Reviews - sir-voe

August is shaping up to be a nice month for shmup fans. Another solid release for lazer junkies, Procyon's value more then exceeds its budget price point.
Presentation is top notch, with polish oozing from the seams. Sharp and clean looking stages serve as a well matched backdrop to the nicely designed variety of enemy craft. Explosions, lazers and bullets are all easy to track despite the eye-catching scenery. The menu structure and interface also stand out as high quality. Briefing between stages is well done, and adds a touch of humor to the otherwise dire "alien threat to humanity" scenario.
Above all else though, the gameplay is FUN. The shield/powerup mechanic adds an interesting wrinkle to engagements with the waves of enemies you'll be encountering between climactic boss battles. I was unable to try the two player mode (which offers unique mechanics to promote teamwork) though several modes, difficulty levels and local leaderboards fill out the feature set nicely. The primary fault I can come up with is a couple of stages are a bit long, which may lead you to take the occasional break after losing your last life at the proverbial finish line.

Valkyrius is quite a nice surprise. Having not followed development, I jumped at the discovery of a new title in this most under represented genre. After putting in roughly 2 hours with the game, I can confidently say it's well worth the asking price and then some. Initially the warping and dual wielding style of gameplay took some getting used to, but by the time I adjusted, I was warping and making strategic use of the dual weapons like it was 2nd nature. It's a very satisfying setup. Things start off a bit mild, but before you know it you'll be engaging tougher enemies and some truly thrilling bosses. Lots of unlockables, online leaderboards, difficulty options and settings round out the experience.