Ikaruga

Anyone played this game (it's out for the Gamecube but was originally released for the DC) ? I'm a big fan of the old shoot-em-up games, and this is kind of marketed as the utlimate (and probably last) shoot-em-up game ever. Has anyone played it? Like it? Would recommend buying it?

Darkheart

DEFINITELY buy it!

I played it on GameCube. It rocks. Very well put together and great fun. Unique feature of energy collecting/shield (you'll get it when you play, read the instructions!) But it is hard. I can't complete level 4 yet!

Ikaruga is my favorite shooter, and I've played just about every shooter that is out there. Fair warning though! This game is incredibly hard!!!

If you can find it... buy it. Otherwise just download the dreamcast iso (the dreamcast version is better).

I believe it got 9/10 in Edge - must be good.

3D backgrounds - 2D action shooter - with a really neat twist shoot the black ships when you should and the white ships when you should.

IPete2.

Also of interest is Radiant Silvergun, the prequal to Ikaruga available on the Sega Saturn (Japanese only), another fantastic game that didnt get enough attention (one of the best games of the 32bit era in my opinion).

I liked it but it isn't really a proper shootemup.
I am a hardcore shootemup freak and you will find that it is very difficult, and hard to play on a normal tv as well as the screen is quite narrow (unless you can turn your TV!)

So, not recommended for small TV's!

Also, you will find the play isn't typical of shootemups, a lot of it is matching the colour of your bullets with enemies and dodging wave after wave of bullets.

It isn't so much an entertaining ride but a more of a technical exercise for your skills.

That doesn't make it bad in my book, but for me it falls long short of the themed blasting in my favorite shootemups.

I got a plasma so it's pretty big. Shame I can't turn it round 90 degrees! it is techincal it's an easy blast at first but if you don't learn the technique, you won't get far! There are some awesome Ikaruga videos on the net.

Its a VERY hard game, one of the few GC games i have.

its quite cool with the whole dark/light thing going on, big explosions = woot