21 Apr, 2011
Yars’ Revenge, the best-selling Atari 2600 game of all time, has just made its re-imagined digital debut on Xbox LIVE Arcade. It has a lot to live up to – has it succeeded?
As almost thirty years have passed since the original the re-imagining obviously bears very little resemblance to it’s Atari 2600 grandfather. As I was yet to be born in 1982 I sadly cannot claim to have played the original during its initial release, but I do have hazy recollections of playing the game as a child in the later 80′s. It was these fond memories which initially endeared me to this newest game.
The plot, such as it is, is wafer thin as is good and proper for a game primarily about shooting lots of enemies whilst diving around the screen in a desperate attempt to stay alive. You play Yar, a drone sent on a mission by some very dubious looking characters in capes who have an anime like appearance. The mission requires you to kill countless robot insects, punctuated by the obligatory end of level super robot insects. And that’s basically all there is to it.
The game is a completely on rails 3D shooter. The controls do take a little getting used to, not least because the options available for Y invert axis only go so far as the aiming, so those who prefer movement to be controlled by Y invert axis will be frustrated at first. On top of this the primary configuration of the controls may leave your fingers fairly sore during the first hour or so as access to all shoulder buttons are needed at all times.
Yars’ Revenge is undeniably fun, fast and furious – plus just frustrating enough to keep you hooked. On normal difficulty I died a lot but managed to progress further with each subsequent try.
The levels are very pretty and extremely colourful but its difficult to focus on the sights when you’re caught up in the unrelenting kill or be killed action. In fact for an Arcade game the graphics are stupidly awesome. The soundtrack is typical shoot ’em up hyperactive electronica and the sound effects are also typical of he genre and fit well.
For the price the game is fairly good value, not least because there are also challenge modes to explore – these offer no shields but unlimited ammo runs and other fun variations to liven things up for more adventurous players. If you like shoot ’em ups this game has a lot of replay value.
Its fitting that a remake of one of the oldest classic games around completely fits the twitch shooter mould. There’s not a lot original here but it is very good fun and satisfying nonetheless.
The good:
Good value for money
That ‘just one more go’ feel
Positive nostalgia factor
The bad:
Controls could have done with more thought
TL;DR: Fun and flashy remake of an Atari classic that’s well worth a little splurge.
Rating: [rating:3.5]
Yars’ Revenge is available now via XBLA for 800 points or €8.99 / £7.19. For more information visit playyarsrevenge.com
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