Let's kill people!
Time Soldier was released in 1989 by Electrocoin and is based on the vertically shoot 'em up, not too dissimilar to something like Ikari Warriors. I've not played the arcade game, but there is a slight name change - that means we're running solo. This would be understandable, but we are given only one life, which should make the quest rather difficult - unless it's rewarding during play with bonuses/etc? Hmm, we'll soon see!
The story goes that Gylend has captured a few of our friends who are held captive in different time periods. Guess whose job it is to rescue them? Of course, it's up to us to rescue them all! Gotta say, I like the idea of the time zones. Before beginning, we're given the name and location of our captured warrior - but the teleporter can send us anywhere. Which is odd and means you gotta plough through to the correct portal.
Initial impressions are a little worrying. Let's take a peep at some screenshots...
I love the colour schemes throughout, which nicely represent the original game.
Lots of action and even more death and destruction. I love it!
I love the colour schemes throughout, which nicely represent the original game.
Lots of action and even more death and destruction. I love it!
Shoot. Kill. Kill even more!
Each time period has a change of graphics, but basically follows the same format as you might expect. These areas are stuffed with enemies, which is most satisfying. Those slain in battle leave goodies that should be collected for a power boost. Health can also be replenished, because every contact drains you dry.
A boss is featured at the end of level and most are rather easy to kill. However, my power-ups sometimes ran out during the lead-up to this fight, which then makes it nigh on impossible to win!
There's nothing mind-blowing about Time Soldier; the gameplay is a cross between something like Wanted or Commando. I wasn't sure about the scrolling, which often left me vulnerable to baddies off-screen. I was never going to like the one-life aspect, which is often rubbish unless we get the option to continue on.
Now't is perfect, so that won't stop me from pushing out more screenshots...
Even Rambo wouldn't be able to survive this onslaught!
Those higher up have an advantage. But I'm still going to kill them.
Aesthetics
I like the graphics in Time Soldier; from start to end, it's colourful and detailed. The backgrounds are great, but we also have some of the silliest sprites. Not so much their appearance, but how they attack in waves, which means the screen is often cluttered with bullets and explosions! It's maddening and chaotic.
Heck, the game is making use of overscan without any negative impact on the scrolling, which remains smooth! So I am very impressed with the technical efforts that went into making this shooter.
The music is well-balanced against the sound effects and suits the gameplay well. Zero complaints.
Hey, one final run of screenshots...
The purple works a treat, providing another environment that is unique and fun.
This looks scary and tough. Well, more tough than scary, but hey, what more can be said about it?
The CryptO'pinion?
This game was fun to play! However, I wasn't too keen on the scrolling method, which can often fail to keep up. Also, having one life is restricting, so forces you down the road of a trainer. Don't get me wrong, it's quite an authentic conversion in many respects, but this insane design makes it very difficult. Cheat time!
Having said that, Time Soldier is an entertaining shooter. The levels are always interesting and brimming with lots of meaningless gameplay. This is pure gun love and will provide a few hours of fantastic action. For all its flaws, I enjoyed this peculiar shooter. Just be prepared to play with a trainer for extra lives!
