Remember the days when games were simple? You sit your ass down in front of the tube and mash your thumbs into the buttons for hours, all the while your blood pressure is reaching critical levels. But what the hell, you were having fun.well maybe not fun, but there's no doubt about it that the good old shoot'em ups kept gamers glued to their sets for hours on end. Wouldn't it be great to experience the stress, the frustration, and the sweaty palms all over again? Well Working Designs and Game Arts is bringing back the good old days of vertical scrolling shooters with the sequel to Silpheed, Silpheed: The Lost Planet.

The game's back-story is rather far fetched and the levels will see players battling against all odds, facing big ugly alien creatures and traversing through bizarre environments. You'll be given control over a super powerful prototype ship harnessing the firepower of an entire army. There are two primary weapon systems on your ship, which can be fired independently or simultaneously. You start out with basic firepower, which can be expanded upon, as you progress through the levels which brings me to my next point. Silpheed has incredible special effects and the weapons' particle effects are brilliantly colored and animated. The game has a very "cool" look.

During your trek through the levels you will encounter both bosses and sub-bosses. After you defeat a sub-boss, a refueling ship arrives and replenishes your fighter's shields. Depending on the difficulty preferred, the number of hits the fighter can take can be set up to 25. This is the kind of game that can get very frustrating, yet be addictive at the same time because if and when you die, back you go to the start of the level. Silpheed, presents its story line very dramatically by means of impressive real-time and pre-rendered cut-scenes throughout the game, plus they let players see their ultra cool ship up close. Contrary to what you may think, this game will not look as dated as you think.

It's always good to see that the industry does not entirely forget about the traditional style of games that we grew up with and it will certainly be interesting to see how well the old-school Silpheed fairs against the newfangled 3D era of games.