GundeadliGne

 

GundeadliGne may not be the next Ikaruga, but it's still a solid title that can hold its own against the competition.

 

 

Developer: Platine Dispositif

Publisher: Rockin’ Android

 Release date: June 15 2010 (PS3, US), August 4 2010 (PS3, EU) August 5 2010 (PS3, AU), September 27 2011 (PC)

Platform(s): PS3, PC

Genre: Bullet-Hell

 

 

Upon hearing something about a videogame revolving around little girls flying through the air shooting lots of baddies, most people familiar with the Orient's top titles will immediately begin to conjure up images relating to the Touhou franchise. The remaining people who are less acquainted with Japanese gaming culture will likely look on in confusion. As of now, it would seem that the Touhou girls have some competition on the block, courtesy of Japanese indie developer Platine Dispositif and their latest Bullet-Hell title, GundeadliGne.

As a direct sequel to Gundemonium, GundeadliGne picks up a decade after the conclusion of the last game. In the 18th century of an alternate universe where magic and machines are both equally common sights in everyday society, mankind discovers the Philosopher's Stones within the deepest depths of the realm of demons, otherwise known as Que Pholith. These magical artefacts enable the human race to advance its current technology far beyond its time. In doing so however, humans also release untold horrors from the demonic realm. It is soon determined that those who hold complete mastery over the Philosopher's Stones hold the key to thwarting the demons' invasion of Earth. These individuals are called 'Matrix Masters'. After successfully leading a counter attack into Que Pholith, Rosenkreuz Foundation agent Eryth Millfall returns to Earth to prepare for a second incursion into demon territory, with the goal of destroying the source of the Philosopher's Stones.

Unlike its predecessor, GundeadliGne presents the player with the choice of three playable characters, each with their own set of pre-defined abilities. Eryth is best suited to players who are comfortable with having to frequently re-position their character in order to make their shots connect, while Elixirel is likely to be favoured by those who would prefer to minimize their character's movement whilst still retaining the ability to attack large clusters of enemies at once. The third playable character; Nagi is for players who have adopted a high-risk, high-reward playstyle and don't mind running the risk of taking a bullet while trying to close the gap between themselves and the enemy in order to make use of her fast and powerful melee attack. Though it fails to deliver the same depth as the character customization system found in Gundemonium, this variety in characters still manages adds significant replay value to the game, and is an adequate stand-in for the aforementioned system.

Each character also has a means through which to slow down time, which can be used to give the player a breather, or simply time to contemplate their next move. Two of the three possess a magic attack, which is essentially GundeadliGne's equivalent to the 'Bomb' found in most Bullet-Hell games. These become particularly useful when playing on the higher difficulties when the action shifts from the player exchanging fire with the enemy, to the player frantically trying to navigate through a deadly labyrinth of bullets, energy beams and a ton of missile salvos.

One of the first things a player should notice about GundeadliGne is that it is significantly harder than the typical Bullet-Hell shooter. This becomes evident right off the bat upon beginning the first stage, as jack-o-lanterns and witches pepper the screen with fire. Even at its lowest difficulty the game can give experienced Bullet-Hell players a run for their money. A major factor in determining just how difficult GundeadliGne is the Phase Level. As the player dispatches foes in rapid succession, the Phase Level meter fills. Upon reaching a certain threshold, the Phase Level increases, resulting in a sudden influx of enemies whilst simultaneously causing those already present to fight more aggressively, which in turn opens up new scoring opportunities for the player. Should the player collide with an enemy's attack, the Phase Level will decrease by one value. The extra incentive given to the player to avoid being hit stems from fact that maintaining a high Phase Level is paramount to attaining a high score, essentially encouraging players to attempt that ever-difficult 'No Miss Run' in order to end the game with the highest score possible and earn their place among the top players on the online leaderboards. This high level of difficulty is also what makes GundeadliGne feel so rewarding. It is impossible not to feel an overwhelming sense of satisfaction after clearing a hard section of a level, particularly so if the Phase Level hit a high value.

Beyond the main game lies Mission mode, which is actually two modes labelled as one. The actual 'missions' themselves put the player under trying circumstances in particularly dangerous scenarios not encountered in the main game. These can include facing two Bosses at once, or fighting an upgraded version of an already capable opponent. These tend to be fiendishly difficult and are likely to be something that those who have mastered the main game will enjoy. The 'Tower of Babel' mode in comparison challenges the player to destroy coloured blocks in order to line up those with matching colours into columns. By comparison the ToB mode requires little skill or knowledge of the main game for the player to enjoy the mini-game.

Overall GundeadliGne is a fairly good title that; despite not being up to the same standards as other games from the genre such as Radiant Silvergun or the Castle Shikigami series; should appeal to those looking for another Bullet-Hell game to add to their collection.

 

 

Rating: 74/100