SkyGunner is not the son you wanted, it's the son you loved.
The game's intro blasted my brain with impeccable vibes I have not experienced since the first time I watched Aria: The Animation twelve years ago. We are presented with vast blue skies, shimmering sea, a quaint little Italian town, a character bringing a plate of spaghetti on spinach with cocktail wieners to a cafe table. The intro fades out and the title screen triumphantly appears against a bright blue sky while a distinctively digital sounding orchestral main theme blasts from your speakers. Any button will lead you to an elegant sepia toned menu beckoning you to begin playing. This luxurious PS2 game from 2001 features both the original Japanese and English voice acting in the US release.
For a game of its time I was delighted that it was playable even without reading the manual. The developers clearly loved their creation, even if their child was not one who did well in school, or had many friends, or were noticed at family gatherings. While dogfighting games already had a large history at the time of release, a 3D shooter with lock-on and all axes of control was mostly still uncharted territory. Game's got a steep learning curve for something that you can beat under 2 hours. Yet love shines through the cracks, as the developers implemented an extensive tutorial. Each segment ends with an optional mode that lets you practice each mechanic of the plane indefinitely. In the two decades since the release, games engineered to be played like a sport don't feature learning tools like this.
Game developers and other weirdos will be enamored from what I'm about to say. What makes this game feel and play different from most of its counterparts is that the camera is pivoted to your target. This is where the heart of the game lies. Just turning towards your enemy looks like a cool maneuver. An arcade shooter from 2001 will supply you with cinematic moments without any scripted camera sequences. You will see your enemies blow up, your bullets tearing through their wings, giant battle zeppelins plummet to the sea in a burning inferno. Visual direction in the moment to moment gameplay, elegantly provided by one of the game's core systems. It's beautiful.
A would be player will be presented with two control schemes: Novice and Expert. Novice will give you two axes: pitch and yaw. Expert will also let you control your roll. Expert was an afterthought, though according to the developers they were split on which is the "better" way to play the game. Expert straight up rules. On the other hand, ask yourself this: how likely are you to play this over 20 years old game multiple times? Go with novice. I won't judge. You can do expert when you pick it up for the second time.
With cutscenes and a few continues, the game takes around an hour or two to clear, if you skip the cutscenes this cuts down to around 45 minutes. This is a pick up and play game, you don't really have to dedicate your entire day to it. You can quit a run and the game will save your progress and let you continue from where you left off, so you don't even really have to do it in one sitting.
You might ask: the character design seems a little childish, is this a game I could play in front of my girlfriend? Rest easy my friend, if they would break up with you over this they probably already had a million other reasons to leave you. Or maybe they just suck, they too are only human. If I were you, I would be booking a date right now. A high tempo two hour long date with you and SkyGunner. Maybe it won't work out. But it will stick with you.
The game's intro blasted my brain with impeccable vibes I have not experienced since the first time I watched Aria: The Animation twelve years ago. We are presented with vast blue skies, shimmering sea, a quaint little Italian town, a character bringing a plate of spaghetti on spinach with cocktail wieners to a cafe table. The intro fades out and the title screen triumphantly appears against a bright blue sky while a distinctively digital sounding orchestral main theme blasts from your speakers. Any button will lead you to an elegant sepia toned menu beckoning you to begin playing. This luxurious PS2 game from 2001 features both the original Japanese and English voice acting in the US release.
For a game of its time I was delighted that it was playable even without reading the manual. The developers clearly loved their creation, even if their child was not one who did well in school, or had many friends, or were noticed at family gatherings. While dogfighting games already had a large history at the time of release, a 3D shooter with lock-on and all axes of control was mostly still uncharted territory. Game's got a steep learning curve for something that you can beat under 2 hours. Yet love shines through the cracks, as the developers implemented an extensive tutorial. Each segment ends with an optional mode that lets you practice each mechanic of the plane indefinitely. In the two decades since the release, games engineered to be played like a sport don't feature learning tools like this.
Game developers and other weirdos will be enamored from what I'm about to say. What makes this game feel and play different from most of its counterparts is that the camera is pivoted to your target. This is where the heart of the game lies. Just turning towards your enemy looks like a cool maneuver. An arcade shooter from 2001 will supply you with cinematic moments without any scripted camera sequences. You will see your enemies blow up, your bullets tearing through their wings, giant battle zeppelins plummet to the sea in a burning inferno. Visual direction in the moment to moment gameplay, elegantly provided by one of the game's core systems. It's beautiful.
A would be player will be presented with two control schemes: Novice and Expert. Novice will give you two axes: pitch and yaw. Expert will also let you control your roll. Expert was an afterthought, though according to the developers they were split on which is the "better" way to play the game. Expert straight up rules. On the other hand, ask yourself this: how likely are you to play this over 20 years old game multiple times? Go with novice. I won't judge. You can do expert when you pick it up for the second time.
With cutscenes and a few continues, the game takes around an hour or two to clear, if you skip the cutscenes this cuts down to around 45 minutes. This is a pick up and play game, you don't really have to dedicate your entire day to it. You can quit a run and the game will save your progress and let you continue from where you left off, so you don't even really have to do it in one sitting.
You might ask: the character design seems a little childish, is this a game I could play in front of my girlfriend? Rest easy my friend, if they would break up with you over this they probably already had a million other reasons to leave you. Or maybe they just suck, they too are only human. If I were you, I would be booking a date right now. A high tempo two hour long date with you and SkyGunner. Maybe it won't work out. But it will stick with you.