Tag: Shoot ‘Em Up

Geekscape Games Reviews: ‘Under Defeat HD: Deluxe Edition’

by Derek Kraneveldt

In 2006, it had likely been years since you’d last thought of Sega’s ill-fated Dreamcast. The sexy, powerful console died on our continent long before its time, largely because you and yours decided to wait for the Playstation 2 instead. Things went a little differently in Japan, as the honourable folks in the East decided that the Dreamcast was worth their time (and money). The console retained a strong following due to a steady stream of clever, classy titles (all while you were busy playing your first-person shooters).

 

What I was STILL playing in 2006...
What I was STILL busy playing in 2006…

 

Under Defeat hit shelves in Japan that year, and was among the final retail games to be released for the system. The title was an excellent port of a popular arcade shoot ’em up (or schmup). Unsurprisingly, Under Defeat never made it stateside, so unless you were an importer who didn’t mind paying several hundred dollars for the title (the Dreamcast edition is both rare and sought after), you never got a chance to play (or even hear of) the game.

 

The original, vertical scrolling version of the game.
The original, vertical scrolling version of the game.

 

Until now that is. In October of 2011, publisher Rising Star Games and original developer G.Rev announced that an HD remake of the title was in the works. Along with its original market, the acclaimed schmup was finally coming stateside (and to European gamers too). Watch the launch trailer for the updated edition below, and read on!

 

 

Like most games in the genre, Under Defeat HD doesn’t waste your time with plot or characters (who needs any of that crap). Once you press start it’s just you, your helicopter, and hundreds upon hundreds of baddies between you and your goal. Between waves you’ll be greeted by huge, frustratingly hard (but not cheap) boss battles. You’ll be firing a barrage of endless machine-gun rounds, clearing the screen with a (very) limited amount of bombs, as well as plenty of other clever power-ups. Prepare for war.

 

I’m not sure that I’ve ever yelled at my television as much as I do while playing Under Defeat HD. The game is fun as hell, but its also hard as HELL. I’m breaking into a cold sweat just thinking about the constant frustration; even after hours and hours of playtime, it’s still tough to get through the first few stages without dying. Dozens of enemies litter the screen at all times, and if you stop, even to blink, your copter will go up in flames (though at least you won’t need to keep popping in quarters).

 

It can sometimes be tough to tell just what is going on.
It can sometimes be tough to tell just what is going on.

 

One of the standout mechanics of Under Defeat HD is its unique control scheme. In nearly every other shoot ’em up, the craft you control, while being moveable in any direction, can only shoot straight ahead. While not shooting, Under Defeat allows you to tilt and lock your helicopter to the left and right, which allows you to fire diagonally at enemies that may otherwise be unreachable. It’s a fantastic feature that greatly differentiates the game from others in the genre.

 

Diagonal fire. It's what's for dinner.
Diagonal fire. It’s what’s for dinner.

Now, as smooth as the game can be, like most things in this world, it isn’t perfect. Games like Under Defeat HD typically have an insane amount of things happening onscreen, which the PS3 (and its futile amount of RAM) has a hard time keeping up with. Slowdown is abundant, and the more enemies you’re dealing with at one time, the more apparent the reduced speed can be. That being said, the slowdown has saved my ass at numerous points, so at least for me, it doesn’t ruin the experience. The only other negative aspect of the presentation is the drab colour scheme of the title, though this was likely due to the limitations of the original arcade machine more than anything else.

 

Any imperfections the game may have are more than made up for by the intense, breakneck gameplay and the slew of different options at your disposal. In addition to the new HD (and 16:9) adaptation, you can also play the original version in its vertical orientation (feel free to rotate your television). two-player local co-op is also an option and an absolute blast. Each stage can also be played in a neat test mode, which lets you nail the pattern of the level and dispersion of the enemies before taking them on in the full campaign.

 

Possibly the calmest moment you'll ever see in this game.
Possibly the calmest moment you’ll ever see in this game.

Under Defeat HD is a great port of the 2006 classic. If you’re a fan of the shoot ’em up genre, or think you may like to try it out, Under Defeat is a great place to start. Be warned however, the game is relentless and can be frustratingly difficult at times. If you love a challenge and like to see stuff blow up, you’ll have a nostalgic blast with Under Defeat HD.

 

Under Defeat HD: Deluxe Edition scores a relentless 3.5/5. Sorry Xbox 360 owners (at least in North America), this one’s only available on PS3, and costs a cool $29.99.

 

PS3 only in NA, UK gamers are lucky enough to score an Xbox version too!
PS3 only in NA, UK gamers are lucky enough to score an Xbox version too!

 

Play the game already? Let us know what you think! Now I’m hankering to power up my Dreamcast again; anyone up for some Virtua Tennis?

Geekscape Games Geek Peek Review: ‘Retro/Grade’

by MoreLikeAndy

Retro/Grade ends up winning the award for “I didn’t know that was possible.” It actually had me thinking back to an old episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air where Will Smith had the idea for a book called ‘Celebrity Houses…At Night!” Both ideas are insane and shouldn’t work at all. Somehow, the folks over at 24 Caret Games managed to mash together a shoot-em-up and a rhythm game and have it actually work better than I expected.

 

Retro/Grade has you jump in the role of Rick Rocket who has to restore the space-time continuum before the whole universe is destroyed by the temporal anomaly. The only way you can restore the balance is to play in reverse. Essentially, you are undoing everything that was already played out before you take control. The rhythm part of the equation comes into play in that you have to time your button presses to your shots that are collected as you go in reverse. While doing this, you need to avoid the enemies attacks that appear behind as well as in front of you at times.

Using a crazy neon color scheme, it can be hard to keep track of everything, especially the higher you go in the six difficulty levels. I had a hard time in pro mode due to the colors blending in with the things I was suppose to avoid thus losing track of the shots I was suppose to collect. I didn’t have a PS3 guitar controller to test out but with dexterity and speed you need in order to go back and forth on the note lines reminded me how bad my reaction times are lately. The electro-pop music is charming and I was never in full head-bobbing motion while trying to keep my multiplier up, although I could just use my limited meter to reverse time and correct my screw-ups.

The only thing wrong with this elaborate mix-up of game genres is that there is not enough to keep you engaged past the ten campaign levels. There’s a challenge mode but that just rehashes the same levels with a specific objective for you to do. Even the music seems to sound the same after awhile. Taking a chance seemed to payoff for 24 Caret Games in creating Retro/Grade, it just left me wanting more of its goodness.

Geekscape Roundtable: Geekscape’s Favourite Action Movies!

by GeekscapeStaff

The Expendables 2 is out this Friday and we are already getting details about a third installment in the franchise. So, right now we here at Geekscape are on an adrenaline high and what better time than now to tell you guys what our favorite action flicks are. So lets get into it!

Andy Breeding – I cannot resist Rush Hour 2. The comedic chemistry between Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan is amazing on how well it works. Every joke is well delivered and makes me laugh every time. With Jackie Chan, you know you are getting awesome fight choreography right from the start. For someone in his condition, he still took the risks that most people would make a stunt person do while they would sit off in their trailer eating a ham sandwich.

 

Thrill Murray – I considered abstaining from this activity because the parameters are obscenely vague. IMDB lists 23,103 films as residing within the action genre. Fortunately, 23,102 of those movies are irrelevant because DIE HARD.

 

Allisonnnnn – Chronicles Of Riddick. We have an underground jail on a planet whose sunrise is akin to a nuclear explosion inside an EZ-Bake Oven, a cult of ass-kicking fanatics in H.R. Giger inspired armor, and Vin Diesel constantly flexing those manly arms of his as he lays waste to his enemies. Oh, and Karl Urban: Sex God Extraordinaire, being hotter than any mortal man has a right to be. Seriously, in the Director’s Cut, the things he gets up to with Thandie Newton… I’ll be fanning myself for weeks.

 

UncannyShawnMadden – This is a hard one to decide on. I narrowed it down to a list of five movies (three of which starred Jean-Claude Van Damme) but when it came down to it I had to join Jack Burton on the Pork Chop Express. Big Trouble In Little China had everything you could possibly want out of an action flick. Okay. You people sit tight, hold the fort and keep the home fires burning. And if we’re not back by dawn… call the president.

 

Shane O’Hare – My favorite action movie has to be Shoot ‘Em Up. Not only is the entire plot given to you in the title it can easily describe half the movies out there in the Action genre! From the very beginning it is in your face crazy fun. The term “creative kills” is perfect for this film, when one of the first deaths is caused by a carrot!

 

Scott Alminiana – My favorite action movie has got to be Lethal Weapon 2. It took everything great about the first one and cranked it to 11. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover have perfect chemistry as Riggs and Murtaugh. The addition of Joe Pesci’s Leo Getz is fantastic. He’s got some of the best lines in the entire movie “They FUCK YOU at the drive-thru, okay? They FUCK YOU at the drive-thru!” and he steals every scene he’s in. Anytime Lethal Weapon 2 is on I will sit and watch it waiting for bad guy Arjen Rudd (Joss Ackland) to say “diplomatic immunity” so that I can crack my neck along with Murtaugh and say “it’s just been revoked!”

Molly Mahan – Kill Bill, to me, is the greatest love story of my generation, and a truly amazing action film that happens to be led by a woman (hell yeah!). Tarantino—love him or hate him—knows how to make a film. It’s a classic revenge story, which I am a sucker for, with amazing fight sequences—the 30-minute ballet between the Bride and the Crazy 88s at the climax of volume 1 and the battle between the two blonde assassins in volume 2 shine particularly bright in my mind—and the characters have depth, not just of purpose but emotional awareness that isn’t always apparent in the genre. When we come to the end of The Bride’s journey and see her interact with Bill, there is always a part of me that wishes they can get back together and work it out (no matter how foolish or big of a let down it would be after four hours of watching her roaring rampage of revenge). But despite the basic premise, their relationship isn’t the only one that we see on display. The love she has for her daughter, the disdain and respect each of her opponents and former colleagues have for her are all evident. The layers that every character has is pretty remarkable. You could see each of them headlining their own film if they had to, or a comic book run. In the end, Kill Bill doesn’t force me to change my knickers as often as the trailer for Expendables 2 does, but it makes my heart sing. And that is something remarkable.

 

Jonathan – I think anyone who reads this site is expecting me to put a Van Damme movie here but I’m going to take the opportunity to share my love for another action film, probably one of the most revered in the genre: John Woo’s 1989 film The Killer, starring Chow Yun Fat, Danny Lee and Sally Yeh. This was the only movie poster that I had in my room all 4 years of college and not a week went by that I didn’t watch at least a few scenes from it. I could still watch it every week today. The plot is simple and has been done before. A conscientious hitman (Chow Yun Fat), pained by a hit gone wrong and blinding an innocent woman (Sally Yeh), swears to retire. But he takes one last job in order to pay to make things right. And in a classic modern-noir fashion, that was one job too many. Not only are his ex-employers on his tail to wipe him out but so is a driven cop (Danny Lee), intent on bringing him to justice. Some prefer Woo’s Hollywood calling cards of Hard Boiled and A Better Tomorrow 2 or the more gray area’d A Better Tomorrow but The Killer is where Woo really put his stamp on the genre, complete with slow motion doves, antagonists finding a common respect in a ballet of bloodshed and a dangerous men with moral codes. This movie influenced a wave of 90s action filmmakers, from Rodriguez to Tarantino, and forever reinvigorated a genre that had been exhausted by the end of the 80s. Throw any action film you want at it, The Killer still stands towards the top. And if it’s any consolation, John Woo did end up making a Van Damme film, 1993’s Hard Target.