The best WiiWare offering at the time
Positive: - great visuals and sound - simple yet entertaining gameplay - 50 levels - decent two-to-four player co-op - only costs $7 -
Negative: - some control issues -
In a world where the Wii Shop Channel gets continually bad games (and even some supposed 'games' that aren't even games at all (*coughs* *My Pokemon Ranch*)), Gyrostarr is a happy exception. It's a great game all-around, and the only real problem worth noting is some control issues. It still doesn't feel like a real 9/10 game, but it certainly hits the spot.
The concept of Gyrostarr is pretty cool and fresh. You play as a ship moving along a track shooting enemies and collecting power ups and energy. However, you must have a specified amount of energy by the time you reach the end of a level to clear it. If this concept was absent, the game would be childishly easy, but this element provides some real challenges as the game progresses.
Gyrostarr's gameplay is really simple: you move your ship from side to side as the course progresses and shoot stuff and pick up objects. The enemies are best left to be shot (obviously), but you have to be careful where you're shooting because if you hit a power up or energy, it moves away from you and you'll have a harder time grabbing it. This is where the grapple comes in handy. You press up or down to shoot out a grapple that will grab power ups and energy, which is really useful and adds a bit more depth to the otherwise simplistic gameplay.
As you go throughout a level, the speed intensifies at each boost point, which I find to be a very cool thing. It makes the game more challenging and pretty exciting. If you collect enough energy to get to a bonus level, you'll be in for even more speed and intensity, even though there are no enemies! The bonus levels are really cool and go wicked fast, making them challenging and really fun to play. There are also a grand total of 50 levels in the game, and they gradually get more challenging which is very nice.
The graphics and sound in Gyrostarr are great as well. The visuals are nice and sleek and fit the game just right. The sound feels very futuristic and also really cool, and the effects are very nice. The announcer sounds pretty cool as well, and the "Welcome to Gyrostarr" that plays when you start the game makes you feel like you're playing a game from the future or something.
Gyrostarr also has great multiplayer for up to four players. It's basically the same game with more ships on the screen, but it's good if you have some buddies who want to play with you. You can also shoot a bigger beam if you are directly in line with another person's ship, which is a cool bonus. Another good thing about it is that you only need two remotes and two nunchuks to play four players!
The only real issue with Gyrostarr is the controls. You have a few options: sideways remote (with or without motion), Classic controller, or nunchuk. The best control scheme is probably the remote without motion, if you try it with motion you will not do well at all due to huge innacuracies and super low sensitivity. The Classic configuration is just fine, but I personally prefer the remote. There is also a nunchuk control option (used alone, not with a remote) which works surprisingly well and is pretty convenient for two players so one can use the remote and the second can use the nunchuk. It's actually not very awkward to use together either.
To finish it off, I'd like to say that Gyrostarr is definitely worth a buy. At $7, this game is a bargain. You get more than you have the right to expect from your small amount of money, and when there are hardly any decent WiiWare games available at a time like this, Gyrostarr is a definite must-own on the Wii.
Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 8
Sound: 8
Value: 8
Negative: - some control issues -
In a world where the Wii Shop Channel gets continually bad games (and even some supposed 'games' that aren't even games at all (*coughs* *My Pokemon Ranch*)), Gyrostarr is a happy exception. It's a great game all-around, and the only real problem worth noting is some control issues. It still doesn't feel like a real 9/10 game, but it certainly hits the spot.
The concept of Gyrostarr is pretty cool and fresh. You play as a ship moving along a track shooting enemies and collecting power ups and energy. However, you must have a specified amount of energy by the time you reach the end of a level to clear it. If this concept was absent, the game would be childishly easy, but this element provides some real challenges as the game progresses.
Gyrostarr's gameplay is really simple: you move your ship from side to side as the course progresses and shoot stuff and pick up objects. The enemies are best left to be shot (obviously), but you have to be careful where you're shooting because if you hit a power up or energy, it moves away from you and you'll have a harder time grabbing it. This is where the grapple comes in handy. You press up or down to shoot out a grapple that will grab power ups and energy, which is really useful and adds a bit more depth to the otherwise simplistic gameplay.
As you go throughout a level, the speed intensifies at each boost point, which I find to be a very cool thing. It makes the game more challenging and pretty exciting. If you collect enough energy to get to a bonus level, you'll be in for even more speed and intensity, even though there are no enemies! The bonus levels are really cool and go wicked fast, making them challenging and really fun to play. There are also a grand total of 50 levels in the game, and they gradually get more challenging which is very nice.
The graphics and sound in Gyrostarr are great as well. The visuals are nice and sleek and fit the game just right. The sound feels very futuristic and also really cool, and the effects are very nice. The announcer sounds pretty cool as well, and the "Welcome to Gyrostarr" that plays when you start the game makes you feel like you're playing a game from the future or something.
Gyrostarr also has great multiplayer for up to four players. It's basically the same game with more ships on the screen, but it's good if you have some buddies who want to play with you. You can also shoot a bigger beam if you are directly in line with another person's ship, which is a cool bonus. Another good thing about it is that you only need two remotes and two nunchuks to play four players!
The only real issue with Gyrostarr is the controls. You have a few options: sideways remote (with or without motion), Classic controller, or nunchuk. The best control scheme is probably the remote without motion, if you try it with motion you will not do well at all due to huge innacuracies and super low sensitivity. The Classic configuration is just fine, but I personally prefer the remote. There is also a nunchuk control option (used alone, not with a remote) which works surprisingly well and is pretty convenient for two players so one can use the remote and the second can use the nunchuk. It's actually not very awkward to use together either.
To finish it off, I'd like to say that Gyrostarr is definitely worth a buy. At $7, this game is a bargain. You get more than you have the right to expect from your small amount of money, and when there are hardly any decent WiiWare games available at a time like this, Gyrostarr is a definite must-own on the Wii.
Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 8
Sound: 8
Value: 8
