Virtual Vox Pop is a weekly open mic in which we ask you, the reader, to sound off on a particular topic. This week, it’s space shooters.
Like the mighty and noble Brachiosaurus (at least that’s how I imagined the beast after watching Jurassic Park), the space shooter once ruled the landscape with a quiet dignity. Similar to the great dino, the shooter lost its place of prominence, although it was spared the fate of extinction.
The NES hosted Gradius and Lifeforce. Genesis, the superb Thunderforce series. The TurboGrafx-16 wowed like few others with Gates of Thunder, Lords of Thunder, R-Type, and dozens more. Radiant Silvergun was Saturn fans’ favorite son. Contemporary times have seen Geometry Wars, Ikaruga, and Raiden Fighters Aces garner acclaim.
But which shooter is the best of the bunch? I’ll toss my hat into the ring with Mars Matrix. It would be an outright lie if I said that it was the game that made me buy a Dreamcast, but it was the game, along with Garou: Mark of the Wolves, that made the system for me. It featured an addicting chaining system, leveling up, and inventive reflector/bomb special attacks that managed to override the incredibly cruddy graphics. Plus, it was bullet hell!
What say you?
