is a

shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of chara ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

for

WiiWare WiiWare was a service that allowed Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii S ...

developed by M2 and published by

Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

. It is the latest installment in the ''

Gradius is a series of shooter video games, introduced in 1985, developed and published by Konami for a variety of portable, console and arcade platforms. In many games in the series, the player controls a ship known as the Vic Viper. Games *''Scr ...

'' series, and was released in Japan on September 2, 2008, and in North America on March 9, 2009, and in the PAL regions on July 3, 2009.

Gameplay

''Gradius ReBirth'' is a side-scrolling 2D shooter much like previous ''Gradius'' games, and has been described as a "remix" of levels from past games rather than an entirely new game. The game features two modes: a standard game with unlimited credits and a Score Attack mode where players are only given a single credit to beat the game. Score Attack also supports online leaderboards. The game features five different types of ships to choose from, and five stages in total, with each (except the first stage) having its own original

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, a ...

at the end.

Plot

This game takes place in the Gradian Year 6664, two years before "The Silent Nightmare Incident". The planet Antichthon, a protectorate of the Gradian Empire, suddenly and mysteriously falls silent. A report was made by the Director General of the Space Science Agency, Dr. Venom, which mentions that Antichthon's mother computer was now under the control of the Bacterians. Realizing that a threat from the Bacterians may be imminent, the Gradian Government deploys its Gradian forces to combat the threat. Among them is Special Colonel James Burton, who had defeated the Bacterians a few years ago. Armed with an A.I. program called Gaudie, James Burton sets out in the hyperspace fighter known as the Vic Viper, in the hopes that he can combat the new Bacterian threat. But little does James know that there's much more in store for him...

Development

''Gradius ReBirth'' uses the ''Nemesis'' titles for the MSX as its basis. The power meter and text display have also been updated. The music was composed by Manabu Namiki and consists of remixed music from previous ''Gradius'' games. An update to the game was released on the Wii Shop Channel for free of charge. It improves some of the visuals and adds a new ranking board for the adjustments made to the score system. In addition to this, there are new music tracks and a few changes to the game's levels.

Reception

''Gradius ReBirth'' received "average" reviews according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'' praised the nostalgic retro design but found the game to be punishingly hard for most players and the lack of multiplayer disappointing.

References

External links