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Bangai-o Spirits
With the modern gaming genre always pushing
new boundaries of development, it's a refreshing change for a developer
to go back to basics and Bangai-O Spirits is that game.
Although it utilizes the innovative control
system of the Nintendo DS, Bangai-o Spirits is your classic arcade
shooter that pays homage to the arcades of yesterday, however boasts
many of the gaming features of today such as competitive multiplayer
with up to four players via local wireless and a great editing tool
which allows players to create their own levels for this highly
entertaining game.
To sum it up, "It's classic retro gaming
at its enjoyable best!"
So what exactly is Bangai-O Spirits? It's
your classic arcade shooter that has the gamer fighting an almost
endless hoard of enemies. Fortunately you are equipped with the latest
state-of-the-art weaponry which goes a long way in assisting you
complete your mission objectives.
Players control a giant Mech-like robot
that is armed to its teeth as you attempt to avoid the firepower of the
enemy and blast them into the netherverse. Like classic arcade games,
the title boasts 160 levels which do become more and more difficult as
you progress so quite a bit of the game does involve trial and error.
Just like those classic retro games.
The game also contains a tad of
customization as you can mix and match weapons in order to create unique
and powerful combinations. Before engaging on the level, you get to pick
what armaments are required for the mission. If you do make a mistake,
you can always start the level again.
With lasers and missiles, your robot has a
wide gamut of arsenal available which adds to the enjoyment of the
title. Unlike traditional arcade shooters, the game also contains quite
a few puzzles and mazes to assist in the difficulty of the title that
range from basic to quite difficult at times. Match that with classic
boss matches and the fun keeps rolling on.
Control wise, the controls are almost
flawless on the Nintendo DS with the only drawback being the console
itself which does become a little heavy after hours upon hours of play.
Then again, I really shouldn't play the game five hours straight,
however this shows just how entertaining the game is.
For multiplayer fans, the game contains a
great wireless multiplayer option for competitive gaming which is just
as enjoyable as the single-player mode. So get your friends, family and
foes together for some great competitive battles.
Add in the ability of creating your levels
and the sky is the limit. I must admit that the level editor of Bangai-O
Spirits is quite easy to use thanks to the Nintendo DS stylus and allows
for some great level creation. It is quite powerful too and is probably
easy to use than the Drawn to Life game editor.
Graphically, the title is a little sparse
on the Nintendo DS but the graphics do pay homage to the arcade shooters
of yesterday which contain quite a multitude of gaming environments
which assists in drawing you into this title. The sounds are classics
from yesterday as is the retro inspired soundtrack .
With so much variety in just one little
game Bangai-O Spirits not only pays homage to arcade shooters of
yesterday, especially 2D side scrollers, it also has the graphics to
match but with the unique control system of the DS. How can one little
game offer so much fun?
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