| ps1 |
| whilst being the console of choice for PAL loving saps in the late nineties, this machine did have a fairly high number of quality shooters released in Japan (some of which even made it to the UK). generally speaking the ps1 hosted the same big name shooter conversions as the saturn although they were generally not as good (probably something to do with the fact that the saturn was built to be a bit of a 2D monster). therefore, if you want to get into ps1 shooting stick to the ps1 exclusives such as Gradius Gaiden, Einhander etc. |
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| GRADIUS GAIDEN/. many feel this is the definitive version of Gradius and it's not hard to see why. basically this is a montage of earlier Gradius games all in one lovely package. lots of options and nice and hard, plus re-worked versions of the original tunes. as for whether it's the definitive version or not, well it's a throw up between this and Gradius Advance on the GBA - not sure I could really choose between the two. just buy it. |
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| RAIDEN PROJECT/. basically, arcade perfect conversions of Raiden and Raiden 2, which can't be bad. stupidly hard but quite rewarding if you're prepared to persevere. also has a tate mode, which is nice. |
| R-TYPE DELTA/. the fourth console incarnation of R-Type and this time in 3D. doesn't quite have the original's greatness but very enjoyable nonetheless. this game is the basic blueprint for R-Type final. |
| STARBLADE ALPHA/. a bit dated by today's standards and not the greatest game ever made. but it has a special place in my heart as i nearly wet my knickers every time i saw this in an arcade. nice 3D shooting in the same vein as Starfox. |
| STRIKERS 1945 2/. the PAL version artwork is, admittedly, shocking however the game is great. although not obvious from the game packaging this is actually a Psikyo game so you know you're in for a treat. basically like a modern version of the classic 1945 mixed with Gunbird. brilliant stuff, plus i got it for �2.98 :) |
| VIEWPOINT/. if the difficulty level wasn't quite so insane this has the hallmarks of a very enjoyable game (the irem original certainly was). however, whilst the graphics have been updated, this has lost something in the conversion. big shame, go for the Neo Geo version instead. |
| X2/. this is the sequel to the Amiga original and it looks very much like an Amiga, rather than a console game. it's not bad if you can pick it up cheap but don't bust a gut to get it. for play through videos go here. |
| XEVIOUS 3D/G+/. 4 versions of Xevious (Xevious, Super Xevious, Xevious Arrangement and Xevious 3D/G+). the best one is the 3D version (sorry retro fans) which looks pretty cool in a 'crappy-old-fashioned' way. good for a quick blast and especially good if you're a Xevious fan (i think even i'm a bit too young for that though). |