Be Excellent To Each Other

http://tinyurl.com/nk2tdg

And by christ has this evolved from the 360 version of a few months ago! A half decent graphics card and a mouse are all you need for this baby.

It looks like a really poor Geometry Wars.

There's a 360 version?

Not quite, M$ were playing silly buggers* so what was a fairly faithful upgrade to Gridrunner ++ of a few years ago has mutated quite considerably as Llamasoft adapted it to a: work on any modern PC with no extra gear needed and b: not succumb to the "face fucked by a lava lamp" criticisms of Space Giraffe.

In Revolution, the object is not so much to shoot *at* the enemies but to utilise a number of different ships to create a fully controllable bullet hell, swinging streams (which vary in numerous ways according to ship) through the gravity fields of one or more suns/black holes in order to create the nicest looking patterns of hell. The more aesthetically pleasing your bullet ballet, the higher your boost gauge and the better your score when the hapless (and not so hapless) enemies taste your wrath.

The initial 20 stages hold your hand through each gameplay mechanic and it's easy to learn what makes for lush patterns. Othewise people would make Grim...'s assumption that you just wazz about and shoot at the enemies, which isn't going to give you a very high score even if it is satisfying, pretty and fun.


* aren't NDAs a wonderful thing?

no xbox version? bah

Yeah, seconded. I thought, er... certain things I'm not sure I can say here, and other similarly potentially bad things?

Well there's noting to stop this version being ported to 360 in future, save for the certification process for XBlah having more hoops to jump through than crufts. The one caveat being this particular incarnation of Gridrunner is in my estimation utterly perfect for mouse control. Of course there's a asteroidsesque alt control method and either will work on a standard joypad. Separate modes for cards with shader 2 and 3 exist for those who don't have ninja PCs I should probably also mention.

I'll bump this thread when the demo drops so people can have a good go. Failing that anyone who is over mine after a couple of days' time when I've got my proper card back are welcome to a go. As the lads took it down local car boot sales to test it on non-gamers as part of the QA process, I'm sure that's not going to be a problem

??

Has anyone else played this piece of gaming loveliness yet?

Nope, not got a PC How is it, 4can? Welcome, also.

A shame you don't have a PC, you're missing out on a lovely game.

It's possibly one of the, if not THE most relaxing game that I've ever played, at the same time being thoroughly absorbing AND fiendishly difficult on the later levels. Early levels are easy, Minter pretty much holds your hand in the early stages (no doubt as Space Giraffe was criticised for being too damn hard right from the off). But gradually the difficulty level is ramped up .........

It's a thing of great beauty, and you can make it look even better (which is kind of the point) by arcing your bullet streams around suns.

You've really got to try it to understand it - a mere text description cannot possibly even start to do it justice.

Making it look better is EXACTLY the point, to get a decent score. Glad you like it

I have no idea what half of the posts in this thread are referring to. What have we missed? Is Minter saying stuff again?

Releasing a damn fine PC game, that's what:

http://www.llamasoft.co.uk/frontpage.php

Ha! I'll be picking up the SG/GR-R double pack come pay day. I'd forgotten all about SG PC after building my new system. I had the demo on my old desktop as a reminder to get it bought, you see?

The double pack is a bargain investment. Can't be faulted.

Not forgetting the unlockable Gridrunner Vic20 and C64 in Revolution as well. Lots of game for your pound.

Are you two Minter PR?

No, we just recognise high quality games.

Now that definitely sounded like PR!

If PR is classed as singing the praises of a game that you love, then we're all guilty of that.

I love Link's Awakening on the Game Boy and many times I've eulogised about it on various forums - so that's PR too?

What are you doing talking about Jeff 'Unhealthily Obsessed By Hooved Animals' Minter then?

This month's Edge contains big photos of Jeff. I thought photos of programmers were outlawed in 1993.

That explains why I couldn't get that tatty last copy open in Smiths earlier.

fork handles?

No, Four Candles!

Check the credits in-game

Shame no one will play this, really. Wake me up if it ever gets a proper release.

How's Steam for a proper release? Llamasoft wanted the game out as soon as possible after completion, the press has been done, await Edge next edition and so on.

I want this, but I want it on the 360! I spend far too much of my day on a PC to want to spend my leisure time on it.

I know that, you know that, but Microsoft do not.

I suppose if everyone asked them to put it on Live, though...

Or if people buy it on the PC and prove it is popular.

Is there any reason it couldn't go on Indie Games instead?

Seriously? Ask Jeff and Giles to put something on another platform the very day after they've released it? No. Not even in jest. Not again anyway.

No, ask Microsoft.

I've just realised, after months of play... this game is one-handed! Spliffbeer ahoy!

Good lord! *Choke*

The first time I played it I had a beer in one hand. Have I unlocked some sort of achievement or somesuch?

Could be, depends what you're doing with the other hand when you're not using it for drinking beer ..............

Don't you control it purely by your mind interacting with the colours and sounds?

Yeah, but then your mind controls the mouse ...................

I think I was drunk when I started playing it, so I'm not entirely sure I've actually understood it yet. It's very... Minter, in that you look at it and go "Oh, right, it's [x]", except when you play it it's actually not.

There's a few bugs though (don't turn PS3.0 on if your graphics card doesn't support it, apparently), and the front end is shitty. But it seems decent so far.

Oh, and also: Hi everybody!

Awesome, two new members on the strength of GR+++! Welcome...

"Oh right, it's Tempest"

Hello new person.

I'm not that fussed, really. I really liked SG, but I'm not going to campaign for G+++'s release on XBLA - I have a billion games I already need to play/buy.

If they decided to release it, though, I'd take a look; even if it is just Tempest again.

It's not only because of GR++++++ Super Alpha Upper Extended 3. I've been meaning to sign up for a while, but never got round to it. This was just the first thread that caught my eye...

Hello Parm.

Centipede!

Eurogamer review - they seem to like it:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/gridr ... on-article

What, PR for free? You've gotta be kidding!