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| 3DOManiac
Where the 3DO continues to survive! |
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Trev
New Callsign; Dog Meat!
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| Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 9:44 am Post subject: Review - Starblade |
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Namco teased 3DO owners back when it released Starblade for the struggling console. Wowed by a game that was more than arcade perfect, fans speculated about what future goodies Namco would bestow upon the multiplayer. Of course the reality was that the upcoming Sony Playstation would receive the bulk of their efforts, leaving 3DO fans with just a small taste of what could have been. Interestingly, Dreamcast owners would experience something similar when years later Namco brought the amazing Soul Caliber out as a launch title for Sega’s console only to follow with …. Um, a sloppy port of Namco museum vol.1
But anyway, back to Starblade, thankfully this small taste proved to be quite sweet. For despite it’s short length, & despite the fact that 3DO was already home to a number of shooters (a genre that would continue to grow on the platform) Starblade is the best shooter for the console.
Let me counter any potential gripes first, before getting to the heart of why this game is great. As already mentioned, it is over fairly quickly. But we need to remember that Starblade is an arcade port. Any game jumping from the arcade to the home suffers the same problem. And fans who played (and hopefully) bought this game should have known that. It is not a fair criticism. It would be like attacking a Looney Tune cartoon for being shorter than a Disney motion picture.  Both are great for what they are. And Starblade is great as an arcade shooter. If you want a longer game experience, go play an rpg!
One other area to be addressed is that Starblade is 'on rails'. For those who don’t know, this basically means that player control is limited to the shooting cursor only (similar to Panasonic’s Burning Soldier, another great 3DO shooter) All actual ship control is done by the game itself. But is this really a bad thing? Obviously tastes will differ on this point, but spend a couple hours with Microcsm (or Novastorm if you prefer good games  ) to see how frustrating it can be to smack the background objects over and over. Trust me, Stablade's control scheme will grow on you.
Okay, enough catering to the nitpickers … time to heap on the praise. Graphics in this game are arcade perfect. Fans of the original will be very happy. But remember back in the first paragraph when I mentioned that Starblade was “more than arcade perfect? That’s right, the game gives you two graphic modes to choose from. And let me tell you, the enhanced 3DO visuals are sweet! Every texture in the game is painted in 32-bit goodness, that was awesome back in the day, and is still sweet even now. They were good enough in fact, that the PSX received a direct port 2 years later under the name Starblade Alpha. But 3DO got it first!
True, the sections in the game do vary somewhat in the quality of their looks. For instance, there is only so much one can do to dress up an asteroid field. But other areas, like the surface when you are traversing the ravine are incredible! Once you play Starblade with enhanced graphics, it is tough to go back … in fact I never do.
Not much music to speak of in this game, but the sound effects are quite good. Explosions especially seem to fare well, which is important in a game of this nature. Sfx overall are memorable, which is a nice change of pace from games that make you want to hit the mute button. On the contrary, you’ll probably want to play this game will the volume cranked! 
Control is a piece of cake, again, with your only focus on moving the cursor. The game itself is no cake walk mind you, but with practice you’ll likely encounter minimal trouble till near the games end. There are a number of intense sections to be sure, but you are given brief breaks in between for quick updates on your progress.
This game is just pure fun! It doesn’t bog itself down in an epic story (shoot the bad guys is basically all you need to know) it doesn’t bombard you with superficial full motion video, and it doesn’t needlessly complicate with numerous control options. It is exactly how an arcade game should be done. And it is exactly he kind of shooter 3DO needed to offer an alternative to the non-Shock wave player.
In conclusion … well, actually there is little else to say. I had planned on putting together a fancy ending, but writing this review has made me want to put down the mouse and pick up my controller to take yet another run with this game ...
Proceeding towards Red Eye …
-Trev
P.S. If by some strange chance you don’t already own this game … shame on you! Seriously though, hunt it down, its easy enough on the wallet and you’ll thank me for it.  |
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T2KFreeker
Captain Quazar
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Joined: 02 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Mon Jun 16, 2008 2:40 pm Post subject: |
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| Yup, I agree with this review whole heartedly. Star Blade on the 3DO is easily the best version of this game out there. The Sega CD/Mega CD version is okay for what it is and Namco should be ashamed for the version they released for the Playstation. I still revisit this game often and still have a blast with it to this day. Great review. |
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pitsunami
DOOM Trooper
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Joined: 28 Aug 2007
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Location: greece
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| Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 5:19 am Post subject: |
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I agree with T2K great review for a GREAT game! I am still stunned with the visuals of the 3do enhanced mode!Awesome game! I am going to play some now...  |
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