Gradius V Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)For longtime fans of the series, the latest installment of Gradius will not just meet your expectations, it will exceed them. This game feels like a big "Thank You" from Konami to all fans of not only the series itself, but the near-extinct genre of shooting games in general.

From the very moment you start playing, you won't be sure if you're more excited about how everything you know and love about Gradius has been kept intact, or about how damn good the game looks, sounds, and feels on a next-gen system. The frame-rate is silky smooth 95% of the time (it rarely falters, but even when it does, it's not that noticeable), and the backgrounds are well-done without being too distracting to affect all that bullet-dodging you'll be doing.

Speaking of which, V is certainly the most intense Gradius installment when it comes to throwing hordes of enemies and insane amounts of bullets / lasers / environmental objects at you. Even on the easiest difficulting setting, it is unlikely that you will be able to beat this game without first earning a good number of credits (every hour played = 1 more credit).

(Of course, if you're reading this it's likely that you have a lot of experience with other shooters, so you may be the exception. If so, I encourage you to get this game as soon as possible so you can enter the High Score contest that Konami is running until some time in October.)

Bosses. Hope you like 'em, 'cause Gradius V has a ton of 'em. Sometimes there are three or four *in a row*. Even if you manage to survive an entire level without getting blown up, chances are good that you'll need every Vic Viper in stock to survive the boss. Gradius V is a hard game, but that's part of the appeal. Personally, the harder the difficulty setting is on this game, the more I enjoy it.

Lastly, some random info:

-Options are now called Multiples. (boo!) You can have up to four of them at once.
-There are four types of weapon-upgrade options available when you start. You can unlock a weapon-edit mode, which includes throwbacks to older Gradius games.
-Two-player *simultanious* gameplay! Ah... fond memories of Lifeforce. :)
-There is a stage-select mode you can use to practice any level you've been to. You can start from the beginning, or any one of the pre-defined continue points you made it to in the normal game.
-Yes, many of your favorite Gradius and Lifeforce tunes are in this game, not to mention some of the bosses. :)
-The Easter Island Heads, however, are not. :(

Gradius V is the best shooter available for any system, period. You don't have to rely on nostalgia alone to justify purchasing this game. It looks, sounds, and controls great. Everything you want is here... not to mention a few things you probably didn't know you wanted, but will certainly appreciate. Oh yeah, it's also $30 new, so what are you waiting for? You have a high score to beat. :)

Click Here to see more reviews about: Gradius V

Product Description:
Gradius V - the long-running space shooter comes to your Playstation 2, bringing all-new graphics and options, with the same classic gameplay!

Want to read more honest consumer review about Gradius V now ?