Classic gameplay, modern improvements
Let’s first get this out of the way: The game is expensive. The price is justified in my book considering the developers created this game originally for Sega, cartridge and all. You can buy the Rom on their site. They’re also working on a Dreamcast disc, too. So I think for the amount of care and work the developers have put into this title justifies the price.
The gameplay is great. Inspired by SmashTV and the like, it’s a throwback to the days of old. The levels are randomly generated so every playthrough is slightly different. You collect dog tags from killing enemies which can be used after level completion to upgrade your stats like HP, speed, damage, etc. It’s very hectic and all the enemies are well thought out. You will probably die a lot, and while frustrating sometimes it doesn’t feel unfair because you’ll know when you screwed up. You can get a good grasp of how the game plays by watching the trailer so I won’t spend much time explaining it. I recommend starting on easy.
If you want a good old school shooter (the best as of now IMO) this is the title to get. You can play it in short bursts or very long periods of time because it’s addicting attempting to get farther than your last run. I’ve not yet played COOP, (I’m going to buy the Sega rom and use an emulator so me and buddy can COOP over the internet) but I imagine it’ll be blast..
My only real complaint is rebinding controls is not at all user friendly, and it took me about a week to get used to the default keyboard bindings. I imagine it wouldn't be a problem with a controller. The developers have said they plan to address the issue.
All in all, if you’re yearning for a well built and polished classic this worthy of your cash