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true Name: Star Soldier R Genre: Classic Shooter Platform: WiiWare <img src="/contributed/1212432039C0bKSE06WY.jpg"> When I was younger, I remember playing games while my little brother sat behind me and shouted that I should be grabbing every point worthy object. He insisted  that I was, "totally not getting a high score." I probably punched him really hard in the arm and insisted that I didn't care. Which I didn't. You see, in my opinion there are two types of gamers: those who just want to beat a game to feel a sense of accomplishment, and those who are constantly striving to get the highest score possible or complete every minute task (see Xbox achievement points). Star Soldier R is definitely for the latter. Star Soldier R tasks you with blowing things up. Lots of things; from enemy spacecraft, to floating orbs, stationary targets, and even strange, colorful triangles. In true top-down shooter form, there are about 50 things on screen at any moment that you can shoot. These lead to lots of frantic, seizure-inducing mayhem that should satisfy most shooter fans. <img src="/contributed/1212431159pW8zRb1gF1.jpg"> Where Star Soldier fails, however, is in its game modes, of which there are three: a five-minute and two-minute time limit mode, and Quick-Shot mode. The time-limit modes allow you to see how quickly you can accumulate points in two stages. If you end up buying this game, you'll get pretty intimate with the timed stages as- they are the only ones worth playing.  Joy. In all honesty, Quick-Shot mode is a waste. It should be called "Press Button Really Fast Mode". You push a button as fast as you can, and - bam! - you have your score and also a really sore finger and possibly a broken Wii-mote. Quick-Shot mode ties into the main "game", but only slightly. In the options main you have the choice to switch between automatic or manual firing of your weapons. Automatic means you hold the button down and your guns shoot non-stop. Manual mode means you get to have finger cramps for the next hour. <img src="/contributed/1212431151wGalActc77.jpg"> If you are a spontaneous person, you'll probably enjoy Star Soldier's approach to dumping you into the game without explaining the controls or back story. But here at Gamervision we generally enjoy having a back-story, no matter what game we are playing. And since Hudson Soft didn't provide us with one, we like to assume that throughout the two hair-raising levels you are actually battling a band of Nazi Tyrannosaurs-Rexes in space. Now it's not all bad, and I'm a fan of the "compliment sandwich", I'll say that Star Soldier has some pretty nice graphics. There is often a lot going on visually, yet the action is rather easy to follow - enemies are noticeable, and items and bonus points have a distinctive look. There are some neat perspective changes in the middle of the second stage that made me feel a little dizzy, but still were nicely executed. <img src="/contributed/1212431142CmwRCoCq1O.jpg"> There are also worldwide and regional leader boards that allow you to compare your high scores with other players and inflate or deflate your sense of self-worth. While Star Soldier isn't the deepest, most nuanced game available, it has some pretty tight shooting and fast-paced game play. If you're that second type of gamer who just has to have the highest score, you may find 8 dollars worth of game play. Otherwise, save yourself some money and finger pain.</img></img></img> <img src="/contributed/1179941584gmmg5YQnz2.jpg"> <img src="/contributed/12049090913D6uenyIJz.jpg"><img src="/contributed/1204909164Gepk74pXtB.jpg"> </img></img></img>Related Articles: <a href="/gamer/sarah/reviews/article/pop_wiiware">Pop Review </a> <a href="/gamer/coop/reviews/article/lostwinds_wiiware">LostWinds Review </a> <a href="/gamer/loltim/blog/article/video_wii_ware_1">Wii Ware Video!</a></img> review

2008-06-02T14:09:56-04:00

3743

2008-06-03T02:32:32-04:00

2008-06-02T14:09:56-04:00

4.0

star_soldier_r_wiiware published Eight dollars for a mini-game? -

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