Agony

Title		Agony
Publisher       Psygnosis
Game Type	Shoot-em-up
Players		1
Compatibility	All
HD Installable  Available
Submission	Chris Vella

Review
   This horizontally scrolling shoot-em-up has the classic insignia of
most Psygnosis games.

   You control an owl and must blast away all enemies that come at you.
The first thing that you notice about the game is the opening sequence
piano music. It is truly beautiful. This is by far the best music that I
have ever heard on any game on any platform. It's too bad it didn't carry
over into the in game music, but more on that later. The game scrolls
horizontally and everything moves smoothly. The enemies are very
reminicent of Shadow of the Beast enemies. They are in the same graphical
style. Even though most enemies shoot at you the biggest danger is
actually having them fly into you. Getting killed just reduces your
weapons, you don't lose them all. Keeping your weapons powered up is a
must if you want to complete the game.

   Before starting a level you are shown a breathtaking still picture
setting the scene. You are instantly attacked by a variety of enemies that
fly in set patterns at you. You are originally armed with a basic gun but
can soon power it up by collecting weapon icons. Most enemies will take a
number of hits to kill them. Get to the end of a level and you will face
the guardian. This creature will take many hits before it is killed. Upon
completing this you are taken to another breathtaking still picture
setting the scene for the next level. There are about 6 different levels
and they all vary nicely with different backdrops and enemies.

   The graphics in the game are beautiful, especially the still pictures,
and the backdrops are animated. The sound in the game is extremely
annoying, with the exception of the intro. The sound just doesn't seem to
fit the game and you can't turn it off. The game does play well even
though the enemies attack in set patterns. The levels are just about the
right size and the difficulty level increases with each level. Even though
the enemies are numerous I didn't feel an adrenaline rush playing the
game. It's sort of a relaxing shoot'em up if there is such a thing.

   In conclusion, A nice attempt and a decent game but I somehow feel that
something is missing. It feels different then most shooting games but
there are some very nice touches, but I feel just too relaxed playing. It
doesn't give you the much needed adrenaline rush that a game of this type
should give you. The great graphics and animations do help a bit but the
sound is way too annoying. The lastabilty is also in question. I found the
first couple levels a little too easy and the last ones a little too hard.
You will neither love nor hate this game, it's just a average shoot'em up
with nice graphics.

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