Scramble
Posted September 13, 2006
Originally released in 1981, Scramble was the first horizontal, scrolling shooter developed by Konami. The success of Scramble spawned other titles such as a helicopter shooter called Super Cobra and the Gradius series of games, most well known on the Game Boy handheld. For it's premiere on Xbox Live Arcade, Konami updated the graphics and added a few extras for our waiting nostalgia.
For those unfamiliar with the game, Scramble is centered on a small spaceship roving its way through the galaxy. It's armed with a rapid-fire machine gun and an infinite supply of bombs. As you progress through each of the five levels, you will encounter a variety of enemies along the way. Missiles, military installations, UFOs, fireballs and a few other baddies will attempt to take you out. Also, fuel depots are strew throughout the battlefield, as you need to refuel constantly along the way. It's a simple concept, but requires lightning fast reflexes and intelligent movement.
Gameplay:
The game is split into five levels along a final base, which has to be destroyed. Upon destruction of the base, the game repeats back to the beginning and ups the difficulty level slightly. Fortunately, the single player is already tough by design. Traversing the entire landscape with only three lives is a frustrating, but eventually rewarding task. Horizontal and vertical movement is controlled via the left thumbstick and the green A & red B button controls the weaponry.
Beyond single player, Konami included a Versus and Co-Op mode. Versus pits you against a rival player in score attack. The player with the highest score essentially wins the match. Additionally, Versus games can be ranked via the Trueskill system for competition on the leaderboard. Co-op mode is a bit more entertaining as you and a friend work together for achievements or high point scores. Each player has a personal game board via a split screen mode and attempts to max out the score. The only drawback to both multiplayer modes is a noticeable framerate hit, probably due to the latency of the connection. Players have to adjust their playstyle slightly to adapt to the varying framerate.
Additionally, Konami provided a few game options and help screens for those in need of assistance. You can switch the graphics between enhanced and original along with the sound. Besides volume adjustment, you can also increase the number of starting lives to ease yourself into the game. It's important to note that high scores will not be counted and achievements won't pop up either. The help screen will show the layout of the controls and offer a modicum of advice for gameplay
The achievements are broken into 12 tasks for a total of 200 gamerscore points. While the majority of the points are meant for single player, many overlap into the co-op mode as well. Most of the points can be garnered within the first few hours of play, but a couple ones are fairly elusive. Completing the entire game without losing a life and finding a co-op partner for the 30,000 point task are the most demanding. While the achievement structure is very similar to Time Pilot, the difficulty of the regular single player gives credence to the tasks. I'd also like to give a big thank you to Konami for applying an achievement restriction for upping the number of lives in the game.
Graphics:
I was extremely impressed with the improvement in the visuals. Konami took quite a bit of time jazzing up the backgrounds, enemies, explosions, and the main ship. The moving space background is delightfully starry and the ground textures are detailed with maximum grit. While the enemies are exactly the same shape as the original, the upgraded textures are highly effective. Specifically, the speeding comets are superb. The fire effects when a bomb hits a target are also quite artistic. Finally, the main ship is perhaps the most detailed as the gray shuttle has a Nightrider inspired band of red lights fluctuating on its hull. While the screen only fills about half a high definition set, Konami still deserves kudos for spending this much time on the new graphics engine. Check out the original graphics to see how far it has come.
Audio:
The sound effects have also been upgraded and a little music has been added at the outset of a new game. While the improvements to the audio aren't as vast as the graphical changes, you can tell several changes when listening carefully. The bomb release noise isn't as annoying anymore and the explosions are much more authentic. Also, successful gunfire hits are much more satisfying to the ears.
Conclusion:
After playing the marginal mess that was Time Pilot, I was expecting the worst from another Konami release. I must say I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of Scramble. It's a fun game to revisit and the achievements are moderately tough to beat. The extra game modes, the massive improvement in the graphics, and the addictive nature of the game is worth the 400 marketplace points, if you are a fan of the classic. Everyone else should definitely try out the demo and see if it's your cup of tea.
For those unfamiliar with the game, Scramble is centered on a small spaceship roving its way through the galaxy. It's armed with a rapid-fire machine gun and an infinite supply of bombs. As you progress through each of the five levels, you will encounter a variety of enemies along the way. Missiles, military installations, UFOs, fireballs and a few other baddies will attempt to take you out. Also, fuel depots are strew throughout the battlefield, as you need to refuel constantly along the way. It's a simple concept, but requires lightning fast reflexes and intelligent movement.
Gameplay:
The game is split into five levels along a final base, which has to be destroyed. Upon destruction of the base, the game repeats back to the beginning and ups the difficulty level slightly. Fortunately, the single player is already tough by design. Traversing the entire landscape with only three lives is a frustrating, but eventually rewarding task. Horizontal and vertical movement is controlled via the left thumbstick and the green A & red B button controls the weaponry.
Beyond single player, Konami included a Versus and Co-Op mode. Versus pits you against a rival player in score attack. The player with the highest score essentially wins the match. Additionally, Versus games can be ranked via the Trueskill system for competition on the leaderboard. Co-op mode is a bit more entertaining as you and a friend work together for achievements or high point scores. Each player has a personal game board via a split screen mode and attempts to max out the score. The only drawback to both multiplayer modes is a noticeable framerate hit, probably due to the latency of the connection. Players have to adjust their playstyle slightly to adapt to the varying framerate.
Additionally, Konami provided a few game options and help screens for those in need of assistance. You can switch the graphics between enhanced and original along with the sound. Besides volume adjustment, you can also increase the number of starting lives to ease yourself into the game. It's important to note that high scores will not be counted and achievements won't pop up either. The help screen will show the layout of the controls and offer a modicum of advice for gameplay
The achievements are broken into 12 tasks for a total of 200 gamerscore points. While the majority of the points are meant for single player, many overlap into the co-op mode as well. Most of the points can be garnered within the first few hours of play, but a couple ones are fairly elusive. Completing the entire game without losing a life and finding a co-op partner for the 30,000 point task are the most demanding. While the achievement structure is very similar to Time Pilot, the difficulty of the regular single player gives credence to the tasks. I'd also like to give a big thank you to Konami for applying an achievement restriction for upping the number of lives in the game.
Graphics:
I was extremely impressed with the improvement in the visuals. Konami took quite a bit of time jazzing up the backgrounds, enemies, explosions, and the main ship. The moving space background is delightfully starry and the ground textures are detailed with maximum grit. While the enemies are exactly the same shape as the original, the upgraded textures are highly effective. Specifically, the speeding comets are superb. The fire effects when a bomb hits a target are also quite artistic. Finally, the main ship is perhaps the most detailed as the gray shuttle has a Nightrider inspired band of red lights fluctuating on its hull. While the screen only fills about half a high definition set, Konami still deserves kudos for spending this much time on the new graphics engine. Check out the original graphics to see how far it has come.
Audio:
The sound effects have also been upgraded and a little music has been added at the outset of a new game. While the improvements to the audio aren't as vast as the graphical changes, you can tell several changes when listening carefully. The bomb release noise isn't as annoying anymore and the explosions are much more authentic. Also, successful gunfire hits are much more satisfying to the ears.
Conclusion:
After playing the marginal mess that was Time Pilot, I was expecting the worst from another Konami release. I must say I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of Scramble. It's a fun game to revisit and the achievements are moderately tough to beat. The extra game modes, the massive improvement in the graphics, and the addictive nature of the game is worth the 400 marketplace points, if you are a fan of the classic. Everyone else should definitely try out the demo and see if it's your cup of tea.