SHMUPS





Gradius 2 Interstellar Assault- Konami









Gradius 2 Interstellar Assault

Reviewed by Felix the Cat

The humble little GameBoy, older than the current 32- and 64-bit consoles, and quite possibly more popular than these inherently 3D systems, hasn' t got a very good history of shootemups in its library. The GameBoy is more well known for puzzle games (including the amazingly addictive Tetris), RPGs (Final Fantasy Adventure, Zelda Links Awakening and Pokemon among others) and platformers (Warioland heading the elite), and thus it isn' t surprising that is doesn' t contain more shooters. Not that it really matters, as there some very good conversions of the old classics - Parodius, Gradius and R-Type, among others. Gradius Interstellar Assault is a rare GameBoy exclusive and one that is very enjoyable to play.

Okay, story - Routine scout check around Planet Gradius, until the scout fleet comes under attack from enemy forces. Soon, you' ll get chased into a cavern, where you will emerge and plan a counterattack on the enemy forces. Or something like that...

At first glance this GB shmup doesn' t look too hot. Suffering the GameBoy' s faults - tiny graphics, some flicker, and a bit of slowdown all hamper the initial appearances of this tiny blaster. But don' t let initial appearances deceive you, because this Gradius is actually quite a good game.

Containing four (yes, four) large and packed levels, Gradius Interstellar comes with the typical Gradius weapon system, with variable missile, double and laser systems, although allowing for the system it' s on, you' re restricted to only two multiples. The enemies come thick and fast, and the game is very easy to get used to. The music coming from the GeeBee' s sound chip is quite up-tempo and gets the action going, with some fast choons blasting out of the system. Its actually surprising that Gradius Interstellar kept me playing for hours, when some shooters I get my hands on get very lax early on (I' m reviewing one of these in a few days!).

You wouldn' t think that the GameBoy could throw out a good shmup, but the few that are on the GameBoy are rare and valuable gems, and Gradius Interstellar doesn't fail to deliver the goods. Thoroughly enjoyable, and something to pass long hours away.





Choose your Destination!

Each level has its section, with level 4 split in 3 parts. And you can take a peek at the weapons system if you want to.

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4a Level 4b Level 4c Weapons System



TOP | HOME

shmups!
www.shmups.com   © 1997 - 2007  Malcolm Laurie