Hurrah for the Bangai-O! (Bangai-O (DC))

Member Name: timtm

Product:	Bangai-O (DC)
Date:	06/05/01 (25 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hugely fun, So simple to play ..., ... but lasts for ages when it gets hard

Disadvantages: Minimal graphical spleandour

"2D is dead" ... however, evidently nobody told Treasure that, as they've produced what is probably one of the Dreamcast's premier games using precisely that viewpoint.

From the initial look of it, this is nothing special. No fancy 3D environments, titchy sprites, rough sound ... and then you start to play it. And it's amazing - when you've managed to pull off a 999-explosion "400 max" special move, nothing can come close to the fun of seeing 400 homing misiles flying around the screen in front of you. I'm getting ahead of myself though ...

Bangai-O is a 2D shooter, with you playing a flying robot thing trying to blow up all the other flying robot things and gun turrets and so on. There's a story somewhere, but it matters not. Kill things before they kill you. You have a choice of two weapons (homing missiles or bouncing lasers), special attacks and the ability to shoot in a direstion you're not moving.

On screen is an explosion meter, which counts, as you might expect, the number of explosions on screen at one time. When you realise this can go up to 999, you realise how frantic things can get. The more explosions, the bigger your score, and the quicker you get another special attack.

The special attacks can be launched at any time, and consist of bullets flying out in all directions from you. The number of bullets that come out depend on the number of enemies on screen, and their proximity to you. Wait until you're almost hit, and you can get 300 or 400 missiles flying around the screen, wiping everything out. It can't help but bring a smile to your face.

There's about 50 levels (though I'm only on level 25, so I don't know), with each containing a boss character that you've got to work towards and defeat.

The thing to emphasis is how much fun this game is. Were it not for the general need for blow-you-away graphics, this game w
ould be top of the sales charts for months on end. You don't need the graphics; you just need to play this game.

Now.

Summary: