Ikaruga

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger". This time, it's literally true.

You bank the Ikaruga hard left, dodging the coruscating torrent of white fire raining down on your position. Pulling up and dropping back, you let fly with a burst of argent fury, bathing the Horai guard in electric death. You drop below the cloud cover, rolling and turning, pulling into the command hanger. Mammoth energy blocks slide out from the walls to block your path but a swift left-right sees you through. Up ahead, the Horai zone ship looms massively from the shadows, unleashing alternating bursts of black and white fire. Absorbing the white fire, you let loose a brace of homing lasers and skilfully avoid the black energy. No turning back now, the zone ship is upon you - choose your polarity, make your stand.

The first mainstream video game ever was a shoot-em-up and it's a fair assumption that when our sun goes nova and engulfs the Earth in fire, there'll be shoot-em-ups eating future-money in the last arcades. Well, that's maybe a little dramatic, but let's face it - there's something enduring about the image of one player standing alone against hordes of alien invaders. The graphics, sound, and gameplay might vary but it always comes down to one thing: It's you against them and there ain't no Geordie LaForge to bail you out at the last minute.

The New Breed

This is a quiet part of the game.

Ikaruga is the latest heir to the shoot-em-up throne, developed by Treasure, one of the most respected console action developers in the world. With a pack of hits, such as Radiant Silvergun, Gunstar Heroes, and Silpheed, under their belts, Treasure have a wealth of experience in the creation of compelling arcade action.

Ikaruga puts you in the seat of a fighter plane of the same name. As a young man named Shinra, you must defeat the evil Horai empire which has taken over your world. That's really all you need to know, plot wise.

The Ikaruga has a unique ability. Each Horai ship has a polarity, either white or black. A ship of either polarity does extra damage to a ship of the opposite polarity. The Ikaruga is the only vessel able to switch polarities at will. Furthermore, it is able to absorb lasers of the same polarity as itself and use them to charge a powerup bar, which can then be used to fire up to twelve homing lasers.

Black and White

This guy takes ages to kill with black polarity, but don't try it with white.

Things are never as easy as they seem, however. There are very few occasions when there are enemies of only one polarity on screen. As a result, the player must constantly evaluate the enemy presence and choose polarity accordingly. If there is a large black polarity ship onscreen firing hordes of black missiles and a few whites, you have to decide if you want to trust your flying ability and dodge the missiles while doing extra damage with a white laser, or you can play it safe and absorb the black bullets while dodging the whites. Sadly, things are never this simple - there are always a few randomly polarised enemies scooting about making life difficult, but you get the idea. Killing an enemy with the same polarity as you results in the explosion releasing a large number of same polarity missiles - great for quickly building up your powerup bar, but don't change polarity too quickly.

The game is played out over eighteen stages of increasing difficulty. These stages range from a fairly straightforward first level to god knows what level of insanity later on - I can't get past thirteen (yet). Throughout these levels, your shoot-em-up skills are put to the ultimate test. I fraction of a second's distraction will result in the loss of a life, even on the first level.

Form and Function

Even on black, it's not easy.

Ikaruga offers different modes of play. Practice mode allows you to jump to any stage you have completed with a single credit, on either Easy, Normal, or Hard difficulty. Conquest mode allows you to practice as above, but also allows you to choose between Demo, Slow, and Normal speeds. This is great for learning how to get the best possible score on the level. Once more, only levels completed with a single credit are available. There are many unlockable surprises (which I'm not going to spoil here), and an unlockable prototype mode, which only allows a certain number of bullets to be fired. On top of this is the ability to generate a code to register your high score on the Ikaruga Web Site - it'll take you a long time to get to the kind of scores that are there, but imagine the kudos.

Like the best shoot-em-ups, the object of Ikaruga is not to get to the twenty minute closing cutscene. It's all about the numbers. Getting a grade higher than a C on even the first level will take a good deal of practice and actually beating the game - straight As on one continue - will take considerably longer. As far as the internet high score table goes - well, we can dream.

Caffiene for the eyes

First stage boss in cooperative mode.

The first thing you notice about Ikaruga (a few seconds before the "Oh crap! There's too many of them!" moment) are the graphics. 2D scroller it may be, but everything is polygonal, textured to perfection and oh-so-smooth. The pyrotechnics are awesome, the chaos on screen is dazzling, and the explosions are tremendous. Half an hour into the game, you're into the Ikaruga zone - nothing exists except the display and the gamepad, and even the gamepad becomes an extension of your hand. The controls are perfectly laid out so you can fire and change polarity by simply rocking your thumb a little. Firing homing lasers involves a move of the thumb to the Y button, which tends to encourage you to hold off for as long as possible.

The music and sound are exactly as required. The music is largely orchestral brass - counterpointing the action perfectly and never becoming intrusive. The sound effects are clear and thunderous, helping to draw you into the zone. The overall feel of the game is of something polished to a mirrored surface. The interface is slick and tight, the gameplayer more so, and the whole experience reeks of quality. The box art is horrible, but who cares. Ikaruga supports rotated displays (don't try this with your home TV though) and also allows you to adjust the aspect ratio of the game play area by zooming in a little, obviously losing a little of the top and bottom of the screen in the process.

Never walk alone

Middle of stage 2 - this bit takes a lot of practice.

I've left the co-operative multiplayer mode till last because it deserves special mention. A lot of shooters have included a co-op mode, but they've never worked as well as this one. For starters, the player ships are able to collide, which provides an interesting dynamic in later, more restrictive levels. Also, different people enter the zone at different times, so there is a degree of strategy involved, with one player providing defensive fire while the other "gets the hang of it". Playing Ikaruga co-operatively is one of the most satisfying gaming experiences I've had, with two people virtually mind reading the others actions and reacting accordingly. Try it - you'll see what I mean.

Ikaruga is the best shoot-em-up on the current generation of consoles. With perfect gameplay, perfect difficulty curve, and beautiful graphics, it provides an intense experience like no other. The longevity of the game is immense with the round you considered perfect earning you a grade B if you're lucky. On top of that, the unlockables will provide an additional boost of gameplay. Over all this, the obsession to scrape another five points from the level you're best at will keep you busy for a very long time. It's worth stressing, though, that this is a damned difficult game - make no bones about it. Next to Ikaruga, Radiant Silvergun and R-Type are child's play. If you think you'll be frustrated by spending the first week trying to get off the second level, Ikaruga probably isn't for you. If, on the other hand, you laugh in the face of danger, titter in the ear of tribulation, and giggle in the gullet of terror, then there probably isn't a better was to legally spend the money. This isn't about content, cutscenes, story, or clever effects. This is all about making a stand. It's you against them.