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"A great Gradius game that no one bothered playing."

Intro

Gradius: The Interstellar Assault (or Nemesis II: The Return of the Hero as it's known as in other parts) is an often overlooked Gameboy game as well as Gradius game. Although some consider it not quite as good as it's prequel, Nemesis for Gameboy, it's definitely one of my favorite Gameboy space shooting games. Now on to my boring but somewhat trite review...

Story: Who cares/10

Apparently some space bad guy named Bacterion is destroying space colonies or some crap and you must stop him and all of his baddies. Honestly, who really gives a flying fecal matter about stories in space shooters anyway?

Graphics: 8/10

Graphically, this Gradius game succeeds. From deep cavernous ancient ruins to mechanical space stations, each level is drawn up to par for a Gradius game. The level's foregrounds are very well detailed, especially the huge headless statue in stage 1. The actual background details are usually pretty bland but that's to be expected in an old Gameboy title. The enemy sprites (which are composed mostly of robots and bug-like creatures) are nothing to get too excited about either, but the bosses are large and detailed like the foregrounds.

The coolest thing in the graphics department is the level transitions. I can't remember the last time I played a Gradius game and it actually showed the Vic Viper get transported into a huge space station which would then serve as the next level! A great concept which never really was taken advantage of in the series.

Sound/Music: 8/10

This game has some excellent sound and music. It also contains all new music and has no classic Gradius themes from previous games in it. On the plus side, most of the tunes match each level's background perfectly. Some levels have more than one song and every boss has it's own original music! From the fast, pulse pounding track played during the intro chase scene (The Chase) to the sinister music you hear during the first boss fight (The Brain), this game's soundtrack gets a thumbs up!

The sounds in this game are also rather impressive and are good for a Gameboy game. Make sure to put on your headphones during the previously mentioned stage 1 to 2 transition! Neat-O stuff.

Controls: 10/10

Controlling the Vic Viper through this game's several environments couldn't be much easier. The only time the controls can get a little touchy, is when you increase your ship's speed (but it's to be expected).

Gameplay: 9/10

There's nothing that really stands out in the gameplay category that you haven't already seen in a Gradius style game. You play through 5 fairly long stages of space enemies and obstacles that all finish with an end boss.

To aid you through each level, there are power-up spheres that are yielded from enemies. At the bottom of the screen is the power-up gauge (SMDLOF). For each power-up you grab the next letter will be highlighted. S=Speed, M=Missile, D=Double firepower, L=Laser, O=Option (or ghost pilot), and F=Force field. D and L cannot be used at the same time. You also choose from 3 different choices of Missiles, Doubles, and Lasers before each game.

My only gripe is when too many enemies are on screen, the game has some obvious slow-down. This is pretty rare, but it's bound to happen a few times in a play though.

Difficulty: 7/10

Interstellar Assault is a moderately difficult space shooter, but for a Gradius game it's practically a cakewalk. You are given only 2 lives, but an infinite amount of continues. To make things even easier, there is a practice mode where you can play through any of the first 4 of the 5 levels in this game. After you complete a level in practice mode your game is over.

The games default difficulty is set at Normal, but can be adjusted to Easy or Hard in options mode. In my opinion, playing the game at normal difficulty poses a good and fair enough challenge.

Fun Factor: 8/10

This is about as much fun as you can have playing a Gameboy space shooter!

Conclusion

Gradius: The Interstellar Assault is an overall great game. Although nothing about it gameplay-wise really stands out from the other Gradius games (besides the awesome level transitions), it's a must play for any Gradius or shoot'em up fan.

Now get out there and play this, or receive an interstellar beat-down :D

Overall: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/07/05