Border Down Review

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Originally Posted by Shapermc

Hey, I want to start an argument, is this the right thread Hoah?

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(Shakes fist at Shaper) :mad:

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Originally Posted by Chibi Nappa

The review painted the game as a competant worthwhile purchase. So you disagree with the enemy design and music part of the review... no biggie. I personally love Zuntata (Darius Gaiden music in particular), but I can certainly see how they would turn other people off.

By the way, is it me or is the Dreamcast still holding up quite well on the graphic end of things? Those screens really don't look dated at all in comparison to the "living" consoles.

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I see it as more than compotent, I think it's one of the best from this group of individuals, who happen to have some 13 years experience with the genre. I think that "compotent" is a bit of an understement.

I mean you have to like this kind of shooter to enjoy the game. Darius and Metal Black have gotten some backlash in recent years that I don't think they deserve, but the review should have done a better job of drawing comparisons and things instead of a resonding "Meh, s'alright" which doesn't tell anybody anything.

What it does it does well, and that should be duly noted. That's alot more important than some unqualified declaration of compotence, because it means there's a reason to keep playing it, even with other, perhaps better shooters availible.

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Originally Posted by Frogacuda

Dunno about Neo, but I live in NJ, and 3-day UPS shipping from NCSX (in New York) only takes overnight to here.

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Neo has the distinct advantage of living in Japan. ;)

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Originally Posted by haohmaru

Neo has the distinct advantage of living in Japan. ;)

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Heh, I was talking about neoalphazero, sorry.

So how rare is this game? I'm considering a purchase, but not right now (just got a disgustingly huge car repair bill...). Anyone think I'll have a chance of easily scoring a copy (from VGD, NCSX, etc.) a month down the road?

EDIT: "The print run for the game was fairly small but we're confident that we'll be able to import enough restock to last us for the remainder of the year. " - www.ncsx.com

Excellent :)

- Kabuki

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Originally Posted by kabuki

So how rare is this game? I'm considering a purchase, but not right now (just got a disgustingly huge car repair bill...). Anyone think I'll have a chance of easily scoring a copy (from VGD, NCSX, etc.) a month down the road?

EDIT: "The print run for the game was fairly small but we're confident that we'll be able to import enough restock to last us for the remainder of the year. " - www.ncsx.com

Excellent :)

- Kabuki

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I'll have the D-Direct LE's on DCH in a month and a half, if you're still interested.

Oh, and word to the wise, take NCS' inventory claims with a grain of salt. They really have NO idea how long they'll have it for. Trust me on that one. ;)

Good review, NGM. I enjoyed reading it.

Border Down does look pleasing graphically from your screen shots- that nighttime city view (Stage 1, Border Red) is pretty damn cool. Just check out the lights in the building windows, for one thing. The Dreamcast does hold its own against the PS2 here. Backgrounds are monochromatic, but this lends the game a "simple yet elegant" look.

However, I'll state my disagreement on the music part of the review. Although I haven't received the game yet, what I've heard there (from the Border Down Image Sound Tracks CD and the demo medley G.Rev released) is nifty IMO- right up there with Yack's own Elevator Action 2 stuff.

Hopefully my copy of BD will arrive tomorrow. :)

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Originally Posted by Frogacuda

Heh, I was talking about neoalphazero, sorry.

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I have the great fortune of being 50 miles from VGD :) .


Wow, I am enjoying this, frantic gameplay, both the homing lasers and regular shot work beautifully together. I'm amazed that the framerate stays stable with so much clutter on screen, aside from the asteriod field and boss explosions there's no slowdown. A few things:

-Like Ikaruga's chain count, your VMU tracks Break laser totals.

-Vids? In the options it appears you can access replays of levels, I assume they open as you play more.

-Remix mode is very nice as Frog said. The nighttime city even has snow falling in it.

*-neo

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Originally Posted by neoalphazero

-Vids? In the options it appears you can access replays of levels, I assume they open as you play more.

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Yep, you unlock vids by getting to higher levels it seems. I'm pleased that they didn't just slap a port on a disc and gave us all the trimmings. A per-level score attack would have been nice, but apart from that, it's got all the extras.

Man, now I want this even more...