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Review, pics and text © EDGE magazine 1993 |
Format:
FM Towns Marty
Publisher:
Ving
Developer:
Inhouse
Price:
£90 (Jap import)
Size:
1 CD |
Let
me take you back in time to November 1993, and the latest copy of
EDGE magazine issue 2 was fresh through my letterbox. In it was
a review the Marty conversion of Toaplan's TATSUJIN 2 coin op, which
had me drooling all over the pics. In an attempt to save my copy
of the magazine from biodegrading due to excessive saliva, it's
digitally preserved here in its entirety. Enjoy - Malc |
Fujitsu's
Marty has some of the most impressive technical specifications of
any CD system out at the moment. And although it's highly unlikely
that this great machine will ever enjoy mass European distribution,
global interest in the Marty is growing, and fast.
Boasting a 16.7 million colour palette, 32bit CPU with the potential
for 1024 hardware sprites - it's easy to see why.
With all this power to play with, the only thing limiting Marty
developers is imagination. Psygnosis's Microcosm, but for the shallow
gameplay, demonstrated what could be done with Fujitsu's machine
and showed plenty of ingenuity, particularly in its image compression
techniques.
The programmers at Ving may not have matched the sheer quality of
Microcosm's velvet smooth graphics, but they've produced a game
that's fantastically playable, visually stunning, and sonically
outstanding. Even so, Tatsijin 2is still recognisably just a simple
vertically scrolling shoot 'em up.
But all is not lost. Tatsujin 2, or Truxton 2 as it's known over
here, is in fact a very great game. At first it's difficult to pinpoint
what makes it so brilliant. The levels don't change dtrastically,
neither do the guardians, and the shoot 'em up vertical format is
not exactly the latest in gaming technology - so what is it about
the Marty version of Tatsujin 2 that keeps the player enthralled?
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Tatsujin 2 has some of the most impressive explosions you've ever
seen [below], and the two player mode [above] makes the alien
blasting action just that bit more intense.
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Click for more...
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Well,
it could be the great arcade quality graphics, the likes of which
have never before graced any home system, it could be the fantastic
explosions you get when the larger enemies die - it could even be
the immense feeling of control you get when your ship is fully powered
up. But no. There's one ingredient present in Tatsujin 2 that seems
to be lacking in a lot of software today, and that is, very simply,
playability. And for this it's as damn near perfect as it can be.
As was the case with last month's Gradius II - and any classic title
come to that - time erodes very little. Tatsujin 2 is as great now
as it ever was, and this version is by far the best around. Based
closely on the original, brilliant Toaplan coin-op, it features
fast moving sprites without even a hint of slowdown, tough bosses
and jaw-droppingly good explosions. All the elements in Tatsujin
2 blend to form a brilliant title. You also get the option for two
players to simultaneously take on the enemy , and even with two
ships, there's no slowdown. It's impressive stuff.
The only slight letdown is the infinite continues, but it's a tough
game, and you do need them to make any real progress. Now if only
Psygnosis and Ving could join forces, then… well, maybe not.
EDGE rating 8/10 |
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