Last Dance: The Red Star
You may have packed up your original Xbox when you got your 360, traded off your PS2 for that brand new PS3, or you may not have even had a GameCube, but it doesn't mean there aren't any games left to play on these "classic" consoles. Come take a Last Dance with the overlooked and underplayed games of the last generation of consoles before they disappear forever.
Forget about getting a big release, some games are lucky to get released at all. There are plenty of reasons why a game can get canned or shelved. Companies fold, creative differences arise between the publisher and developer, designs might not translate from paper to screen, and the list goes on. This list just grows when projects are tied to licensed characters. Suddenly there's a whole other group of chefs in the kitchen that can make development even trickier. So imagine if you will, a game developed by a small team that mashes up two niche genres, funded by a publisher going through one of the largest bankruptcies in game industry history and based on an adult-themed graphic novel with a relatively small cult following. Doesn't exactly sound like the type of game to get rescued nearly three years after development stopped and find its way to a budget release, does it? But that's exactly what happened to The Red Star.
Hit the jump to discover the video game equivalent of the tastiest Reese's peanut butter cup.
Originally slated for a release on the Xbox and Playstation 2, The Red Star just barely saw a PS2-only release in April of last year from XS Games. Developed by a partnership between the now defunct Acclaim Entertainment and the comic book geniuses at Archangel Studios, the game can be found brand spanking new for around $20 or used in the $10 range. Hardcore collectors looking for a taste of the Xbox version can track down OXM Demo #35 to try out the first level on the big green machine.
Many games attempt to combine the best aspects of different genres to come up with something fresh, but rarely do these elements come together like they do with The Red Star. As a gameplay mashup, you'll find a deep fighting system layered on top of a Smash TV-styled shooter and just a touch of RPG weapon and statistic leveling. It sounds like a lot to take in, but with many of these elements slipped into the mix without the player even realizing that they're using them the game still comes across as focused and uncluttered.
Set in a Christian Gossett's take on a sci-fi / fantasy version of Russia, brawling aspects make up the majority of the game. The intuitive fighting system allows players to attack, defend, and cast "Protocol" (read: magic) attacks with ease. Not to rigidly section off the game's shooting mechanics, players can seamlessly integrate range firing with their melee attacks to keep the baddies at bay in ways that I wish Gears of War would allow. Add in the Protocol system on top of this and players are enabled to tackle combat with drastically different play styles.
As players encounter new enemies, a quick screen detailing their place in the game's fiction and summary of abilities gives new players hints on how to handle them and let's returning players delve a little bit deeper into the nuanced storyline that references everything from Ayn Rand to Friedrich Nietzsche. Eagle-eyed players may even find sly allusions to the game's influences like Contra, Gradius, and Ikaruga. On the lighter side of things, there are bosses named after Derek Zoolander's signature looks, Magnum and Blue Steel.
Transitioning from mad melee fights into colossal boss battles, The Red Star melts into a shooting-focused experience. These classically structured battles are not mere imitations of genre staples, but groundbreaking expansions featuring plenty of surprises for genre fans. Just as the fighting system allows for the player to combine traditional shooting elements into brawling, these shooting sequences mix it up with the brawling mechanics and strategies.
Between each level, players are able to upgrade their character's weapon of choice, Protocol abilities, and health statistics. In one of the game's more subtle design choices, this area essentially allows the player to tune the focus of combat to their liking. Based on points awarded for performance during each level, the progression is something similar to God of War's weapon upgrade system but with more predictable results.
As enjoyable the game's single player is, the game really takes off when a friend joins the fight. At the game's start, players pick between two significantly different characters: Makita (a swift Nokgorkan rebel) and Kyuzo (a big, burly Elite Soldier). In video game tradition, the nimble Makita deals less damage while Kyuzo packs more of a punch, even if it takes him a little longer to walk there. A third character named Maya is unlocked after going through the game once. Her fighting style is much more closely tied to the Protocol system, which makes the game a little bit tougher.
When I hear rumors about the possibility of PS2 games appearing on the Playstation Network, this game always comes to my mind. Thanks to the beautiful source material the game's visuals have aged gracefully, and the gameplay is as strong as the day it wasn't released in 2004. If the game couldn't get a fair shake as a retail game, it would only be right that it could get the attention it deserves online. Until that's an option, I'll have to take solace in fact that The Red Star got at least one release.
Game-Boy
Posted to Video Games on 1 October 2008
· Comments (2)
Other stuff like this: last dance, ps2, the red star
I remember playing the Xbox demo and thinking it was neat. I guess I forgot about it after it didn't come out for so long.
Yes, I remember playing this on ol' xbox... I was looking forward to it, good finding a good gem!