A vertically scrolling shoot 'em up, from Treasure that features unique polarity-switching gameplay. It is the spiritual successor to Radiant Silvergun.
This is an amazing game. As a shoot 'em up it plays perfectly, and it's binary color mode mechanic is unique. But boy is it hard. Not difficult. Like abusive. Like, my gamer self esteem can only take so much. But as I said it's executed so well there is never a moment where you feel the game is cheating you. You just aren't good enough. It didn't take long before I turned down all the difficulty settings, and I was still getting my butt handed to me.
The essence of the game is this. You know when you are playing a brain age game, and you feel like your brain is being asked to do something it's not supposed to? Like there is this empty space inside your head your grey matter is trying to fill? Combine that sensation with a really difficult bullet hell shooter. That's what it's like.
Of course when you do accomplish something it is immensely satisfying. It's just very hard fought.
This is the perfect game to have on your hard drive, so when your mind is fresh you can give it a go. Also I picked it up for 5 bucks. I highly recommend it at that price.
Ikaruga(Xbox 360 Games Store) by ptcoakley on March 21, 2009
Ahhh, shoot-em-ups. So many classics, so little re-releases. Thankfully, one of the best was recently released for XBLA, and now everyone can enjoy Ikaruga. Built as a minimalist shooter, this game is quite possibly one of the most efficiently designed games of the genre. What Ikaruga does differently from all the rest, besides stripping away all of the fluff, is use a “duality” theme to create a game where you have two different polarities of your ship, each one representing either dark or ligh...
Ikaruga(Xbox 360 Games Store) by mistergale on July 26, 2008
Ikaruga is completely unapologetic in its execution. Everything from its cruel and punishing difficulty to the maelstrom of fire hurling towards you, is only offset by your own skill. I would not have it any other way.Original a 2001, Japan only, arcade release, Ikaruga's unique twist on top down, 2d shooting is acclaimed as some of the best in it class. Ports also made it to the Dreamcast in 2002 and then to the Gamecube in 2003. Now it is the Xbox Live Arcade's turn to have its shot, so ...
1 out of 1 found this review helpful.
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