 Einhander for Sony Playstation
Back in the days of the original 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System,
and even into the 16-bit times of the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo,
the 2-dimensional side-scrolling game was always a staple. Usually these
games were limited to two types, fighters (such as Kung Fu for the NES) or
shooters (such as Gradius). There were a lot of 'em, many lame, but many
were excellent.
In the bigger, badder world the Sony Playstation and Nintendo 64 have
brought us, side-scrollers have been few and far between, as programmers
explore the boundaries that the 3-D capabilities of the machines. That's
all fine and good, but sometimes, there's just a need to have something
a little simpler, a little bit old-school. That's where Einhander comes
in.
Einhander (which as near as I can tell is a bastardization of the German
expression for "single-handed") is one of the only side-scrolling
shooters that I know of for the PSX. The theme is a typical video game
one, simply an excuse for shooting a lot of stuff, the Moon and the
Earth are at war. The player takes on the part of the hot-shot pilot
from the Moon that is sent to Earth on a mission of total destruction.
You pilot the ultimate fighter aircraft – the Einhander.
There are actually three Einhanders, each with slightly different
equipment. Each can carry different amounts of machine guns and special
mechanisms called gunpods. The gunpods are the real key to the
Einhander's success. As you battle enemies, you will find that certain
ones carry special weapons, and you can either grab the weapon from
them, or just destroy them and pick the weapon out of the air with these
gunpods. These special weapons are diverse, including Gatling guns,
laser cannons, homing missiles, grenades, and even a light-saber like
device. If you fly an Einhander with more than one gunpod equipped with
a weapon, you can change their configuration (one sits on top of your
machine, one below) for a myriad of fighting techniques. Properly
equipped, your Einhander can loose an unbelievable hail of death and
mayhem, often destroying boss characters in mere seconds.
The game looks very good, with excellent scrolling backgrounds, and
richly drawn landscapes. One stage takes place in a city directly out of
Blade Runner, another in a downward-scrolling shaft filled with what
appears to be robotic mining equipment. The enemies are properly
futuristic and diverse, and some of the bosses are wildly imaginative,
including one that is very reminiscent of the Mammoth Car of "Speed Racer"
fame – except that this Mammoth Car constantly sprouts cannons and
lasers from its roof. The sound is top-notch, which an atmospheric and
appropriately brooding techno soundtrack, and the explosions and gunfire
are excellent.
This game is quite difficult, and the programmers seemed to have
realized that, as you begin each game with ten continues. You'll need
every one of them and more to actually make any appreciable progress, as
you're bound to spend numerous lives on bosses, at least until you reach
one with just the right combination of weapons to clean house. There are
eight stages in all, and I can imagine it'll just get tougher, so it
might be a while before I manage to beat this one. Which is good, I
suppose – the challenge level of a lot of Playstation games is pretty
low. If there is a fault with this game it's the lack of a two-player
option. One of the joys of earlier 8 or 16-bit shooters was being able
to team up with a friend to blow the hell out of everything. It's
disappointing that we don't get that chance here, but the one-player
game is so good that this fault is accepted. The old-school feel of this
one is especially welcome, as it brings back memories of the earlier,
less complicated days. Next up on the old-school video games revisited
list, Space Invaders 64 – now the aliens are different colors!
Review by ICE |
