R-Type Delta (PlayStation)

No one can really say what Irem's been doing over the last few years - after the shooter market bottomed out in the early 90s, it's definitely a surprise to see a game from them at all, let alone a game as solid as R-Type Delta. Hopping on the industry classic-games-revival bandwagon, Irem has breathed new life into its genre-defining R-Type series and produced a truly excellent shooter.

R-Type was one of the first shooters to actively employ the concept of strategy in a side-scrolling shooter, primarily through the use of the "Force Unit." As before, the Force Unit is an indestructible satellite that can be strategically mounted on the front or back of your ship, in addition to being launched into remote corners of the screen to deal with enemies before your ship arrives there. Not only is this useful, in many cases it is essential to completing an area and surviving. R-Type Delta has two new ships in addition to the original, each with its own unique satellites and weapons. One ship sports a tracking Force Unit that seeks out enemies when launched, while the other is "anchored" to the ship with a stream of destructive energy. Strategic use of these satellites is essential to the game's completion, and thus each type of Force Unit will require you to employ different attack strategies. In addition to the satellites, you can charge up powerful bolts of energy with which to lash out against the Bydo empire. Each ship's charged weapon is different and has two stages of charge. Finally, you can absorb enemy damage with the Force Unit to build up a use of the Delta Weapon, a graphic spasm of pure destruction. Beyond those basics, R-Type Delta is essentially another side-scrolling, polygonally based shooter in the vein of Einhander or G Darius. Each of the game's seven levels features the requisite midbosses and bosses, multidirectional scrolling, and bullet dodging. Unlike some other shooters, most of this game's difficulty comes from the levels themselves, rather than the bosses. All of the game's bosses have several impressive and inventive attacks, but many die too quickly to really be appreciated. R-Type Delta is a hard game, for sure, but you are rewarded with additional continues the more you play - theoretically, anyone can win this game if they spend enough time with it.