Yars revenge is an on rails shooter similar to the panzer dragoon and star fox series. You play as Yar a survivor of the Yar race brainwashed and enslaved by the malicious Qotile. After you are injured you find yourself in the company of an old wise Yar of the name Bar Yargler who offers to guide you on your way to avenge your people.
Yars revenge imitates the best of breed fairly well, but lacks a certain something in game play. The controls are fairly easy to pick up but a bit unrefined. The major issue with this is your ability to move your character whilst the cross hairs stay in the same place. This makes it fairly awkward to dodge, and a lot easier to confuse the main character with the (very similar looking) enemies. The vast numbers of enemies combined with their seeming lack of placement and the imbalance of the power of the weapons makes combat a little difficult. The lack in variation of enemies in the game also makes it seem a little repetitive at times. The lack of an upgrade scheme outside the fairly useless power ups drags down the combat even further.
The extra modes (juggler,hardcore,berserk) don’t add enough variation to the game to make you want to play through the whole thing again with those slight changes, and the co-op feature is a poor attempt at a drop in system which leaves a lot to be desired.
The Miyazaki inspired art work is definitely the highlight of the game. The scenery and characters are beautifully drawn, and the still cut scenes are some wonderful pieces of artwork. The only down side to the cut scenes is the speed in which the subtitles go past. Fast, almost an unreadable speed.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
