could've been a great game. If repitition and arbitrary points are your cup of tea maybe you'll like Ikaruga. But for everyone else I can only recommend it as a rental. It was $40 for a long time and has now gone down to $20, but even at that it's still for die-hard gamers only. Check out Tumiki Fighters instead as a free download. Your wallet will thank you.
5/10
First of all I'd like to say that Ikaruga has great gameplay. I'm sure you all know what it is by now, and yeah, the white and black switching is genius and really revolutionizes the good ol' 2D space shooter. Based on gameplay alone I'd give Ikaruga a 9/10, and its graphics and sound aren't bad either (not especially great, but I never let graphics or sound affect my reviews unless they're either really great or really bad), so why do I hate the game? Read on...
First of all, Ikaruga has a major longevity problem. The game is only 5 levels long and each level takes about 3-4 minutes to complete. So once you finally do beat it you can see the entire game in 15-20 minutes. Not cool. But it will take you longer to beat the game. Significcantly longer in fact due to Ikaruga's atrocious continue system.
You start the game out with 3 continues making it next to impossible to beat, even on easy mode. And for every hour you play you get another continue. And after you've played 6 hours instead of getting 9 continues it just gives up on you and gives you unlimited continues. What is wrong with this picture? The game gains its longevity through unfair repitition. Sure in any game you'll spend most of the time getting a game over and doing stuff over again, but in Ikaruga it ensures that this will happen to you whether or not you're a good player. And even at 8 continues the game is VERY difficult even on easy mode. Going through the same 3 levels for 6 hours until you can "earn" more continues is not my idea of a good time. And it gets worse...
Once you do get unlimited continues your goal is to beat your own high score. Yes, the game uses points. Really arbitrary ones which do nothing except inspire boasting and competition amongst die hard gamers. A friend of mine tried to justify Ikaruga's saving system by saying that the first 6 hours are "practice" for the unlimited continues and that the real goal of the game was to get a good score. That's bullshit. I tried playing the game once with unlimited continues and gave up due ot boredom. I had no motivation to do well. When your reward is simply a high number it does little to inspire you. Especially when points do nothing and continues are based on wasting your time. Here's an idea: points earn you continues as you play!
But imagine this for a moment: what if Ikaruga was a game consisting of 5 episodes, each episode consisting of 3 levels, and you could play any episode you wanted after beating it. And instead of continues you could start each episode with 3 lives and earn extras by getting points. Then Ikaruga could've been a great game. If repitition and arbitrary points are your cup of tea maybe you'll like Ikaruga. But for everyone else I can only recommend it as a rental. It was $40 for a long time and has now gone down to $20, but even at that it's still for die-hard gamers only. Check out Tumiki Fighters instead as a free download. Your wallet will thank you.
5/10