0 to Z of Playstation 1 Games - Blast Radius
Blast Radius is an
action space combat simulation developed by Pitbull Syndicate who developed
previously covered game Big Air. The game was published by Psygnosis and
released on the Playstation in North Europe in July of 1998. The game would not
release in North America until the 28th of February the following year
The game has a total of 9 playable spacecraft,
with a total of 13 types of weaponry for you to arm them with, this includes
Torpedoes, Rockets, Seeker Missiles and Fusion Nukes. The game takes you
through a total of 40 missions spanning 10 different worlds.
The game sees the player facing off against 35
different enemy types, from Bounty Hunters, and Criminal Organization to
Kotan-Kai military ships. Additional hazards also litter the levels with asteroid,
cloaked planets, satellites, wormholes and kamikaze drones.
Prior to starting a mission your are given a
briefing for the mission, this gives a brief description of the upcoming
mission. For example the first mission the Kotan-Kai have been conducting
experiments on a primitive warp technology.
This represents a worrying development for the
Vorn, they task you with destroy any enemy craft in the system so the Vorn
engineers can terminate the treat. One the briefing has finished it will show
you your primary and secondary targets.
When you
start your mission you control your craft with the D-Pad or left analogue
stick, to fire your primary weapon the X button is used, your secondary weapons
are controlled with the circle button, to select your weapon the square button
is used.
If you select the wrong weapon you can deselect
it by pressing the triangle button. Forward and reverse thrust iis controlled
by the L1 and R1 shoulder buttons, to roll the ship left or right the R2 and L2
shoulder buttons are used, pressing the select button will chance the camera
view. In addition to the single player mode, the game offers a two player death
match mode, this mode I think requires a link cable.
In Blast Radius you play as the last member of
an elite Wolf squadron, alienated and angry you as Kayne the sole survivor are
approached by the Vorn, a peaceful and docile race who are under attacked from
the evil empire of the Kotan-Kai. In return for your help and flying skills the
Vorn will reward you with access to their most powerful and advanced spacecraft
available.
Blast Radius earned itself a very good review
score from one publication, largely though the game rated as decent to above
average, with one reviewer finding the game particularly poor. As usual though
we will start with the best of them, this comes from Absolute Playstation who
rated the game at a very good 88.
The reviewer commenting on those who rushed out
to buy Colony Wars may have already pre ordered this game, the reviewer warns
those people that, while the game is darn good fun, it doesn’t have the same
gameplay depth of Colony Wars, and more like a selection of bonus arcade
levels.
A large drop in review score for the next one,
as we head over to Germany and Mega Fun who rated the game at a decent 73. the
review called the game fun as opposed to the rather moderate Xenocracy, with
the game leaving an overall better impression.
The reviewer found the game to be
straightforward into space action, with good graphics and analogue control. The
review also praised the good mission variety, as well as weapons, enemy and
ship variety. The reviewer concluded by saying the review score would have been
higher but for the lack of story content, overall though the game is a stylish
space shooter which sweetens the wait for Colony Wars Vengeance.
NowGamer are next up with a 72 rated review,
the review finding the game doesn’t measure up to Psygnosis’s previously released Colony Wars, the reviewer
finding simply blasting ins a good looking a swiftly moving environment is
pretty good fun for the first few levels, but you quickly tired of it soon
after.
The review also found the game to be very
linier, unlike Colony Wars which alters the stories path when failing a
mission, the game just comes to an end. The review found the game seems like a step
down in all respects.
GameSpot also rated the game at a 72, with the
reviewer finding Blast Radius to be a bit of a throwaway title or rather it
feels like the company is cashing in on its own success. Even so the reviewer
found the game to be a worthwhile way to kill some time.
The reviewer found that if you are a fan of
Colony Wars and looking for more of the same high quality space shooting
action, then Blast Radius is going to be your best option. They concluded by
saying, weather it is worth a purchase largely depends on how much you really
need it, a rental instead maybe your best first move.
Back over to Germany now and to Video Games who
scored the game at a decent 71, the reviewer calling it a game with
breathtaking special FX, but it is not immune from small weaknesses, with too
monotonous attack strategies from the enemy ships and meagre power up equipment
miss a bit of variety. They concluded however by saying the game should be
especially captivating for hardcore shoot’em-up fans.
Another German publication up next in Bravo
Screenfun, who rated the game at an above average 60, the reviewer calling the
game a challenging space shooter that focuses on gaudy action, rather than epic
atmosphere or great render sequences. They continued by saying, solo players
are served an average game, but Psygnosis have provided link fans with fresh
food for their coupled Playstations.
The penultimate review comes from IGN, who also
rated the game at an above average 60. the review finding the game to be just a
made for tv version of Colony Wars. The reviewer finding the developers hacked
away the story, and anything else that would get in the way of a
straightforward shooter.
Concluding the review said, Colony Wars is the
better game, with more and cleverer weaponry and crafts, as well as being a
much more satisfying experience. The reviewer however said, if you are looking
for a jump in quick action title, give this one a rent.
The final review comes from Game Revolution,
who rated the game at a poor 33. The reviewer finding nothing in the game that
would make them want to blow $40 on it. Value wise the reviewer said, if you
like playing the same Joe-Shmo four missions over and over, then hey go for it.
But for the normal people who like varying missions and outstanding graphics
and gameplay, run from Blast Radius.
This is the part of 0
to Z where is visit four online retailers and see what the availability of the
title is, and what price you would be looking at if you wanted to pick this
title up, the sites that I will be using for this are Amazon.com,
eStarland.com, retrogames.co.uk and Gamedude.com I know the last one is very
location specific, but from a podcast I listen to, I’ve heard they have a huge
stock of older games, Ebay has now been dropped unless the game is unavailable
at other retailers.
So lets get down to
business with Gamedude, where if you are looking to trade in your copy of Blast
Radius, you will be looking at just 5 cents for your copy at trade in. If on
the other hand you are in the market for a copy from Gamedude, you will be
looking at an outlay of $3.
Next we head over to
Retrogames.co.uk, where we find one copy of the game available, this being a
co.uk site the copy that is available is the PAL version of the game. This copy
is complete, with a disc quality rating of 7.5/10 and will cost you £7.
remember this the PAL version of the game so won’t work on North American or
Japanese consoles.
Moving on to
eStarland.com where we find one copy of Blast Radius available, this is the
North American version of the game. This copy comes with no manual and is
priced at $4.88. Also on offer at eStarland is a trade in for the game, with up
to $2.25 being paid for a complete copy of the game.
Lastly we have
Amazon.com where we find a decent supply of the game available, we soon find a
complete copy of the game in good condition, this copy is priced up at $5.97.
following this copy were find several incomplete copies of the game.
Moving on to the
second page of listings the first on offer here is a very good condition copy
for $8.49, and a like new copy next in the listings for $9.03. Another very
good condition copy follows for $.9.57, with the first new copy available for
just $10.40.
Used prices remain
pretty competitive with a majority not going past the $17 mark, a few new
copies of the game are also mixed into this price range. There are a few copies
of each that do go beyond this price point, with a like new used copy priced at
$33.83, and a new copy for $49.62, these are a rarity though.
Written by
P J Gibbon
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