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> Results: R-Type Final
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Thinking Man's ShooterYeah, that's a clich￩ you've heard too many times. The thinking man's action game, the thinking man's racing game, the thinking man's pizza and on and on. Well, here's one time that the description is apt and it definitely fits. R-Type Final is a shooter that demands your full attention to figure out its shooting puzzles. Once you've got the pattern down, it's all a matter of execution. But that's what separates this series from the others. You think first and execute later.  This is a long and storied series dating back to the arcades and the original R-Type, a masterpiece of shooting excellence that still looks great and is highly playable today. When it hit arcades in 1987, few games looked as good as this one with it's pretty hand drawn art. Now in 2004, the game is rendered in full 3D. There are moments of graphic brilliance in the game including an early mid-boss and a giant starship that you'll spend a whole level flying around. There's also a screen warping effect used to great length in conjunction with the gameplay on one level that is initially subtle enough you won't notice, but takes on a life of its own when you do. It could look better, but what's here is pretty good. Gameplay is the key though and the game is strong but never reaching the stratospheric heights of some of the earlier games. The levels are challenging while retaining the classic R-Type style. As noted above, you'll spend a lot of time learning what to do next through a series of trial and error deaths. Then suddenly the level will "click" for you and you'll blow through it without a scratch. You can't let your guard down for a moment though. If your concentration lapses, you will die. That's as it should be as this series has a reputation for making players throw controllers in disgust and you will want to break your Dual Shock in half at least once as you play. All that said, there are multiple difficulty levels so if you're the wimpy type, you can play on Baby difficulty so you can tell your buds you beat the game. If you're the type... There's a lot of stuff to unlock and the main thing plays right into the core gameplay. With a long history and this being the reported last game in the series, Irem has included a multitude of ships for you to unlock. Over one hundred of them can be earned through your performance in the game and they all have different attributes and many different weapons making each play through with a different craft a somewhat new experience. You also get variations in the stages depending on how you play so that even the levels themselves will change somewhat with repeated play. Finally, the usual gallery of pictures and enemy descriptions round out a nice group of extras. If you get bored with the standard shooting, Irem has also included an AI battle mode where you set different styles for your ship to follow and then pit it against one of the other crafts in a one one one fight. You watch these play out with no input and it's a mildly entertaining diversion when you've got a few minutes to kill but not much more. You're just not going to buy a shooting game for a mode where you don't shoot stuff. The shooting is good in R-Type Final. For the reduced price it's selling for, it's great. Expect at least five to ten hours to get through the main game depending on difficulty settings as you'll spend a lot of time learning patterns and executing them. You won't be terribly wowed by the graphics. The soundtrack is very subdued and it is definitely one of the game's weaker moments though Irem gets points for trying something different and making it more ambient. There's some great moments in R-Type Final but it's not the genre smashing send off some were expecting. Kid Factor: There's always been a lot of phallic imagery in R-Type. This iteration has plenty of that. It also has a man and woman "coupling" in the background of the final level if you can believe it. It's not really risque unless you're trying to read into it, but it is most certainly there and fairly obvious. It's hard to believe the game ended up with an E rating given this scene. Then again, it only serves to prove that no one at the ESRB is playing through these games when they rate them. They're taking the publisher at their word and even the publisher may not know what they have on their hands. R-Type Final is published through Eidos' Fresh Games label and the main goal is to bring deserving games to the States from Japan that are unlikely to be released otherwise. That's commendable, but someone dropped the ball and this game should be rated T at the least.  Reviewer Recommended Ages: 12+ Genre: Shooter ESRB Rating: E-Everyone Publisher: Eidos/Fresh Games Developer: Irem Reviewer: David J. Long Score: 4 
There's always been a lot of phallic imagery in R-Type. This iteration has plenty of that. It also has a man and woman "coupling" in the background of the final level if you can believe it. It's not really risque unless you're trying to read into it, but it is most certainly there and fairly obvious. It's hard to believe the game ended up with an E rating given this scene. Then again, it only serves to prove that no one at the ESRB is playing through these games when they rate them. They're taking the publisher at their word and even the publisher may not know what they have on their hands. R-Type Final is published through Eidos' Fresh Games label and the main goal is to bring deserving games to the States from Japan that are unlikely to be released otherwise. That's commendable, but someone dropped the ball and this game should be rated T at the least.
Kid Factor by Dave Long
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