#339 Einhander

Posted: 14th October 2017 by Jeroen in Games
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640th played so far

Genre: Shoot ‘Em Up
Platform: Playstation
Year of Release: 1997
Developer: Square
Publisher: Square/Sony Computer Entertainment

Going on to knock out some of these Playstation games (I was really behind. Still am, really), today I need to cover a shoot ’em up. Einhander has been in my mind for a while, for a large part because the name is that distinctive.

The other part that caught my eye were the graphics. While still looking like a side scroller, the 3D elements make it look so much better than others, and make me more excited to actually play this.

Our Thoughts

I’m sure I’ve addressed this before, but as I keep running into it, I have to ask – why include continues and limits in a home game? I get that you want the game to be difficult – I don’t think it’s necessary, but I can see why you’d want it. But continues feel like such an arcade concept that they don’t fit in. Especially with no save games, I want to keep playing. Sure, let me feel like I’m not good at it, but let me bash my head against it, grind it out and show me the cool stuff. You don’t need to get extra quarters out of me, don’t keep game mechanics set up to get that reaction. At least we have Youtube these days.

The game looks good though, and the shiny things there are most important to keep my intention through this. They’re 3D graphics while you play on a 2D plane, but the point of view moves back and forth to give a good look of the big bosses. There’s some good ones here, including a giant war machine you fly around to take out bit by bit.

Final Thoughts

Einhander is a good shooter with some great designs, in a world that feels genuinely exciting to explore. It’s just a shame that the game design prevents you from really getting deep into that, as the best bits don’t come in straight away. So close, really.