| Introduction
There really is nothing like a good shooter and with
the Gameboy Advance already dominated by platformers
anything that counters this trend should be a welcome
addition to the already extensive game library. PHALANX
is not the first Space inspired Shoot'em Up for this
new, more powerful handheld. Konami's Gradius Galaxies
will take some beating in both the quality and playability
departments. Both titles are very similar and both are
arcade conversions from over a decade ago so do we really
need another conversion or is this a must have button
basher?
GamePlay
All shoot'em ups appear to start the same way with
a tiny ship armed with even more insignificant weapons
wandering around looking for things to shoot and PHALANX
is no exception. Within seconds though bonuses appear
and things really start to improve as the better your
firepower becomes the more the enemy will try and stop
you. In addition to the weapons collected, your ship
can take a generous four hits before it's destroyed.
During the early parts of the game extra armor is floating
around everywhere so this is unlikely to be your biggest
problem.
One aspect of shooters, which has always separated
the average from the great, is the special weapons and
the firepower on offer and here this title does not
disappoint. You'll usually reserve the special weapons
for the impossibly large and over armed craft that normal
missiles alone will not destroy, a quick press of the
shoulder button and your ship will be placing smart
bombs all around the screen or spinning around firing
rapidly at everything in its immediate area. There is
a downside to all this as using these will deplete your
overall firepower so it's important you locate others
as soon as possible although you can carry up to three
special weapons at any one time.
Every since shoot'em ups were first developed adding
variety to the overall gameplay has been difficult but
essential. PHALANX goes some way to addressing this.
It contains sections where inactivity is followed by
huge steel doors tying to entrap you and others which
are blind mazes where paths must be chosen in order
to complete the level without losing too many ships
in the process. Another challenge has you floating around
a heavily armed space station and you must find exhaust
ports and destroy their interiors in order to complete
the mission. This can sometimes be tricky and suitably
arming your ship before entering is a wise move.
Controls
As usual with shooters you use the 'D-pad' for dashing
around the screen and the 'A' and 'B' buttons for shooting
and smart bombs respectively. A little more practice
is required for the special weapons which are selected
and fired with the shoulder buttons.
Graphics
Side scrolling shoot'em ups really do improve a great
deal with the GBA's screen layout and PHALANX is no
exception. The in-game graphics are fantastic and both
environments and enemies are suitably different over
the course of the game. The sprites are detailed and
fly around the screen with great speed even when there's
more going on in the game area than you can possibly
destroy. The front end presentation however, is another
story and is constructed with a mix of Manga style screens
and short bursts of FMV. This is more awkward than atmospheric
but as most shooters don't require a plot of any type
it really doesn't hurt the gameplay and can be easily
skipped.
Sound & Music
The music here is pure arcade and there's plenty
of it. Every level and even some sections within levels
are accompanied by very different music and sound effects
so you'll usually anticipate when something bad is going
to happen before you even see it. All of this is also
selectable from the options so for those who aren't
progressing that far into the game can, at least, hear
what it sounds like.
Final Comments
PHALANX will push even hard core gamers to the limit
and it will take more than a few tries to beat the game
even on the easy setting. For shoot'em up fans out there
it really doesn't get much better than this, Kemco have
produced an outstanding title which has all the depth
and the adrenalin inducing action that you'd expect
from a game of this type. For the PRG and adventure
fans there's nothing here that's going to change your
mind but at least give it a go.
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