When a friend told me about the first Soldner X game subtitled Himmelsturmer, on the Playstation Network I couldn’t wait to download it. I had been looking for some decent old school style shoot’em-ups or shmups as they’re sometimes called, and found that the current console generation is severely lacking. Soldner X somewhat sated my taste for old school side scrolling action, but I was left wanting. There were several issues with the game that made it far more frustrating then it should have been, and really depreciated the fun factor. Though I desperately wanted a sequel the current game market made me think that this was highly unlikely, so I was ecstatic when I heard about Soldner X 2: The Final Prototype.
Bullet Hell Bliss
Like the first game Soldner X 2 is a side scrolling bullet hell shoot’em-up. For the uninitiated a bullet hell or bullet curtain shoot’em-up is a game where enemy ships fill the screen with many, sometimes hundreds of deadly projectiles. The object of most shmups is to destroy as many enemies as possible while evading the unending barrage of enemy bullets. SX2 stays true to this shmup ethic while adding tons of unique and fun content that is just as accessible to the new player as it is to the shmup elite, and will keep both coming back for more.
One major problem that often plagues shoot’em-ups is that the sprites for the enemy ships and their bullets don’t stand out enough from the background, making it very hard to differentiate between harmless backdrop and life draining enemy fire. The first Soldner X suffered from this greatly with it’s tiny muted projectiles, but I am happy to report that SX2 does not. The graphics are crisp and clean, and the beautifully draw 2D spites and brightly outlined bullets stand out very well from the briskly moving but detailed backgrounds. The backgrounds themselves give a sense of both speed and depth, and the enemy ship designs correspond well with the theme of each level.
A ridiculous difficulty curve is another issue for most bullet hell games. The original SX suffers in this area as well making it very hard for most players to want to start the game over for twentieth time. Even though Soldner X 2 has more bullets on screen than you can shake a magma cannon at it is quite forgiving especially in it’s earlier levels. The game boosts a generous life bar, many power ups, and a very cool chain system that rewards you for collecting rings (they look like tiny Sonic rings) that appear when you are able to chain multiple hits on your enemies.
Replay value is paramount to most gamers in this era of overprice six hour campaign modes, and this is another area where the economical SX2 really shines. There are plenty of reasons to play this game over and over such as the two unlockable levels and the many challenges in challenge mode. Not to mention the numerous trophies and extra credits to keep you coming back for more.
Soldner X 2 is not without its flaws minor as they are. The story is forgettable and the music is mostly throw away. These are easily overlooked though when you consider it’s strengths. Gorgeous visuals, superbly balanced game play, and high replay value make this game a must for fans of shmups, great arcade game play or really anyone looking for a bit of action on the PS3.
Nice review, Steve. I never gave the original Soldner X a shot due to the original’s reviews being all over the place, but this sounds like a more refined and polished game than the first entry in the series. This looks like it will be a nice holdover until Death Smiles is released later this month.
I’ll have to give Soldner X 2 a shot.
FINALLY! A review from someone who actually played the first one!