Project X2

Project X2 is one of the few entries in the space-shooter genre that has appeared on the 32-Bit system. Ocean and Team 17 have put together the sequel to their Amiga hit on the PlayStation.

When first looking at the game, it seems as those it's going to be a WipeOut-esque driving and shooting game. The opening cinema has the main character speeding through the streets of a futuristic city. Looks are deceiving though, as you're soon jumping on board a spaceship and blasting off into the stratosphere to save the galaxy.

The graphics in Project X2 are amazing. CG-rendered ships, enemies and backgrounds all appear on the screen and rotate around with no slowdown whatsoever.

Even in Two-player Mode, the game withstands massive firepower and dozens of explosions on screen without a problem. At first glance, players might mistake the graphics for those of 'another CG-ren-dered shooter that appeared early on in the Jaguar's life, Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy. Don't mistake PX2 for Trevor's drab, zero parallax scrolling world, though. PX2's graphics are rich in detail, with enough parallax to keep anyone happy. While dodging in and out of asteroid belts, the screen zooms in and out between two playing fields.

PX2's gameplay isn't quite as good as the graphics. The levels are long, but not long enough to develop a level of challenge that matches the game. Enemies take up a lot of space on the screen and aren't that easy to destroy. Some enemies take a large number of hits before being destroyed, making rows of enemies impossible to pass.

At times, it's better to avoid enemies altogether than to engage them in combat. Enemy fire is small, and sometimes way too light to be seen clearly with the amount of action on the screen. Some enemy fire can be destroyed by shooting it down, but others are impervious to attacks or need to be hit more than once to be destroyed.

Classic shooters like Gradius, R-Type and Gaiares used more strategy in their gameplay. With Project X2, all you have to do is keep your finger on the Fire button. It's a good thing that your fighter can take more than one hit before dying. Keep an eye on your life bar at the right-hand side of the screen. Running into solid background objects will kill you instantly like in most shooters.

The power-ups available are graphically intense. Their bark isn't as big as their bite, with enemies taking five hits or more from powered-up weapons. When killed, you are allowed to keep the weapons you collected before you died, but it doesn't seem to help that much. When two players are playing? fully powered up, the effects on the screen block out the action so that it's difficult to see where you're headed.

The game's Bosses are huge and beautifully detailed. The only drawback is that the explosions and fire on-screen is distracting to the strategy of destroying the Boss.

Project X2 has great graphics, and a huge amount of objects on screen with not even a hint of slowdown. The gameplay is a little bit loose and could use an injection of strategy. If what you're looking for is nonstop mindless shooting action, PX2 delivers a graphical tour de force.

Project X2 starts as an old-fashioned, thumb-numbing shooter for the PlayStation, but it ends with only average results. You choose from three ships and attack waves of frenetic, side-scrolling enemies with different weapons, power-ups, and mega-bombs. Although the graphics and sound effects are above average, the overall game experience is too chaotic; in fact, at times it's difficult to identify shots onscreen or to differentiate your own firepower from that of your enemies.

The action and challenges are typical shooter fare and should satisfy shooter fans looking for a weekend rental.