Ikaruga

System: Gamecube
Release Date: 2003
Published By: Atari
Reviewed by: Darien
Rating:

If there's anything that isn't a good sign, it's when video game boxes feature review quotes on the front cover and quotes from classic philsophers on the back cover. And yet, the front of the Ikaruga package contains a quote from the bowels of IGN, and the back a quote from The Art of War, and the game still manages not to suck. Amazing.

Video games these days all have the same problem, really; they're designed as self-esteem workouts for unpopular kids. They may have one or two hard bits, but, really, the idea is to make them beatable by pretty much any ninny can work out which end of the controller plugs into the console. Back in the old days, now, video games had a totally different ambition: they wanted to beat you. They wanted to kick you in the nuts so hard you bleed out your eyes. They were solid rage pressed into circuit boards and barely contained inside flimsy plastic shells. Ikaruga's like that. It's an old-skool video game. And it's hard as hell.

On the surface, it's simple; a top-down shooter in the classic Gradius fashion. You move forward at a constant rate (no stopping allowed!), and enemy ships fly on to the screen at fixed intervals. You can shoot at them, and you can fire homing missiles. But there's a catch here. You also have a "switch polarity" button. What's that do? Simple, my man! It changes the colour of your ship from white to black, or vice-versa. The reason for this, see, is that everything in the game with which there is interaction - ships, bullets, breakable blocks, what-have-you - is either white or black. Your shots do increased damage to (and you get more points from) anything that isn't the same colour as you. At the same time, any bullets that are your colour can't hurt you; instead, you'll absorb them and use the energy to fuel your missiles. It's more simple than it sounds (yet), but it's hard as hell.

Because, you see, the screen is generally filled with stuff. Ships, blocks, and tons of bullets. There is no getting through the game without mastering the art of switching polarity. And if you want a high score? No amount of just playing the game will suffice. You must study the game. Learn the patterns. Just like in the old days.

Technically, the game is perfectly sound. It's adapted from an arcade game, and the form-factor of the screen doesn't translate well to a standard 4:3 television, so you choose from five screen modes all of which have their disadvantages, and one of which - I shit you not - intends for you to turn your television on to its side. The visuals are excellent, and the sound is unremarkable but not annoying (though the voice clips are almost indecypherable). What about the story buffs? Rest assured, the manual promises "manga-style storytelling." No prizes to anyone who can find the storytelling, now. Near as I can tell, there's nothing but shooting the hell out of things in this game. It's the only game I've played in I-don't-even-know-how-long that doesn't include a single cutscene.

If you like non-stop frantic action, and a game that will beat you to death even though it's only five levels long, or if you're just jonesing for some classic gaming action, Ikaruga will not disappoint.

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