Gives You A Real BUZZ (Psyvariar (PS2))

Member Name: tom1clare

Product:	Psyvariar (PS2)
Date:	30/07/07 (75 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simple and addictive, BUZZ feature, high-score potential, cheap

Disadvantages: Very hard to unlock additional levels, underwhelming visuals

In the complex and ever-changing world of gaming, the 2D isometric shoot ‘em up has proven something of an enigma. The enduring genre dates back well over twenty years to the likes of R-Type and Ordyne, and playing 2002’s Psyvariar, it appears that some conventions are rigidly opposed to change.

But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The traits such games tend to follow include featuring an ultra-flimsy sci-fi storyline; daunting boss-battles; enormous high-score potential and an irresistible one-more-go factor. And just to prove it, Psyvariar: Complete Edition ticks all the above boxes.

It occurs to me that it is easy to make a good isometric shoot ‘em up (as there are many) but hard to make a great one (for there are few) – only the early nineties arcade classic Darius Gaiden (which, lucky for us, appears on retro compilation Taito Legends 2) and Japanese Dreamcast title Ikaruga can claim such lofty status. So where does Psyvariar fit into the grand scheme of things? Well it isn’t quite a classic, but extended play reveals what is easily one of the best games of its kind on the PlayStation2, elevated as it is by a strong selection of levels and a commendably original concept in the form of “Buzz”, which I’ll go into a little more later.

A vertical-scrolling 2D shoot ’em up (which means you fly and fire upwards, duh), Psyvariar tries and fails to convince you that there is a complex, thought-provoking story behind it. Even with its ridiculous technical jargon and fancy abbreviated terms, you are still humankind’s last chance against annihilation, facing insurmountable odds, in the distant future. And in practice, saving mankind requires little than moving your space-craft left and right, with your finger jammed on the ‘fire’ button. But then, you wouldn’t want it any other way.

You get the opportunity to play the original arcade version, subtitled ‘Medium Unit’, or the update known as ‘Revision’, which features mainly cosmetic improvements as well as better scoring opportunities. The controls are simplistic and ideally suited to this kind of game. It’s accessible from the get-go and it’s not hard to have a lot of fun. What makes Psyvariar stand out from the rest is its “Buzz” system – for every bullet/laser of enemy fire that passes close to your ship without destroying it, a point is added towards a rolling total in which you are rewarded in points, with the chain ending when you lose a life or complete a stage. Each bit of “Buzz” also helps towards ‘levelling-up’ your craft, as certain instalments will improve your crafts firepower and open up new levels and routes through the game.

This adds a lot to a well-designed though otherwise somewhat uniform shoot ‘em up. Your greatest threat is also your best chance of scoring points – having to pass close to enemy fire means the player must remain alert and precise at all times. There is something of an art-form to threading your ship through the mine-fields of space, as you weigh up whether to chance a move into the more risky-sections of screen where the fire-power is at its most clustered. If you have managed to survive a stage without dying, chances are you will have a fair Buzz total to defend when you face a boss, making for some fraught battles as there are occasions where it feels like you can barely move for their bullets – thus strategic use of the bomb function is often required. Get your strategy right and you may get chains of more than 1,200 – each converting to 1,000 points at the end of the level.

Psyvariar’s well-designed levels may ever so slightly on the short side, but what there is of them is usually crammed with action; a variety of foes, a range of attack patterns and plenty to shoot. Predictably, you can complete the game in less than half an hour, though five difficulty levels add to the challenge a fair bit. Given the long-standing reputation the genre has for being extremely tough, Psyvariar delivers a refreshingly gentler, more reasonable difficulty curve than is initially apparent. Though you are often faced with near-incalculable quantities of enemy fire, it is neither as thick nor as fast moving as in many other isometric shooters, and the collision parameters are superb – your craft has to be struck almost dead centre for it to be destroyed so it rarely feels like you are being dealt an unfair death. Thus, to get a decent challenge, you may want to tackle the game on ‘Hard’ or ‘Very Hard’ – finishing the game on these settings without losing a continue represents a decent effort.

Though you need only complete five or six levels to get the end credits rolling, there is an impressive fifteen in all (more than double the quantity of many similar titles) – the higher the level your craft has reached, the wider selection of choice you have as to your next destination. However, regardless of the difficulty setting, most of these are immensely difficult or nigh-on impossible to unlock even after extensive practice, which is a shame as they would have been something to work towards in the long-run.

Graphically, Psyvariar is functionally ugly. It certainly doesn’t have the artistic beauty or finesse of design that Ikaruga is gifted with – most of the A.I. ships appear a bit basic and the backdrops are either crude-looking and dated or a downright hindrance; the factory and city levels have nasty colour schemes that make deciphering the hazards you must encounter more difficult than should have been the case. Still, technically-speaking the visuals are competent enough as the collision detection is excellent and the scrolling backgrounds (for the most part) smooth, plus there is an undeniable charm to it, a feeling enhanced by some authentic arcade-like menu-screens.

Elsewhere, there are numerous nods to shoot ‘em ups past and present (present being 2002) with robotic voices and digital visualisations warning of incoming bosses; suitably futuristic-looking menus screens; and sound effects that provide all the pops, bangs and explosions you would expect though at the same time never really standing out. The same can be said for the music, though considering the game comes on a CD rather than a DVD, the loading times between levels are impressively brief.

The double-edged sword of quick-fire arcade games is that, though you can get into them quickly, they generally take little time to conquer. Psyvariar at least makes use of some recent conventions adopted by its genre to maintain interest – the two (admittedly rather similar) versions of the game will keep connoisseurs happy whilst those in pursuit of high-scores and extra levels will glean many hours worth of fun out of the package.

And, whilst the solid single-player mode offers good value for money on its own, you’ve got the fail-safe multi-player option for when you feel you’ve gleaned as much from it as you can by yourself. The excellent two-player mode proves the icing on the cake and though at times you can obscure each others view, it’s just as enjoyable – though sharing continues can make things a little unfair if one player is better than the other.

Psyvariar is, like many of its contemporaries, a budget title and can be bought for around £3. If I’m being ultra-critical, it is a shame that some elements of the presentation suggest a cheap European translation – the text-driven intro screens scroll far too quickly, some sentences are not as they should be and the instruction manual proves the translators don’t know what’s going on with the story either as half of the book is simply a glossary of useless technical terms that have no bearing on the game proper.

Given its humble bargain-bin status, Psyvariar will ultimately come as a pleasant surprise to those willing to risk a few quid on it. It succeeds in all the areas you would hope it to be strong in, and though it falls short in a few familiar areas, this is more due to the constraints of the genre than bad programming. It isn’t as playable as Ikaruga, but by and large, provides a great deal more longevity, and for such little cost, you’re getting a lot of fun for a little money. One of the best examples of its genre, and therefore highly recommended.

Summary: Old-skool shoot 'em up with a nice new twist