Star Soldier R (WiiWare)

You may be surprised to hear this, but despite being such a short game, Star Soldier R actually has a decent storyline behind it. The year is Star Date 2180 and without warning, a band of soulless war drones appear from the outer reaches of the solar system, ready to obliterate mankind. In response, the Joint Forces of Earth retaliated to avoid human annihilation, and yet the battle was by no means simple. Players take control of a prototype space vessel called the Caesar, which is the JFE's attempt to abolish the threat of the enemy's central unit, the Core Brain, once and for all. And if you manage to defeat the final boss on Star Soldier R, then a pat on the back is well and truly deserved as the challenge is definitely high.

There are only a few modes on offer, with Online Ranking, Quick Shot, 2 Minute Mode (one stage) and 5 Minute Mode (two stages) to choose from. The online database and leader-board is simply for keeping tabs on your Worldwide and Regional Rankings via the Wi-Fi Connection, yet whilst the other three are the 'meat' of the game it is the ranking system that will undoubtedly keep gamers coming back again and again. The sheer addictive nature of working your way slowly but surely up not only the regional rankings, but the worldwide table (filled to the brim with Japanese gaming otaku that live and breathe games such as this and are seemingly unbeatable) will more than justify the 800 Wii Points price-tag, especially those looking for a quick blast here and there on a current generation shooter. Sure, there are full games available for around the same price on the Virtual Console, but if retro is not your thing then this could very well be right up your street.

 

In the vertically scrolling space setting gamers must take control of the tiny Caesar ship, which comes with three speed settings that can be altered on-the-fly for tactical purposes (moving slower can definitely aid with dodging particular enemies, whilst increased speed helps with higher scoring), as well as an upgradeable laser weapon (pick up floating pink icons) and small defence bots that can be acquired by collecting the various blue icons that appear when specific blocks are blasted away. When starting for the first time, your ship will have a paltry single laser beam shooting out and be moving around the playing field at a snail's pace. Yet as soon as you crank up the speed and start collecting weapon upgrades, things get mighty hectic as your craft will be firing from all angles, ground structures will be smashed apart, and a torrent of enemies will be raining down upon the Caesar as you desperately attempt to keep hitting everything in sight to top up the combo meter, collect all of the precious yellow crystals uncovered along the way AND try out new tactics for obtaining even more points in the quickest time possible. It can certainly be quite breath-taking and will certainly lead to plenty of sweaty palm situations and heart racing...and that is before you even reach the final boss on the very first stage!

Tactics comes into play throughout, as the defence drones can either circle the ship for extra protection or be sent out to help shoot down more enemies. The trick is to watch what colour they change as they do run out of bullets after a while and need to be drawn back into shield mode to recuperate. Wise use of their crazy shooting ability can help to clear the screen of all enemies when mere manual shooting on the player's part would not suffice and thus bonus points would be missed out on. Other tricks include keeping at full energy and sitting your craft inside the centre of a particular enemy ship to despatch it quicker and gain a higher score. Of course, being able to soft-reset the stage helps prevent frustration as a few mistakes can make playing through the rest of the stage pointless...Did something stupid? Just tap the + and – buttons together and off we go once more. It has everything you need for a quick burst every now-and-then, including the little extra of the Quick Shot mode where the aim is to blow up as many ground units as possible in twenty seconds. Sadly this is not online ranked, though. To conclude, though, the key point has to be this: whilst LostWinds and My Life as a King are brilliant efforts in their own right, once completed (and done so in a short time in both cases), there is no real reason to go back to them. On the other hand, after a week of solidly playing Star Soldier R's two- and five-minute modes, whilst fully completing both LostWinds and My Life as a King in-between, the craving to keep going back for one-more-go is still as strong as ever, with the lure of creeping to the top of the Great Britain rankings too hard to resist. Is 800 Wii Points really so hefty for something so addictive?