R-Type Delta

Price: $5.99

PSN Release Date: May 7^th 2009

Original Release Date: July 31^st 1999

Story

Well this is the fourth game in the R-Type series, and because it’s a side-scrolling space fighter shooter there’s not so much story to keep you interested. The only details you have are that it’s set in the future in Asia. You (the pilot) can pick one of three ships and fight your way through encounters lovingly named by the writing department as “Contacts”. Sadly though,  Jodie Foster does not appear in the game. You’re here for the gameplay so let’s skip to there.

Gameplay

You have one of three ships to choose, and each of them has their own attributes and differences. Those differences are apparent with their power ups that like all side-scrolling space ship shooters are very important. When you pick up a power up you start off with a disk that follows you around and shoots with you. They are different with each ship, one will stay a certain distance from you and shoot in a stationary position, one will be tethered to you with an odd energy lasso that will protect you and kill enemies and the other will act like a secondary pilot attacking anything on screen. You can also attach it to the back and front of your ship for it to act as a shield. Other power ups that you pick up add lasers, spreaders etc. It’s all very standard but having the disk attach itself to your ship makes it a little bit more interesting, and had me really thinking out strategies in certain bottleneck situations to get through. Ship speed is another variable you’ll need to master to make it through. There are certain points where you only have a small window of opportunity to zip under falling debris and because it’s a one hit one kill system mastering your speed and controlling your ship is an important part of it.

The difficulty in this game is pretty intense and that might make it a little bit less accessible for some. The first three hours of playing I had only made it half-way to the “Third Contact” on Normal difficulty. This kind of game is not in my comfort zone as you might guess but it does offer a great challenge that makes you feel great when you accomplish it. Luckily you receive 5 continues of 3 lives each but when you loose your power-ups and have to take on a difficult boss with barely any firepower it does become frustrating. Normally I would consider myself a pretty laid back gamer, but while playing this game, at times I felt the urge to hurl my PSP across the room, which would have made me reviewing these games a little more difficult to say the least. I’m sure my GameBoy could have survived it, but I’m betting my PSP would be a little worse for wear.

Graphics

Picture Via cdecas.free.fr

The graphics in this title are well done. Everything is rendered in 3D that looks great on the PSP screen (on the PS3 it does look a little worse). They are also very colourful, which makes it easy to see what you’re doing and what you need to avoid when you don’t want your ship to turn into a flash of light followed by a game over screen. The bosses are designed well and look great, and it’s never difficult to know what you need to fire at which is paramount in a game like this.

How it holds up today

Overall the gameplay of these games haven’t changed since I can remember. You must play it over and over again and memorize the levels before you can get succeed, and I have to tell you, expect to die a lot in this game. If you’re someone who likes this type of game, it’s certainly functional and the gameplay is fun. But if you need a little bit more to keep you playing (like me) perhaps you should shy away. You won’t get attached to any characters in this one and no story to compel you forward. Despite its fun gameplay, after dying for the hundredth time on a certain boss there’s little incentive to keep playing and for that reason I gave up.

For those who love arcade style shooters this is a great title, luckily you don’t have to keep pumping in quarters to play this one or you’d go broke. But for those looking to lay back with a game it’s not for you

8.5/10 (for those who like this genre)

6/10 (for those who don’t)

There are also the first two games in this series on sale in the store as R-types which include the first two games in the series. The third, Super R-Type was a Super Nintendo exclusive.