Xevious 3d

Namco's Xevious was one of the best shooters of the '80s. The original can be found on Namco Museum Vol. 2, but for those looking for the same Xevious-type gameplay with upgraded graphics, Xevious 3D just might be what you're looking for. The original game set a standard for overhead shooters in the arcade, copied many times but never duplicated. Using polygons instead of sprite-based graphics, Xevious 3D updates the game for the '90s, with huge full-screen Bosses, levels that look strangely familiar and hordes of enemy ships.

This isn't the first time that Namco has updated a classic title. Galaxian 3 came out in a few arcades in the U.S., a huge theater-type shooter very similar to Starblade. That game has also made its way to the PlayStation in Japan, but never got much attention in the U.S.

Fans of Xevious and shooters who have been needing a fix for years will enjoy the updated style of Xevious 3D.

The recent demand for retro titles has been great for companies who made the originals so long ago. Now something else is going on that relates directly to the oldies coming back-retro titles being reworked to become par with today's technology dike Robotron X and Pitfall 3D).

Namco may not have known, back in the day, that they were making a spaceship shooter that would become the standard for others of the same genre.

Xevious 3D takes the best qualities of Xevious-those being the arcade feel of the game, the simple but effective graphics and the great game-play-and brings them over to a next-generation system.

So then, how come this version of Xevious has 3D after it? By "upgrading" Xevious, it's only natural to take advantage of what the PlayStation can do well: 3-D. realtime graphics.

With that, even though the graphics are in hi-res 3-D which give a great feeling of depth, they are still flat (much like Tobal No. 1). In this early version, this style works very well with the game. Hopefully things will look even better with the final version.

Xevious still has the same feel as old versions of the game. Players can either fire from the air or shoot targets on the ground.

There are dozens of enemies coming toward the gamer at once from both the air and the ground. Various types of crafts inhabit the skies of the game, while tanks, boats and ground cannons populate the ground, among other types.

With all of these enemies, new weapons have been added that can also be powered up. There are three weapons to obtain from power-ups scattered in the levels.

The first weapon gamers start with is a standard double-shot pea-shooter type. This can be upgraded to a three-way.

The second weapon gamers can find is the heat-seeking laser. This one can be upgraded to gain even more power. The beams of light find the enemy and take them down.

The third weapon is a powerful light beam. It's the strongest weapon, but also the most concentrated. The upgrade for this one makes it even more powerful.

The Bosses in the game are huge. Some look like giant spider robots while others are huge spinning power generators. The game features plenty of Bosses to defeat.

Xevious 3D also has rendered cutscenes, something that the original only dreamed of.

Gamer's EDGE

Xevious 3D isn’t the only game players will find on to ns disc. Since the new 3-D version of the classic arcade shooter could never have been made without the original(s), Namco thought it'd be nice to throw them on the disc;. What's cool about having more than one version of Xevious on one CD is that now gamers can do an easy comparison on how far Xevious has come. Here are the versions included on the disc.

Xevious was a classic '80s arcade shooter that introduced dual-level attacks against airborne and earthbound targets. Updated foi the '90s, this disc is a shooting fan's dream1

Xevious 3D/G features cutting-edge graphics, sound, and gameplay. Fh through seven levels of nonstop, thumb burning action playing solo or teaming up with a friend for simultaneous two plaver action. Noteworthy features include new power-ups such as the magnetic laser and multifire, monstrous bosses, and eve-popping 30 environments. Also included in this version are the arcade originals of Xev ous, Super Xevious, and a graphically enhanced Xevious Arrangement.

The graphics, sound track, and stereo sound effects do a good job, but the amount of or screen activity causes graphical slowdown and audio breakup. Wh le this doesn't ruin the fun, it's a vexing distraction.

The perfectly re-created arcade versions of Xevious make Xevious 3D/G an enjoyable step back in time. While it may not be the perfect PlayStation shooter, 3D/G's heritage and plentiful gating options make it a winner.