"Too little time, too many retro games"

R-Type 3, yet another classic import! Let me ask you a question: why is that we're all retro? Isn't playing this game since the early 90s enough? Shouldn't the game developers try to concoct something new for us gamers? I blame it on the laziness of the game developer's part. So here you have it – another retro game – that has slightly improved game play and graphics. Is there anything new? Nope. Same old, same old.

For those of you who have been living under a cave and eating gummy bears for the last 15 years, R-Type is a side scrolling game where you control a space ship armed to the teeth with guns, shields, boosters and other things to fight the nefarious enemies that lurk about. The objective of the game is very simple: keep moving forward without getting killed by the myriad of enemies that throw projectiles at you. Almost near the end of every level there is a boss or something that you must defeat.

Death in the game results from letting one of the enemies or projectiles touch you. Just one touch will kill you instantly … and I think this is kind of stupid; I think your space ship should handle more damage then just a light tap; your war ship is armored and equipped with high tech weaponries after all. The game developers should've improved the game. How? By implementing a health bar or something to that effect so you don't die by getting a single hit.

Of course, almost every retro game is simple (but sometimes it's a challenge). There isn't much in the game interface that needs to be conferred; there is a life icon, in which it tells you how many more health you have left in the game. There is also a charge bar in the game in which you can press and hold the fire button to supercharge your gun, in which the resulting projectile would be a HUGE laser / fireball. The big explosion is very useful to take out a big herd of enemy.

I don't describe graphics much in games because I believe that most gamers can see the graphics for themselves via screen shots, so lets have a cursory look at the graphics: ok, ok, ok, good. The war ship in which you control in the game has been slightly improved with more details. The background in the game, which is the abyss darkness, remains the same; there aren't any improvements here. However, there are a few Mech Warriors in the game – that's right, giant robots with guns for arms – that look very cool!

Personally, the game is just so darn hard for me. Now I don't want to sound like some whiny little kid but this old retro games are just hard. How come? Because it is the one hit one kill policy; you keep dying in the game. I wish there would be a easy mode or something in the game – which there is – but it is still too hard for me.

In closing, this game is one of those retro game you play for fun in memories of a long dead generation of side scrolling shooting game such as this. If you're in your mid-twenties you might remember playing this game in the arcade. Anyway, have fun with this game because it can be challenging.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 09/17/05