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Tyrian 2000 (PC); Awesome vertical shooter. Now it's shareware!
Topic Started: Jul 15 2010, 07:41 PM (734 Views)
Mr. Fievel
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Shaken, not stirred.
For my first review, I shall review a game that may not be known to many of you. Originally released in 1995 for MS-DOS, and updated with new parts and features in 1999, this vertical shooter provides many opportunities to customize your ship any way you see fit, whether it be upgrading weapons, improving your shields, and even changing the ship design itself (with the Ship Editor attachment that typically comes with the shareware download, you can even design your own ships, instead of having to rely solely on the designs provided by the game). Many aspects of your ship are easily customizable, and certain ship models are even provided with special weapons that can be activated via pressing buttons in a specific order. With dozens of weapon types for use as front, side, special, and/or rear weapons, you can upgrade your ship into an unstoppable machine capable of bringing down all your foes before they even have the chance to attack you.

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The game style, as stated previously, is vertical shooter, and you take control of Trent Hawkins as he travels the sector attempting to bring peace in chaotic times. The graphics for the time are superb, and ever since playing the game when it was first released, many images from the game have been permanently etched into my memory. Gameplay is completely addictive, to the point where I could play for hours without having the slightest feeling of boredom or feeling that the game had become stale. There are six difficulty settings for you to test your skills at the game. The standards, Easy, Medium, and Hard, are what you are provided with at first, but more challenging difficulties are also present, with Lord of Game being the most difficult and intense. The game can prove to be quite difficult even on medium difficulty, though, depending on what upgrades you have and what levels you go to, so exercise caution when customizing your ship. In addition to standard gameplay, the game also offers arcade mode, in which you are given three lives to survive the entire game, which consists of over fifty levels, and you upgrade your ship by collecting power-ups/new weapons from enemies. There is also a mode which enable two-player gameplay, in which the second player controls a side ship in the vicinity of the main ship.

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The game deviates from the standard formula for vertical shooters by providing a completely unique aspect to the table, namely an in-depth plot provided by "Data Cubes" that must be obtained from enemies in the action stages. These Data Cubes provide more insight into the story, and enable you to become familiar with other characters you will interact with throughout the game, with some being humorous, such as your pet cat sending you a message, to otherwise not necessarily important, but worth a read anyways, if only to understand more about the game's universe, though most non-story related messages contain some form of humor. The story itself, revealed mostly through Data Cubes, but also through scenes at the end of certain levels, is basically one of constant urgency, as Trent Hawkins frequently finds himself as the only person who can respond to the various threats, typically in the form of a corporation bent on domination, that make themselves known quickly enough, and after significant time spent saving the galaxy/universe so many times, he grows to tire of the role of a hero (the sequel, which was unfortunately never made, was going to have him return as a retired alcoholic pilot). Quite the extensive plot for a shoot'em up game.

The Data Cubes can have a significant impact on which levels you go to, as reading certain Cubes enables you to travel to other levels. In addition to Cube unlocked levels, there are also levels unlocked by finding secrets within the levels, which are in the form of orange spheres. Some optional levels require you to beat them in order to progress, while others are merely there to provide distractions or allow you to unlock superior weapons for being able to make it to/through the level. In addition to traditional secret levels, bonus levels are available, but not required to be played, solely for entertainment value at the end of every part or "episode" of the game, and cannot be used to upgrade one's ship. I still find them enjoyable to try, though.

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Another aspect of the game that should certainly not be forgotten is the music. Composed by Alexander Brandon, many of the game's themes, from the Tyrian level, to the intro, and even the options music, highlight the beginning of Brandon's career. The sound quality is equatable to that of a Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, and perhaps goes beyond even that. The options theme in particular, after the game became lost after childhood, remained in my memory and lingered as one of my personal favorite video game tunes, giving me much grief as I found myself unable to recall the name of the game I heard it from (as I didn't know of many programs back then that could run DOS games on modern computers). The sound is slightly more difficult to work, as it may sometimes require a sound card that can emulate the Soundblaster sound, and may require further downloads to run it properly.

The game also has excellent replay value, as not all secret levels are accessible in a single playthrough since some secrets (and even regular levels) require you to make a choice of what level to travel to next. In addition to new levels, there's also the customizable aspect of the game to consider. Due to your ability to customize your weapons, you can go through the game multiple times and still be able to find something new, as different weapons work better on certain ships than other weapons would. Also, for a treat, try playing the game in December.

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All in all, the game is a thoroughly delightful experience for lovers of classical games and vertical/horizontal shooters of this sort, and I would strongly recommend the game for anyone to play, though, unfortunately, the game can only be easily run by using the DOS-Box program.

Sound/Music: 4/5
Story: 3/5
Gameplay: 4/5
Mechanics: 4/5
Graphics: 4/5

Overall: 4/5
Keep in mind that this is for its time, though this game remains one of my favorites, and due to Jason Emery declaring it shareware a while back, the game is now free for download if you can find it. Nah. I'll just provide a link.

http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/296/Tyrian+2000.html
Edited by Mr. Fievel, Jul 17 2010, 01:54 AM.
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WintryElf
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Poor
Oh my God. I looked at this thinking "Well, it was made in 2000, so it could be worth looking at to see if I can find a new shooter." I had the biggest feeling of nostalgia -ever-. I had this CD, 100 Action/Arcade Games, and this game was one of my favourites. Believe me, it took me for such a wild ride. I highly recommend this to anyone, and I think Fievel's review did it justice. Good on you, and thanks for the powerful memory relapse.
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Mr. Fievel
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Shaken, not stirred.
Wait, this was on that CD? I totally have that CD too, but I have no idea what happened to it. There were plenty of great games on it. I wish I could find it.
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WintryElf
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Mr. Fievel
Jul 17 2010, 01:35 AM
Wait, this was on that CD? I totally have that CD too, but I have no idea what happened to it. There were plenty of great games on it. I wish I could find it.
Yeah, it was. I recall smashing mine somehow, but I don't quite recall. Good to hear that it's shareware though, which means I can redownload and experience the memories all over again. <3
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Mr. Fievel
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Shaken, not stirred.
Here's the link for the download, by the way.

http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/296/Tyrian+2000.html
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WintryElf
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Mr. Fievel
Jul 17 2010, 01:50 AM
Here's the link for the download, by the way.

http://www.abandonia.com/en/games/296/Tyrian+2000.html
Thanks muchly; I can hardly wait. :)
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Mr. Fievel
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Shaken, not stirred.
If you need help on getting it to run properly, just ask, and I will probably be able to help.
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