GAME: Tachyon Project
MADE BY: Eclipse Games
It used to be, back in my day anyway, when you thought of a twin-stick shooter it would have been something like Robotron or Smash TV. Nowadays everything has been forgotten in favour of the Bizarre Creations classic Geometry Wars. It is a terrific benchmark for this type of game, so much so that the second one still stands as the daddy of them all, even better than the more recent third in the series.
Now, I'll say it straight away, Eclipse Games' Tachyon Project doesn't necessarily beat GW 2, but as a twin stick shooter in it’s own right, it really isn't that bad at all. It casts you as Ada, a spaceship pilot who much launch into the unknown and battle the Tron-like minions to save the rest of us. It may not set the world alight with a tremendously gripping plot, but arcade players aren't really interested in the building of a meaningful relationship between characters, a really introvert plot twist and the odd cameo, so it doesn't really matter too much.
The game itself is plentiful in some and not in others. The main story mode has 60 levels, spread over 10 worlds with 6 waves in each. There are 30 types of enemy in the game, but your main foe is time. The main route through each level is to shoot everything that moves to keep your timer topped up, as every time you are hit you not only lose your combo tally, but you lose valuable seconds as well. It does make things a little more gripping and purposeful, but if I'm honest you always feel relatively under control, so it never really feels like it will be a major issue as time goes on (no pun intended)
Realistically, you should be able to finish the main part of it in an afternoon quite easily, but there are challenge modes to keep you going, should you be wanting to carry on your fight against the technicolour meanies. The main innovation in Tachyon Project also has a full mode to itself. The Stealth part of the game has most of the screen darkened, with only a little section that surrounds you lit up as normal. With this, the enemies can only respond to you if they see you or if you fire your weapon. Therein lies the trade off though, as you obviously have to kill them to keep the timer going, so this does ass an element of strategy to proceedings. It does work to a point and helps you to get out of tight spots by simply having a ceasefire for about 5 seconds.
There's a limited time challenge mode as well, which is pretty much self explanatory, as well as the endless one, which is more or less survival by any other name. They are your bread and butter extras which may well bring you back for more, but with the lifespan that twin stick shooters can have, this may not be quite the draw you would hope for.
Graphically it is very nice and drawn rather well. The visuals are clean and crisp, as well as vibrant and very colourful. This does lean a lot to Geometry Wars and is certainly not the worse for it. You do find it pleasing on the eye and I certainly will not be complaining. All the proper pings and blippy noises are also present without sounding like an impromptu rave.
For the most part then, Tachyon Project is a decent little shooter. The multiplayer is an ok addition, but it is also a missed trick, as the 4 player co-op is local only and not online, which in this day and age is a bit silly. The choice should be there to do as you like, rather than not having any say in it whatsoever. As I've already mentioned it isn't the hardest game to play either, but to be honest it plays well enough that you can kind of forgive it. It is a likeable dual stick blaster that certainly has it's heart in the right place and will while away a few hours in an afternoon, which is kind of what arcade games are all about.
The fact is that it looks and sounds the part, plays solidly enough and most importantly of all, captures that old school feel that you want from something with its roots firmly embedded in the past. It most certainly gives you that 10p cabinet feel and that is worth the money alone. Sure, there could be more to the game and there probably should have been. A multiplayer score challenge mode or even a sort of old tank game mode where obstacles are put on screen and you have to stay alive whilst taking out your opponent. It really would not have taken much to change this from a good shooter to a great shooter.
To be honest though, a good shooter is a decent enough thing to be. It doesn't exactly throw loads of add ons and things at you, but sometimes we lose everything in gaming when we cover it up with clutter and other things we simply don't need. It is true that you can't really muck up the mechanics of a game of this type, but you can make it worse. Thankfully, Eclipse Games have done a decent job in giving us something remotely simple, refined and functional, without going overboard with pomp and circumstance. It doesn't quite offer enough to make it essential, but I can't say you shouldn't at least have a go on it.
Likeable, decent and totally playable. That's all you can possibly ask for with something like this. A nicely crafted trip down memory lane and an all round solid performance.
Again, a big thank you to the Xbox Community for allowing us review access to this game.