Gunstar Heroes (Mega Drive) Reader Review

Okay, right now, I've got a stomach that feels as if an Alien creature will jump out of it, so this might take a while. Admittedly, I forgot the whole 'Monday- Game choices vote' thing this week, so I'll make it up to you lot by giving away 2 stars for the voters next week.
Righto then, this game was in the voting list before, and I've been meaning to whack out a review on it for a while, so now seems about right.
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First released in 1993 on the Mega Drive (or Genesis, if you live near a lot of Skyscrapers), Gunstar Heroes took the Speed of Sonic, the Shooting of Contra, and the skills-man-ship of the brilliant developer Treasure, and combined them all into one of the very best on the console. It was unfortunate then, that the sequel wouldn't appear for 12 whole years, and even then on a dying format. But the Virtual Console has, like for many other games, given this title another chance to shine.
Right then, onto the nitty-gritty stuff.

The story of Gunstar Heroes makes a nice change from the Norm; Genius creates powerful Being, said Being goes loony, and is sealed away with powerful magic. A Family is assigned to protect that magic, and a psychotic general acts to release the being.
Simple, really. The games of that era were hardly Da Vinci Code rivals, but Treasure putting some good effort into the plot was, and still is, appreciated.

The simple gameplay premise is that you run left and right, shooting at everything that has Bad Guy written on it (I kid, just shoot at everything), and getting back a magic gem from the boss at the end of each level. So basic stuff really. What makes it interesting however, is the multitude of weapon choices you will have. The four initial power-ups; Fire, Thunder, Tracking and Beam, can be paired up in any combination. For instance, two Thunders can lead to a longer, and stronger electric ray, and a Thunder and a Tracker would fry the ass off an enemy on the other side of the screen. So there is quite a lot of room for experimentation, and for a heap of fun.
Most of the levels are set up in a standard fashion; run left/right, jump a bit, shoot things, but a couple of them put the console's graphics chip to coma-inducing work, more specifically the more speedy sections, easily rivaling that of Sonic. It's difficult to criticize the level layout also; Choice of 4, able to attempt in any order, and a strong mix of concepts and styles. Enjoyment comes as standard with Gunstar Heroes.

The weapons provide a great deal of the eye-candy in this game, although the explosions and level design aren't too shabby either.

The melodies that accompany the levels fit them well, with a wide assortment to listen to, and a roaring battle theme to fight alongside with.

Replay value-wise, you have a lot for your Wii Points. There is a two player co-operative mode through the whole game, for double the carnage, and lots of difficulty modes to stumble through, if you can manage Easy of course.

All in all, a solid game for your buck, and one that will last.