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Yars' Revenge - Xbox Live Arcade gameplay footage (720p HD)
Xbox 360 - DVDfeverGames
Does the name Yars' Revenge sound familiar?
If it does, then that's probably because you're also hovering around 40.
Yars' Revenge was always a curious oddity. You couldn't stop playing, but you literally had no idea what
was going on. That basically continues in this remake, although it couldn't have anything less to do with the
Atari VCS best-seller from May 1982.
You played Yar, a sort-of insect, who had to shoot through a shield-like barrier to get at the Qotile hiding
within. Clear a path and you can let off your Zorlon Cannon which will destroy him. The Qotile can get back at
you by turning into a 'swirl' and seaping through the barrier to smack you one. However, you always got prior
warning about this and so could retreat to a safe place in the meantime.
That will most likely make no sense if you haven't played it, so take a look at the footage from the original game,
courtesy of AwesomeRickyC here (note that the 'force field' in the middle is a kind of neutral zone where you're
safe, except for the 'Swirl'): - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvjajVf3BEc
Speed forward 29 years and the game that's been released with the same title is Wildly different to how I
remember the Atari VCS original. That was purely 2D, whereas this is into-the-screen with a character who is
now a humanoid female in mechanised power armor, and the whole method of the game is a very complicated one.
Yars' Revenge - Menus and extras (720p HD)
Xbox 360 - DVDfeverGames
You'll see from the main video on this page that, apart from it initially - and annoyingly - stopping to tell
you how to play, confusion begins early as the controls of the game are such that you move your character
about with one joypad stick and your sights are controlled with the other. Then there's buttons for simply
shooting bullets ahead, one for targeting your sight and another to fire one of your limited missiles. And then
even if you can manage to stay alive, you'll find it's not easy to do that for much longer as the difficulty
level is ridiculous.
The 2011 edition of Yars' Revenge looks and sounds good, but the lack of control begins to irritate
before too long and that affects your enjoyment. Overall, if you can get a demo of this game in order to try
before you buy, then do so for curiosity value, but I can't recommend a purchase for all the reasons I've given,
for this game which, at times, feels like it plays a bit like an into-the-screen version of Galaxians.
I've uploaded two videos here. One is the main gameplay, with the other being a look at the menu system and
extras, including the comic which came with the original Atari VCS game in some cases, although I don't remember
having it. However, the images aren't fullscreen so you can't see the text clearly on this video and when playing
the game, you might have to press your nose up against the TV to see.
Yars' Revenge retails on Xbox Live Arcade for 800 MS points and the link above is for a 2100-point card on
Amazon for around £15.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
