Reader Reviews

Star Review: Space Harrier 2500 (Japanese PS2)

by Phil Campbell

I loved the original Space Harrier. I spent a substantial part of my teenage years pumping 50p coins into the hydraulic version in any arcade I could find that hosted one. Every home conversion however, even those pertaining to be 'arcade perfect', changed the music and/or sound FX in some way, had levels missing or slightly different GFX. It simply wasn't good enough. I was as excited as anyone then, when I heard that Sega were remaking Space Harrier for the PS2. I pre-ordered the game months ago, enticed by the screenshots and grainy videos posted on the net and all the while secretly hoping that the original arcade version would be present and correct as an unlockable bonus...

What I am about to write here is more than simply first impressions [which is a good thing, since this is a reviews section -Ed]. These are the words of a Sega fanboy who has spent the whole day playing this 2003 version and comparing it to a treasured classic. This game is quite simply an abomination. Where should I start?

The title screen is a completely static, poorly rendered 'homage' with none of the charm or character of the original. In-game things are worse. The chequered landscape which so characterised the original 'fantasy zone' has been dropped almost completely, replaced by muddy indistinct landscapes. These are occasionally interupted by 'bumps' (?) that inexplicably disable your ability to run on the ground, ruining the flow of play.

The trees, columns and towers from the original are all present but again these are poorly rendered with basic, blurry textures that offer no illusion whatsoever of 3D. The same applies to the 'explosions.' In fact, only the end of stage dragons are well drawn and animated but as these never come anywhere near to you, it's difficult to appreciate them. Special mention must go to the friendly 'bonus stage' dragon however, which must surely be a contender for the worst game character ever. Quite simply, it looks like you're riding on a big fat white flying turd. I nearly cried. Even this is overshadowed by the two 'new' stages however. Imagine the most basic Amiga A500 homebrew 'tunnel' demo, (with glitches) and you're halfway there...

The most unforgivable crime is that the whole pace of the game has been slowed down, with only the last level approaching the frantic onslaught of the original. Enemies now fire less frequently and less accurately, especially the previously fierce robots, which are now woefully easy to dispatch. The reason for this soon becomes apparent. Whenever the screen becomes even remotely crowded the game suffers from crippling slowdown. Not even the original 1985 hardware suffered from this!

As if the game wasn't easy enough already, the designers have seen fit to throw power-ups into the mix. These consist of a shield, lock-on lasers (Panzer Dragoon style) and extra lives. It doesn't matter if you fail to collect any of these 'power-ups' however, as by default the R2 button activates rapid fire and R1 detonates one of your three smart bombs, destroying everything on screen. The gameplay never reaches such dizzying heights as to require any of these power-ups and by including them the designers have totally destroyed the gameplay balance.