Solar Eclipse

"A surprisingly solid space shooter!"

If there are two things the Sega Saturn is known for, they are 2D fighters and 2D shooters. With games like Radiant Silvergun, DoDonPachi, and Soukyugurentai gracing the system, the Saturn is a hardcore shooter fan's dream. Due to the Saturn's difficulty in handling 3D games, the Rogue Squadron-type games are noticeably lacking. However, one company decided to fill the void: Crystal Dynamics. Yes, the same Crystal Dynamics which is known mainly for the Legacy of Kain series and, to a lesser extent, Gex stepped to the fore and provided Saturn owners with a great game which can be counted along with the Panzer Dragoon series as noble representatives of the 3D shooter genre on this console.

The first thing you notice once you dive into the gameplay is how good everything looks. Polygons aren't supposed to be this nice on the Saturn, but in Solar Eclipse, the visuals are very clean and detailed. Sure, the Playstation probably could have done better, but the Saturn manages to handle these graphics very well. The ships are unique and detailed, and the environments are also well laid-out. Also amazing here is the quality of the FMVs which are present. The movie clips, which feature full acting by a well-chosen cast, look very good running on the Saturn. I noticed some slowdown occasionally during some of the clips, but overall, there is nothing to complain about here.

There is also plenty of dialogue in this game, and it is all performed very competently by the cast. I must admit that some of the dialogue itself is very cheesy, but the actors still manage to carry it well. The feel of the game is reminiscent, to me, of the old Battlestar Galactica television series. It's sort of odd going from FMVs to the in-game Saturn graphics, but you quickly get used to it. The music and sound effects are appropriate for the game.

Of course, none of this would be any good without solid gameplay, and Solar Eclipse has it. The game is your basic 3D shooter with a pretty linear path. Your primary weapons consist of your main lasers and your missiles. There are also four secondary weapons which you can acquire through power-ups during gameplay. You are given objectives at the beginning of each level, but the basic premise here is to blow away everything in your path. The enemies get tiresome after some time, but the bosses are uniquely designed and can be challenging. In fact, this game has a nice challenge to it, so even though it is not very long, you will probably have to replay levels several times in order to get through. There's not much in the way of replay value, although there are some funny secret levels which can be unlocked and are worth seeing at least once. The controls are nice and responsive and have a low learning curve.

The story here is very typical, but it at least gives you a reasons to go shoot things. The game begins with a distress call from the La Grange mining colonies on the moons of Saturn. Your crew is sent out to investigate. Of course, you happen upon an alien menace, and much dogfighting ensues. Sure, no one is going to be nominated for an Academy Award for that script, but it suffices.

If you have a Saturn, I would highly encourage you to grab a copy of this game. I bought my copy for $10 brand new, and it is well worth that. Solar Eclipse is a game which really deserves a bigger fan base. It's obviously too late for it to help Crystal Dynamics much now, but you should still track down one of these and appreciate one of their better games.

Overall: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/08/03