09.17
style
Nostalgia plays a big part in the videogame industry, which is why I really shouldn't be surprised that developer Killspace Entertainment decided to remake the game for today's audience. Yars' Revenge didn't really have an epic fiction to begin with, so Yar's Revenge (with the moved apostrophe) didn't have much to work with in that department. The story, such that it is, tells of a human-like insect girl named Yar, captured and enslaved as a hitman (hitbug?) for an evil race of aliens called the Qotile. After a couple missions, she breaks free of her enslavement, and then starts her rampage against her captors.
The story is mostly told through a comic book-style series of illustrations with subtitles between missions. There is no voice acting and the subtitles disappear entirely too fast, so unless your eyes are quick, you might not catch the nonsensical conversations between Yar and the ancillary characters. Yar also converses with others during the stages, which is absolutely ridiculous, because you have no time to read the text while constantly being pelted with gunfire from all angles. This is one of the rare cases where bad voice acting would be better than no voice acting, especially because it's pretty close to impossible to read the text on a standard-definition TV. No one should be picking this game up for the storyline anyway, but the lack of effort'is pretty glaring.
You'll lead Yar through six stages as she encounters a never-ending wave of bad guys, and you'll instantly realize that Yar's Revenge has pretty much nothing to do with Yars' Revenge other than the name. Yar herself is controlled with the left stick while aiming is handled by the right stick, a control scheme that takes a bit of time to get used to. You'll encounter the same three major types of enemies from beginning to end, and the lack of variety seriously damages the longevity of the game.
Not helping matters is the style of flying. This is an on-rails shooter, so while you can make Yar fly up and down, left and right, and diagonally to dodge incoming fire, you are constantly being shoved along a specific path. Randomly, Yar will change direction, even doing a 180 to start shooting things that are technically behind her. While this is supposed to instill a sense of chaos and underline the odds she faces, it does so for the wrong reasons. The constantly changing background will wreck havoc with your depth perception, making it artificially more difficult to know where the shots are coming from and when to time your movements. It's a nagging problem through all six stages, though you eventually learn to compensate for it.
Still, one thing you cannot compensate for is the fact that the rules governing everyone's laser fire in inconsistent. Sometimes, when part of the environment passes between you and your enemy, your shots will be blocked but theirs will get through. Other times, everyone's shots are blocked. Still other times, everyone's shots get through, but you still won't be able to see what you're shooting. These moments usually don't last for more than a couple seconds, but it's extremely frustrating when it happens.
The environmental problems are an unnecessary challenge, because Yar's Revenge is pretty tough as it is. Even the normal difficulty is no joke, and is definitely not for rookies in the shooter genre. If you've never seen the final boss of older shooters such as Gradius, there is no way you're going to survive the harder difficulties here. This is great news for gamers who bemoan the ease of today's games, so if you've been looking for a challenge, look no further.
If things get too tough, you can bring in a second player for some cooperative extermination. However, co-op can only be played locally, another mind-blowing misstep in the game's design. There are leaderboards and optional challenges, but the lack of online multiplayer hurts, especially given that you can beat Yar's Revenge in under a couple hours.
Graphically, Yar's Revenge is a mixed bag. The comic book-style artwork works well enough, but is awfully simplistic. The environments range from gritty to almost beautiful, and Yar herself is well-detailed, but you're going to be too busy not getting killed to really enjoy the sights. The way Yar's Revenge plays, it should be a less-is-more situation: too much graphical display just makes for distraction, rather than adding anything to the product. You can view the original comic for the 1981 game, which is a nice touch, but like in-mission subtitles, you're shafted if you don't own a high-def TV.
Closing Comments
Yar's Revenge is tailor-made for shooter fans who are seeking a challenge, but at $10, it's too short for me to truly recommend it. There are better options out there, both for XBLA and for gaming at large. For everyone else, you may as well take a pass, as there is nothing else being offered here. Be warned that, other than the names of the alien races, there is basically no connection to the 1981 hit, so it would be a waste to buy it simply for nostalgia's sake.
by:Jon Michael
Posted in: Shooter
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