So this was an interesting, didn't expect to see it here of all places and hopefully you'll find this review helpful:
1) This is a PS1 game:
I'm not saying this is a port of a PS1 game, this is literally a rip of the disc being run through a PS1 emulator, specifically PCSX-Reloaded, you'd think this would be a negative and it kind of is, but it's actually very convenient, the build of PCSX-R they use doesn't have a lot of features and I found it fairly lacking, but hey, you can easily use any other emulator if you want, the game files are right there in the folder! I used Duckstation, which is why it looks like I haven't played the game for more than a few minutes on steam, it allowed me to upscale the game, run it smoothly and I even used a widescreen hack because why not, it's super simple to do and I highly recommend it because that's the fun of PC gaming. That said, I do wish the product page was upfront about it, much of GOG's runs on Dosbox, emulation is legit, no need to hide it.
2) So what about the game itself?
It's a somewhat neat take on the Star Fox formula, a rail shooter with occasional branching paths with a rather neat weapon system. You have a primary and secondary fire, but unlike other games, your secondary fire doesn't use a second button, instead it fires along slower intervals between your primary fire, which sounds weird, but it actually works, you can pick up items that permanently upgrade your primary or secondary fire, the more you pick up, the more deadly you become, infact the penalty for dying is to lose just one level of your primary/secondary fire which is good motivation to not die since you make the game a little bit harder each time you die.
You also can pick up shield power ups which make you briefly invincible and are immensely helpful against bosses as well as bombs which clear the screen.
The controls are otherwise very simple, you won't be doing any barrel rolls or flips, just maneuvering the chopper. The camera sticks a lot more closely to the ship and you have a much wider berth than you typically do in Star fox, so the camera can occasionally be an issue (only really while attempting to dodge and fire at the same time, which can be a slight problem in boss fights).
Because the fire rate is dependent on how many times you push the fire button, for the love of all that is holy; USE A CONTROLLER WITH A TURBO FUNCTION OR THE KEYBOARD EQUIVALENT!
The game is also dark, REALLY dark, as in; "Why is most of the screen black" dark so if you're emulator of choice is able, bump up the gamma slightly, otherwise I rather like the atmosphere of the game, just like Star Fox 64, everything is so low poly you are often trying to interpret what it is you are shooting at. I love it.
The story is very arcade-y as in it's barely existent, Earth is being invaded by aliens, go kill em, that's it, it made me really appreciate how much life Star Fox's characters added to their games as this game could've used some banter.
So, is the game worth it? Maybe? I'm enjoying it, but i'm someone who loves this style of rail shooter (which was sadly never a popular genre outside of Star Fox), this is a halfway decent one, as well as a stupidly obscure and rare PS1 game. I found the best way to play this is in short bursts. Also the music is awesome!
PS Hey! Throwback Entertainment, you guys have a great number of awesome IPs in your vault, i'd be happy to even buy your roms if you straight up sold them, maybe invest some of the cash you make from em back into emulation development, add more legitimacy to the emulation scene! It would be awesome! Extreme G and Vexx are games that deserve more of a spotlight!
