Gradius V

I was able to wrap my hands around a controller that was attached to a running copy of Gradius V at this year’s E3, and I was pleased. As one could expect, the gameplay is just like classic Gradius with more bells and whistles than it used to have.

Gradius is a side-scrolling shooter that puts you in the cockpit of a space ship battling the evils of space. The classic gameplay of Gradius has you picking up power ups, and then activating them when you choose. The various abilities are listed along the bottom of the screen, and as you collect the power up crystals the next ability in the list lights up. When the ability you want lights up, you can activate it and then use it. Gradius V will introduce more new weapons and abilities to the series.

The graphics in Gradius are beautiful and bright, and the level of difficulty is just right. Challenges wait around every corner, and it’s not always about brute force to get around some of the obstacles. There will be seven deep, creative levels found in Gradius V.

Gradius V will also be the first Gradius to offer two-player simultaneous play, so you and a friend can blast enemies side by side. A new Option Control system will add depth and replay to the game as well.

Gradius V will also feature an online score ranking system, so you can see how you’re doing compared with the rest of the world. Gradius V looks to be a great addition to the recent shooters that have been coming out. It’s good to see that the genre is still alive. Gradius V will be coming out this summer for the Playstation 2.           

For All E3 2004 Previews