Gyruss (Xbox Live Arcade) Review
Posted by Ramon Aranda on 04.26.2007
Gettin' old school!
If you wanna go old school, there's no better place to go than the Xbox Live Arcade. Filled almost weekly with arcade classics, Gyruss now joins the fray. Originally released at the arcades in 1983 courtesy of Konami, this old school shooter gets an HD makeover at the hands of developer Digital Eclipse.
This arcade shooter goes basically untouched from what some of you may remember from it's original release. There are 23 levels to clear and can be played as a single player game or as a co-op with other players online. In multiplayer, the screen is split in half and you can either play cooperatively or against one another for the top score. Gyruss is slightly different from most top down shooters in that you don't move from left to right but rather in a circular motion. In other words, you fire your guns towards the middle of the screen but you can maneuver your spacecraft in a circle around the shooting area. Enemy spacecrafts come flying from all different angles and then join up in the middle of the screen where they again come flying after you. Once you defeat all spacecrafts in a level, you will move on to the next. You can upgrade your weapons if you shoot down multiple-ball orbits but will lose those upgrades if you die.
As you progress through each level, the game becomes increasingly more difficult as you have a ton of spacecrafts, asteroids and laser beam generators all over the place. The music itself is actually pretty catchy and keeps you in the game without being too distracting. Though the game is pretty simplistic, it can get a bit addicting though the only reason to kepe playing is for a higher score.
There are 12 achievements that can be unlocked for a total of 200 Gamerscore points.
The 411
Gyruss is a mere 400 points and it's a bit refreshing as far as old school shooters go. The gameplay is a bit different and the music is a notch above most arcade shooters you'll find on LIVE or on the Virtual Console. If you expect a deep game you'll be disappointed, but if you just want some shooter style fun for minutes at a time, Gyruss is your game.
Graphics
4.5
Very old school look...1983 folks..with an HD makeover!
Gameplay
5.0
A different take on the shooter controls, though it takes a minute to get used to.
Sound
6.0
Gets a few points for its cool soundtrack.
Lasting Appeal
4.0
There are better shooters available.
Fun Factor
6.5
Pretty challenging and you'll want to keep playing until you beat the game.
