1. Ikaruga Charlie Cross CIS 487 10-3-04

2. Overview Released in 2001 in Japanese Arcades. Released for Dreamcast in 2002 Finally released for Gamecube in 2003 Made by Treasure/Atari Bargain bin price There are 5 levels, each lasting about 4-5 minutes.

3. Game info Top-down space shooting game similar to space invaders or Galaga. Objectives of the game are: – Survive – Achieve the highest score possible. Easy to learn, very difficult to beat. All enemies in the game are either black or white, and fire black or white bullets. You fly a ship that can flip between black or white. Hitting bullets of the opposite color or other objects kills you.

4. Game info (2) Hitting bullets of the same color absorbs the bullets and puts them in a reservoir. You can then release this stored energy later and fire missiles. Attacking an enemy of the opposite color does twice the damage. Attacking an enemy of the same color causes them to release extra bullets for you to absorb. Destroying 3 enemies of the same color gives you a “chain bonus.” Scoring consecutive bonuses makes the bonus double in amount until you reach a “max chain” bonus.

5. Design info Very elegant design, enemies and obstacles in the game are carefully placed and choreographed. Lots of use of symmetry and “kaleidoscope” type patterns. Music is designed to accompany everything on the screen, and changes with the action and pace of the game. Players master the game by playing through entire levels without breaking the chain or dying.

6. Review The Bad: –Difficulty might turn off some players. –Game is extremely short (only 22 minutes!) –Game relies on repeating levels and practice/memorization. The Good: – Simple yet challenging design gives the game an addictive quality. –Use of sound and music is excellent –Gameplay is way more interesting and original than any other game in the genre. –The level design gives the action an aesthetic appeal. –A nice change of pace from all the online/first person games.