On the surface Ikaruga looks like a traditional top-up shooter with flashy graphics and environments. Luckily, what it really is and what it appears to be at first look are two entirely different creatures. Developer Treasure has managed to breath new live into a genre that has been tapped for as long as home video game consoles have been in existence.
Ikaruga is the sequel to the acclaimed (and widely thought of as the greatest shooter ever) Radiant Silvergun, and it outshines its predecessor in every way, shape and form. Ikaruga first made an appearance on the Sega Dreamcast in Japan at an unfortunate time. Treasure released it when the Sega box already had one foot in the proverbial grave, and subsequently the game was never released on US shores. The DC proved to be a great home for Ikaruga, but some framerate issues and somewhat bland texturing slightly marred this great title.
The Gamecube version suffers none of the minor graphical flaws that hampered the original. The visuals are down right beautiful. So much is happening on your screen with no slow down of the framerate at all. The effects are stunning and the sound (especially the effects) is wonderful for this type of game. It would be very hard to imagine this game being more visually pleasing than it already is. There is certainly an abundance of eye-candy here that would satisfy any graphics hound.
It is becoming more and more of a rare occurrence to see a game this polished that actually shines in the gameplay department. The control is spot-on, and controlling the analog stick is extremely precise. The innovation in the game comes in the form of one challenging and yet simple in concept gameplay formula. Bullets that fire at you are either black or white, and your ship can change colors to absorb the attacks. Absorb enough attacks and power up a special attack, get hit by the wrong bullet and you die. With so many white and black enemies in each level, the gameplay becomes extremely intense, and extremely hard to put down. This addictiveness and desire to complete and perfect each level makes the replay value very high. Most players will find themselves replaying each level a multitude of times, trying to rack up the points with chain attacks.
The only knock that can be made on this game is actually a plus for the hardcore gamer. Ikaruga becomes very difficult, especially at the third level. There are only 5 levels, which may sound like a short game, but the difficulty level makes up for this fact. The difficulty actually becomes a reward for some, as there is a true sense of accomplishment when a gamer finally masters Ikaruga.
-Frank
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