to Pac-Man or Galaga. So I was surprised to see a modern revival, especially a decade after this kind of
experiment was last attempted. Still, I’m not one to turn down a good rail shooter, so I jumped into the
game, expecting to have a pretty good time at the very least.
However, what I found was a particularly demanding shooter, playing on the tradition of Panzer
Dragoon, featuring a camera that whips the viewer to the next wave of oncoming enemies, and carrying
them around massive boss fights. This seems glorious on paper, but it has many unfortunate flaws.
First and foremost, the controls are needlessly complicated. Maneuvering your insectoid lead character
around the screen and guiding her shots requires both thumb sticks, and numerous buttons controlled
an interesting variety of weapons. Adjusting to split of flight and shooting between the two controls is
trying, and makes the game inaccessible to fans of the hit Atari game. Even when adjusted to this aspect
of the game, the hairiest moments will still cause some confusion, and damage can be found en masse
as a result.
Beyond the clean and almost sterile loading screen, a series of lush jungle settings and caverns
awaits, calling upon a palate of moist greens and dry dark earth tones. Unfortunately, this type of
setting comprises the majority of the game, only stretching the visuals out into the sky to offer variety.
Thankfully, the graphics are quite nice. The enemy animations are fairly standard in comparison to Yar,
who floats around the screen gracefully whilst painting the sky with laser fire. Cut scenes at the open
and close of each level are performed as a comic book, sans text bubbles, and feature a Japanese anime
art style. While this seems out of place, it’s effective, and doesn’t distract form the story that it attempts
to tell any more than the quickly disappearing subtitles. Due to a lack of voice acting, this text is the
players’ only connection to the story. The story itself is poorly written, and seems unnecessary. It gives a
reason for Yar’s constant insecticide, and nothing much else. The included comic tells a better tale, and
it was originally penned in 1981, around the release of the original. In stark contrast, the sound design is
bland. The soundtrack is filled with uninspired techno, cheapening the sweeping landscapes over which
Yar dies so many times. Laser and missile sound effects are equally stale, but are at least effective, and
don’t distract from the overall experience.
On rails shooting hasn’t really aged in the decade since it was last really implemented, so
Yar’s Revenge performs admirably as it glides from point A to B over the aforementioned landscapes.
Thanks to a wide variety of weapons, the steep difficulty can be tamed a bit with the help of homing
missiles and different lasers, and a shield which restores your ship’s energy. The shield is given out
fairly frequently, and you’ll find yourself quite thankful that you have such a thing as your shield gage
is reduced from the nineties down to the forties by a single wave. The enemies lack the variety of the
weapons, relying on a few models with swapped colors, but ultimately only differing in the amount
of damage that they take before dying. This isn’t a game breaker, however, as the challenge is still
implemented around the patterns in which new combatants enter the screen. Keep in mind, this game
is very hard. If you are new to rail shooters, try some other titles first, and come back for this one later.
If nothing else, try the cooperative mode. A second player is apt to assist with the hundreds of onscreen
enemies that a typical run through launches each minute.
Easily the most disappointing aspect of the game is the selection of bosses. Instead of being a
creative, and reflex testing challenge, gamers are introduced to behemoths intent on their destruction
that launch the same attacks in the same order until enough lasers are eventually shot into them
that they die. What makes this a crime is the time it takes to bring down these colossal beasts. Their
bottomless health meters drags the confrontations out, and kills the excitement built up from the levels
preceding the battle.
There isn’t enough to bring enough gamers back for another run. The six levels can be repeated
on three difficulties, and little is unlocked to satiate the many gamers, leaving them feeling wary about
the 800 points spent on the title. While the game offers an intense rail shooter experience, there just
isn’t enough to bring players back once the credits have rolled. It’s fun, fast, and diabolically difficult. It
just happens not to be for everyone.
6.5/10
So, I'm a hair late posting this particular review up here, but it was originally penned for a possible job writing video game reviews. Obviously, I didn't get it. Oh well.
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