Ironclad Review

Ironclad Review

ironclad.jpg
US Title:Ironclad
Japanese Title:Chotetsu Bri'kinger
By:Saurus
Year:1996
Size:178 Megs
Home Release?No
MVS Release?No
CD Release?Yes

Ironclad: A CD-only Review by Bobak!


Background:

Ironclad is one of the few Neo Geo CD exclusives, a shame considering its also one of the system's more impressive shooters. The result is that Ironclad, like the inferior Zintrick, is rare, hard to find, and often expensive (almost prohibitively so). But if you're into shooters, you may consider tracking this one down. A friend was kind enough to lend me his, and I was very impressed with what I saw.


Graphics:

Exceptional. The rendered backgrounds and enemies show off the Neo's glorious capacity for a 16-bit system (although I argue its a 24-bit system). The action stands up there with Pulstar and Blazing Star in visual appeal. I think this is one of the more graphically impressive games on the Neo Geo.


ironclad2.jpg

Music/SFX:

Good CD-quality music (surprised?) and SFX put you in the action. Nothing to complain about here.


ironclad1.jpg

Gameplay:

Some people really enjoy the almost insane "seat-of-your-pants" difficulty that goes with shooters like Pulstar, Blazing Star and the notorious View Point. I am not one of those people. I don't mind those games, but I'm not entirely thrilled by having to continue over and over and over again. Ironclad is far more reasonable. Some of those 'hardcore' shooter fanatics might think that's its too easy, fortunately there's something else to make up for it (Ironclad's best feature):

Multiple Pathways! Yes, in order to give the game more replay the programmers of Ironclad give you several different branching paths to the end for more level and more endings. If only more shooters adopted this concept.

Overall:

Expensive, CD-only, hard to find, a shooter... There are a lot of reasons why you might not want to track down Ironclad. But if you've read my review and started thinking "Hey, this might be fun!" -you may want to keep an eye out.


BREAKDOWN:

Graphics: 92%
Music/SFX: 90%
Gameplay: 88%
Overall: 85%

Bobak!
: is a movie buff. He studied the film industry at the world renowned School of Cinema/Television at USC with notables such as Leonard Maltin as his instructors. He despises the word film, and thinks its pretentious. Movies are for people, Films are for people who think knowing the difference between pastiche and mise-en-scene makes you better than another person.
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