Time Soldiers

[transbot]

Thanks man - but what the hell's PMSL?
People have got to stop using abbreviations, I haven't got a clue what they mean most of the time, and I'm sure my guesses are pretty wide of the mark.

Please Mmmm Stop Laughing?

Post Me Some Lingerie?

[retro slippy]

transbot said:

Thanks man - but what the hell's PMSL?
People have got to stop using abbreviations, I haven't got a clue what they mean most of the time, and I'm sure my guesses are pretty wide of the mark.

Please Mmmm Stop Laughing?

Post Me Some Lingerie?

LOL (Laugh Out Loud) heheheh. Sorry mate, I got a bit carried away. Next thing, I'll be using that god awful text speak m8 whch iznt 2 cleva r33ly. Or how about never using it. I'll stick to plain ol' English from now on methinks.

Steve


ie: PMSL: Piss My Self Laughing (technically inaccurate!)

[Stan]

Okay, now for my two cents on this game. Generally, it's good. Now, I haven't played the arcade version, so I can't really compare to how this one was put together, but it generally flows well. The set-up is thus. Gyeland, I think that's his name, I forget, it's been a day, has taken five of your comrades and placed them throughout time. You, of course, have to find them and then take on the big man to save the world. The gameplay is organized in a fairly unique way, even though the basic format is generally a classic arcade action game like Commando or the like. It scrolls upward and you have to take out enemies as you move along. However, in order to successfully beat this game, you have to first find your comrades. Sound easy? Well, it's not, you have to travel to the TIME PERIOD they are in in order to find them, otherwise you won't. You can't simply run straight through the game. For example, you may find someone in the World Wars, but the game starts in the Prehistoric Age. You have to go through this age, beat one of the mini-bosses, go through the time scanner, and then do it all over again until you come to the correct age. I thought this was interesting as it made the game pretty nonlinear. Really a good idea. The controls are basic, directional pad for the obvious, button 1 for regular shot, and button 2 for special shots (once you pick them up). Most enemies are easily destroyed with the basic weapon, so save the powerful shots for the bosses so you'll have little chance of dying. Plus, it makes your travels a bit faster. It would have been nice if you could have used the super weapons more than just on the bosses, but I guess it doesn't matter THAT much. The controls are responsive enough, though your character sometimes isn't quite fast enough to get away when you need him to. However, this is made up for by the fact that if something is going to hit you, it REALLY has to hit you meaning it has to make DIRECT contact. I can't tell you how many times I dodge a bullet or two with hardly any space between me and the shot to be seen. The graphics are good with nice animations on most of the bosses, though some of the palette swapping on enemies is despicable. Also, someone please tell me why most enemies that fire something in the early levels all lob these stupid, rotating, red and white thingies? I definitely want to sit down and go through this game entirely, and it's pretty hard at first. You really need to practice to get through it, and that's a good thing. The only real problem I had was the Roman Era. Wow, talk about REALLY being off with some of the characters. The first mini-boss is a three headed Hyrda? Not that bad, okay. The second mini-boss is Medusa? Wait a minute, that was totally a Greek thing. Mind you, Rome copied Greece to some extent, but you're pushing it here. And then, oh my god, the third mini-boss, ANUBIS? What the hell? Yeah, yeah, Rome controlled Alexandria and all that shiznit, but Anubis? What in the world is an Egyptian god doing in Rome? To top it all off the big boss in Rome is the Minotaur. Not as bad as Anubis, mind you, but they're really pushing the mythology here, right on the fringe of totally being off the mark. Still, aside from this oversight, it's a good game overall, and one that every SMS fan needs to own.

[anagrama]

Good game. Nice looking. Hard.

(I'll make more of an effort next week, I swear)

[Rolf Landale]

I'm a big fan of Alpha Denshi Co.'s pre-Neo Geo games. It kinda sucks that this is the only one of them that got ported to a home console. But still, it is a great Commando/Ikari Warriors/Heavy Barrel type of game. The music's interesting too. I hate playing the arcade version on emulators though. It's probably so much more fun to play the actual arcade machine instead of a ROM set of that version, because it had that rotary joystick thing.

[brianvgplayer]

I just picked this up recently. I only played a bit of it, but I'm digging the FM sound when I play on the JP SMS. It's crazy how this game has FM sound, but never came to Japan.

[theycallmeknuckles]

aaah, one of the very first games I ever played. My cousin lent it to me when I was about 10. I still have that very copy on my shelf One of the best 2-player games also. I didn't get very far back in the day but I'll give it a go next week.

When dusting off my copy I noticed it didn't have a manual. That just won't do. Oh ebay, you gentle mistress...

Excellent choice my good man!

[armonigann]

I can't stop playing this one! Even though I can never find out the right way to go and right when I think I do I die! It's a fukn' blast when my girlfriend and I get on together. I've been playing this one since back in the day and still have not beat it. I love this port and always have. Matter of fact, I'm about to pop it in now! Grrreat choice!

[theycallmeknuckles]

You can zip past almost every enemy and their bullets/rocks/etc without firing a shot. But the bosses are hard when you're playing by yourself. You end up avoiding the plasmaballs while occasionally getting a shot in. I got as far as medusa on my second try. It looks like a two-player game to me. Too bad my girlfriend only wants to play peggle...

[elway]

I got this game and it's great.

My only complaint is the weaponry in the SMS version looks pathetic. The guns in the arcade ones were massive and pretty. I know the SMS was limited but I think they shouldve done better in that department, thats my only real complaint.