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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More Fun than a Barrel of Commies, May 7, 2007
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
Having never read Christian Gossett's graphic novel, I can't comment on how well The Red Star for PS2 captures its mood and style. What I can say is this is a very fun action game that proves there's still life in Sony's last-gen console. When I saw this listed at Amazon as a $15 special and described as a classical hardcore 2D shooter, I decided I'd give it a try. Having spent some time with it, I would gladly have paid $20.
There's a polish to this title that most licensed games lack. The gameplay is finely tuned, and spans multiple old-school genres. Melee combat reminded me of Double Dragon, Streets of Rage, and other classic "walk to the right and beat up guys" arcade-style brawlers. You also have a missile weapon, which you can fire in one direction while moving in another, a bit like Smash TV, except instead of a second stick for shooting, you hold the R1 button and press fire to stay facing in the same direction when you fire. This works fine, but I would have liked using the right analog even better. Finally, the boss fights, where the screen gets filled with so many bullets you can barely see straight, brought back fond memories of Ikaruga. Similar to that game, the collision detection is pretty forgiving, allowing you to be grazed by closely-spaced enemy shots without taking a hit. A changing camera perspective guides you between the various styles of play, from side view to top-down, and sometimes somewhere in between.
A few additional gauges round out the gameplay. When guarding against attacks, you'll need to keep an eye on your shield to be sure it doesn't give out. Your gun can also overheat and become temporarily unusable if you fire it too much in a short period of time. And you can't overlook the protocol gauge, a special attack that does a ton of damage, but you have to charge it up with melee combat before you can use it. Upgrades are available when you complete a level, and your rank (C, B, A or S) determines how many upgrade points you get. Better performance equates to better upgrades, which gives you an edge in the later, more difficult levels, so it's worth it to restart from the beginning once you've gotten a little practice. There are a variety of enhancements, from new weapons to more powerful attacks, to reduced damage, and even improved heat-up and cool-down periods for the guns.
Starting out you have two playable characters to choose from, Makita (fast and agile but not particularly strong) and Kyuzu (slow but powerful), and a third (Maya) is unlockable. I started with Kyuzu and found him a bit like God of War, with a triple-button-press combo attack that delivers increasingly powerful blows and can knock down multiple enemies at once, every bit as responsive but not quite as fluid (Kyuzu is a bit slow compared to GoW's Kratos). I haven't done as much with Makita, but her attacks are very quick and it's easier to dodge around enemies with her, though it takes somewhat longer to bring them down. The characters all have their own set of basic attacks, special moves and weapons, so it's a new experience playing through the game with each one and it forces you to completely redefine your strategy. There are a variety of enemy types, each of which must be approached differently, and new ones are constantly encountered as you progress.
Once I learned to string together moves -- such as impaling a guy on Kyuzu's spear, then spinning around and launching him at another enemy, sending them both falling off the platform -- I found this game to be about as fun and entertaining as they come. The graphics, while nothing eye-popping, look good on the PS2, and the music matches the action without becoming distracting. I haven't been able to try the 2 player co-op mode yet, but I can only imagine it being even more enjoyable.
In short, I'm having a blast playing The Red Star, and am glad I took a chance on it.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's Finally Here Comrades!, May 2, 2007
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
The Red Star has finally arrived and it's a blast:
If you like fun and easy shooters than this game is for you.
If you like throw back arcade style action games like Contra and Gun Star Heroes than this game is for you.
If you are the newer generation of gamer who is used to easier, hand-holding, and friendlier type of games this one will kick you in the face and may not be your cup of tea.
Nevertheless, the bottomline is this:
1. It's fast paced and fun!
2. It's easy to figure out the controls!
3. It's great alone, but even better with a friend!
4. The action is intense and the music matches it well!
5. After years the game is finally here!
6. The price rocks!
The negative:
1. It's for an older system so it's not as sophisticated as the next generation games we are being spoiled with in 2007 versus 2004 when this game was supposed to come out.
2. Some levels and enemies may just be too tough.
Overall I say this is a must buy for PS2 action gamers. I will say I am still disappointed this never came out for the X-Box, but at least it's here and I know I'll be keeping this one in my library of games for years.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Surprisingly good, May 7, 2007
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
A few years back, third party publisher Acclaim (best known for providing a number of lame, licensed titles dating all the way back to the 8-bit era until finally going under in 2004) had a few titles in the works before going down, and recently a few of which have seen the light of day. Red Star is by far the best of the bunch, and it offers some classic run'n gun action to boot. Based on the respected graphic novel, Red Star takes place in an alternate reality Soviet Russia as you run, gun, and brawl your way through the game, which provides solid blasts of action throughout. To spice things up a bit, every now and then the game's perspective shifts to a top-down shooter-esque type while throwing another horde of enemies your way. Co-op play is where the real fun of Red Star is to be had though, as memories of Contra and Gunstar Heroes will quickly flood back in your memory. The only real downsides to Red Star is that the game is pretty short, can get repetitive, and at times has a very steep difficulty range. All that aside though, you can't beat what you get with Red Star for it's budget price, making this game pretty much a steal. All in all, if you want some more than solid action on a budget with a slightly different flavor, give Red Star a look.
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