With its roots in a comic book of the same name, The Red Star contains a mythical, sci-fi Soviet era Russia-inspired world, where technology and ideology meet magic and spiritualism. The United Republics of The Red Star, your main adversaries in the game, are a superpower, the inspiration of which is coloured heavily by the characteristics of Soviet era Russia. The main characters of this epic story are a set of once staunch supporters of the U.R.R.S. who have discovered all the wars they once thought were for the advancement of the globe were in fact a ploy by their leaders to harvest the souls of those killed in battle for a great evil purpose.
Put simply The Red Star’s gameplay is incredibly fun. Blending elements of old school beat-’em-up’s like Streets of Rage and Final Fight and the top-down shooter gameplay mechanics of titles like Ikaruga, it definately manages to deliver some non-overly complicated enjoyment. If there’s two genre’s that are incredibly thin on the ground these days it’s this pair. The developers have done a great job of grafting these two gameplay styles together. The Red Star manages to mix things up keep what you’re tasked with fresh by quickly switching from a side-on beat-‘em-up view to a top-down shooter view multiple times throughout most levels. Both melee and projectile attacks are available in both views which allows these transitions to be seamless.
Version 2 got rid of a lot of the bugs present in version 1.
Enemies in The Red Star have the traditional bar of energy to reduce. During melee combat each character has a set of combinations they can execute or a simple mashing of buttons can slowly, but 'un-tactically' whittle down the competition's life. However unlike many beat-’em-up’s there is a decent blend of foes to tackle meaning the gameplay never really gets too repetitive.
Projectile weapons can be switched on the fly. As is the case in most ‘shoot-‘em-ups’, each has their own strengths and weakness and it is up to you to decide which is most suited to the situation at hand. Some enemies will be impervious to your fire so you’ll have to find other ways to cut through their defences. Along with this your weapon slowly heats up as you continue firing and will eventually overheat for a period meaning it is important to maintain a watchful eye on the bar measuring your energy bolt hurling tool’s temperature.
Another device that requires the player to monitor a gauge is the shield. This becomes an invaluable piece of equipment as it assists greatly in defeating some enemies. However, like your gun, used to often, and taking quick successive blows renders it temporarily useless.
The reward for making it to the end of each level is a handful of points to spend on weapon and skill upgrades. These range from adding weapon and armour upgrades to a better heat tolerance for your gun.
Not much story can be found in The Red Star, but it definately has enough flashing lights and action to keep you busy.
As with many of the bet-‘em-up’s of yesteryear, The Red Star is best enjoyed with a fellow brawler. The game allows for two players to go at it along side each other, cutting swathes through enemy lines and collaborating to take down the bigger foes.
Initially there are 2 playable characters, with a third unlockable. Each of these plays in substantially different ways. For example Makita, the rebel soldier, is fast but struggles to deliver the decisive blows that the tank-like Kyuzo does. The different strengths of each make them require a different playing style and allow for further play-through’s or some great team work opportunities.
Despite the fun, it seems that too often the game punishes you for messing up. Whilst the majority of its levels are broken up into manageable chunks, there are some that are not. Instead, in many, after fighting through close to 10 minutes of gameplay and dying at the final boss you'll find yourself back at the start having to suffer through that deja vu-esque rerun that can occur a couple of times over until you pierce that bubble of repetition, finally taking down your quarry. Health is scattered all too sparsely throughout the levels, or more importantly in areas where it is not entirely required, which also affects the difficulty of final bosses and your ability to make it through levels.
The focus on narrative within The Red Star is minimal. Any insight into why you’re battling through each level is delivered solely via mission briefs, or your own creative imagination. It’s pretty safe to say that if you’re a fan of the comic and are looking for an addition to its canon then you’d best move along, there’s nothing to see here. This is a shame as the comic had some of the better story telling found in the medium. As a result of these omissions it feels as though the game sits somewhere between the world of downloadable content and the retail shelving which it now occupies.
Considering that The Red Star was planned to be released far earlier in the PlayStation 2’s lifespan than it was it manages to be quite visually appealing. Backgrounds especially have a detail that is lacking in a great deal of games placed within the same budget range. The look of the game also manages to maintain close ties to the source material.
It’s great to see that a game can come back from the dead and do so in such a strong way. The Red Star, whilst not overly complicated, delivers some incredibly fun gameplay. And although a greater focus on the story of its source material would have improved its appeal greatly, considering that the title has hit the market at under $30 it’s incredibly hard not to recommend it as being at least worthwhile of consideration when trawling through the piles of budget refuse laid out on your local games store’s bargain table.
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