Welcome to VC Weekly, N-Europe’s guide to the wonderful world of Nintendo’s download service. Written by Sam C Gittins

If you're a fan of scrolling shooting games then this may be of interest to you, assuming you haven't played it too many times before at least. Anyway enough from me and on with the game!
 
Available for download this week we have...     

Gradius


 
Price: GB £4.49, EU €4.99
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Konami
Released: 1985
System: NES

In the arcades Gradius was hailed as something of a revolution for the side-scrolling shoot 'em up genre thanks largely to its stunningly simple yet spectacularly good level design coupled with a particularly poignant power-up system which was really unlike anything that had come before it so naturally when it was ported to the NES there was much rejoicing from gamers at the time as since then it has become a very significant series over the last two and a half decades spreading its influence far and wide.

By today's standards the original is considered fairly 'bare bones' which actually works to its credit still as what you get is a delightfully simple yet enjoyable experience which is of a decent length featuring some rather large levels that are sure to be a test even the most seasoned of schmup players. While you only start out with a basic laser cannon as you start blasting apart enemies you'll be able to pick up many power capsules which are used to up the level of your power meter which in turn will bestow various augmentations upon your ship starting off with a wider laser and faster ship movement eventually culminating in some seriously destructive fire-power; naturally is it possible to beat some of the earlier levels with minimum power-ups but you'll want to pick more up towards the end of the game as the later levels are particularly testing.

The controls are simple yet concise which is perfect for such a game as you'll soon discover that your ship moves rather slowly at first but this only further reinforces the improtance of the power-up system that is constantly in play; there's not a huge amount to it as you'll have your finger on the trigger most of the time but sometimes you'll be using the other action button in order to unleash any of the more powerful additions to your arsenal which you may have acquired, these additional weapons are particularly useful for getting out of difficult situations or avoiding those crucial near-death moments.

While there might not be much to look at here in comparison to today's visually polished, HD enhanced shooters but you can't help but appreciate the simple beauty of the pixels that make up all of the weird yet wonderful enemy ships including some rather spectacular bosses along with simple backgrounds that set the scene nicely. Naturally the audio features some very nice chiptunes which suit the game well and are in many ways classics as they are very catchy indeed plus there are some rather decent sound samples in there as well keeping you further immersed in the moment.

It's very hard for me not to recommend Gradius for it is such a classic game which yes is showing its age by today's standards yet it still remains very playable so really the only reason you'd not have for wanting to play it is if you've owned the game many times before. For anyone who has yet to play this gem though I would suggest that you pick this up as it's a great version and of course has the advantage of being portable so you can blast alien scum to your hearts content, perhaps making use of the 'save suspend' feature when times get tough... it's well worth owning no matter which way you look at it.
          
Verdict : Gradius is still a great example of its genre that's worth playing at least once.


That's it for another installment of VC Weekly which will return again soon. So until then, enjoy the rest of the week and Game On!