Though the primary weapon is stuck firing on the 2D plane, secondary attacks can make use of directional firing. The load out options are what is expect for a scrolling 2D shooter: bombs, drones, lasers, missiles, speed ups, and more. It's a system that works well and allows experienced players to prepare the appropriate weapon for upcoming sections. Some enemies drop glowing power-ups that cycle through the list of weapons in the load out, and the highlighted weapon can then be activated. The weapon system is classic Gradius, granting the option of four different weapon combination "load outs" when the game starts.
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Those who are unable to make much progress should remember Konami has a code for just such occasions. There are, of course, selectable difficulty levels, but even on Very Easy mode, the game will still destroy newcomers and veterans alike. It's something that takes a while to be noticed, which has a massive impact on the difficulty. One of the first points that must be learned is that the only piece of the ship that can take projectile damage is the cockpit. It's not just the bosses that require a few attempts the game offers a considerable challenge and every stage requires a ton of deaths and retries to master. They are really fun encounters to learn and defeat, with rotating stages, rotating bosses, thousands of bullets and having to shoot in 360°. All of these giant bosses have the classic shmup weakness: a giant glowing weak point.
Each level ends with a giant boss battle that requires lightning fast reflexes and numerous attempts to learn the attack patterns of each encounter. It's safe to say that Treasure's influence can certainly be felt, especially when it comes to bosses. This is the first Gradius title to be developed by not just Konami, but also Treasure, developer of the legendarily difficult Ikaruga. Instead, the PlayStation Network, and the PlayStation 3, in particular, will be receiving the final and arguably best game of the series.
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The Gradius series is thirty years old this year and while its fans would have loved to see a new entry or even a HD remaster, sadly none of the above is currently on the cards.