Thursday 31 May 2012

Dodonpachi Double Pack

Hats off to Microsoft. I mean for the shoot 'em up baton to be passed from Saturn to Dreamcast was an expected tradition. (It could easily be argued due to the strength of the Thuderforce series that the progression was from the Mega Drive as well...) But for Microsoft to highjack the relay (especially when the runners were very much low on steam) was unexpected to say the least. From corporate echelons has come a clear desire to be the king of the genre most cherished by hardcore gamers alongside one on one fight titles. And there are plenty of shoot 'em ups for the shmup veteran to get their callouses worked up on the 360....
Dream double pack with two Dodonpachi Daifukkatsu games: ver 1.5 and the Black Label versions. The chain meter clanks up as players shoot down adversaries to help boost score for the cool fingered gamers out there. The Akiba influence is definitely there too as players are assaulted from enemies from high school girl assailants to mecha maids. But underpinning the pink bullet eye candy are solid shooter mechanics and some sturdy level design. The on the ground vehicles keep players eyes twitching between multi levels as tanks grind along and trains whiz by. The water transparencies are exquisite too as ships fly out from under the surface having trailed the players vessel. But the 360s raw power is also harnessed to make the bosses perform the odd 3D rotational twist workout.

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