Z-Exemplar

What an excelent game this is. If you ever had a ZX Spectrum and loved R-Type then you really should get this as all the graphics and music recreate that and so much more. There was a bug concerning the controllers but thats been fix with in 1 day of me pointing it out so the service is top dog. Well worth the money and your time.

Back in 1987 Irem released a side-scrolling shooter called R-Type upon the arcade houses across the world, and this caused Gaming Waves that are still being felt today. It was a glorious game, with swarms of enemies, bosses so huge and grotesque that they were in fact morbidly beautiful at the same time and you were left physically drained at the end of every level. This game was huge, and when it came to the home computers it shouldn’t have worked, but it did- especially on the ZX Spectrum. It was Bob Pape that brought R-Type over to the ZX Spectrum under the publishing house Electric Dreams Software, and not to besmirch Bob here but his back catalogue of games on the Spectrum beforehand had nearly all been Educational Software for younger children. Yet Bob made a game that even today is still outstanding. The release and praise of Bob’s R-Type on the ZX Spectrum even spawned a book called It’s Behind You: the making of a computer game, which is available to download for free. Now here in 2016 we have Z-Exemplar on Steam – a game which wears its love for the classic R-Type (mainly Bob Pape’s R-Type) on its sleeve so well that fans of the 1988 ZX Spectrum release may possibly believe this is the natural sequel to the game. Personally I’ve been watching Z-Exemplar grow for what – to me – seems like years now, as Suminell Studios have teased out images and YouTube posts showing us what to expect. Then in mid-November word arrived that it was landing and I began to get my shooting finger ready. It’s safe to say I wasn’t disappointed. Z-Exemplar responds like a classic side-scrolling shooter, the enemies swarm on thick and fast, it’s colourful, there’s a good choice of upgrades to cause maximum devastation and there are numerous alien worlds to conquer. Here however in Z-Exemplar you make the choices on how you wish to proceed via planets hostility and what weapons you want to take into battle. The latter option is generally vital to success as I discovered on a few levels, this really brings in the difference, instead learning the path to success it’s the strategy to achieving the goal. Other bonuses including Zeds (currency), medals, the occasional story advancing piece of mail delivered in-game, all of which add to the evolution of Z-Exemplar. You come to realise that this isn’t actually a reboxed R-Type as you progress, this is another game; which still loves R-Type and sings back to the glory days, whilst introducing new and interesting additions. There are a minor cluster of negatives that I would like to see perhaps approached later in a future update. I couldn’t seem to return to conquered planets to try out my new weaponry and/or boost my Zeds, I know they’re “conquered” but perhaps the option to return for a ‘clean up’ would be nice. For the life of me when I had the probes/satellites attached to me I couldn’t detach them and also, what no Steam cards or Steam achievements!? For any side-scrolling, shooting fans Z-Exemplar needs to be added to your Steam Library, it’s a must for Retrogamers to load up and test you aging reflexes and for new gamers to enjoy a solid classic feeling game. My review was originally posted here at Flickering Myth - http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2016/12/video-game-review-z-exemplar-on-pc-steam/ Also for those interested there is a video of me playing the game here too - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXkBfdrRG6c

[h1] A bit like ZX Spectrum game. Collect Z and conquer planets. Get to the core to finish the level and explore space map as it unfolds. Plenty of stages to complete and upgradable weapons to improve your ship. Gameplay is ok, hold fire button to choose one of available power ups like shield, drone or rockets but first collect some Z to do that. A bit simplistic and overall more for shmup enthusiasts. Sounds are 8-bit like and so are the visuals. [/h1]

I've spent about 14 hours playing the game and now I'm ready to share an opinion on it. I'm a die-hard fan on R-Type and I've played it on literally every platform it came out (there are more than you think) and I've played it a LOT on ZX Spectrum, which was my 8bit machine of the childhood. I must say - Z-Exemplar is really, really close to ZX Spectrum's R-Type. So, spend your bucks and get one if you loved R-Type on ZX. There are some cons and pros though: + The game plays and feels like R-Type really - The graphics are good, but could benefit from some pixelart polishing + The stages, monsters and setting are original - Irem's ones had a bit more style in them (no suprise, that's legendary Irem after all) + Music is perfect - Sound effects sometimes don't fit the theme and fill all channels with nasty repetitive waveforms + The game is really fun to play in the beginning, grinding levels for money for upgrades... - ...until you realise that you've beaten just 14% of game and mad grinding is all that awaits you in the rest 86%, with slight variations. Thanks to developer, the game is totally worth the money, but completing it is not THAT rewarding process. May be later, who knows.

Quite simply, this is every retrogamer's dream. These guys really operated some kind of black magic, cramming everything that's good in old games inside a modern package. The graphics immediately bring the ZX Spectrum to mind, but there's so many things flying on the screen and so many little details that it's actually way more modern than it could seem. The audio's good as well and suits the on-screen action. Where this game is a winner, though, is in sheer playability and 'mass'. It really makes you feel like you're playing a great shooter from the good ol' days, but sports so many levels and weapons that it's actually bigger than most modern games in this genre. In brief, this is a damn masterpiece.

♥♥♥♥♥♥ Gradius copy, laggy controls, slow gameplay where attempting to upgrade your ship can lead to dying. Horrible game design everywhere. Avoid and find something better to play.

Now that I've given this game a full go through, let me give you guys a rundown on it. It's a retro inspired, slightly more archaic R-Type, where you control a pilot in a ship with customizable weapons, be it support drones, a large force-like probe that assists in shooting stuff (which can be controlled remotely away from your ship) and various support missiles. The game makes no effort to impede your creativity, as you can choose so many different options in many different ways. Level-wise, there's a good variety to choose from, and the map you start out with can be imposing. Expect some repetition as the levels start out easy, and then get much harder. By the end of this game, you'll be feeling like you're on the hardest difficulty setting of Touhou. Overall, the journey through the game was something I'd consider unique and worth the time I put in. With that said, there are issues. To level up your ship and weapons, you need currency called zogs, which you can find in levels. However, they're limited in number and you can't grind for them. Once you beat a level, you gotta hope you had a good haul going through it. Eventually you will have to choose some weapons and stick with them when you upgrade them. With that said, there's also a bug that sometimes prevents players from seeing the ending of the game despite conquering the galaxy. I just wanna bring that up for those unaware. Why do I still recommend the game despite such issues? Because it hit the mark for this genre of shooter so close. And the dev is friendly enough, so i give it a pass. But if he fixes it in the future, that would be even better, and I'll alter my review to reflect that should he do that.

Where do I start? Why don't we start by saying that this game calls back to several classic games, as well as a classic system that passed the test of time in the 80s. No knowledge of the ZX-Spectrum (yes, Z as in proper british Zed) is required to play the game, but the colour scheme and pacing as well as the audio draws (and screams) authenticity as if you're using it to play this game. Control schema is very simple. Two keyboard setups, SPACE as a command button, along with simplistic gamepad support (directional buttons + A on a XBox controller - or in ZX terms, FIRE). The tutorial is simple enough explaining how to use the controls. Audio sounds just like it's coming from the audio chip in a ZX-Spectrum; the graphics also the same, with the intricate shading. Gameplay? A mix of the firing and option mechanics from R-Type with the powerup selection akin to Gradius/Nemesis. You collect Zogs (the game's currency) during a mission to activate powerups as well as to purchase upgrades between missions -- any powerup selections during a mission don't subtract from the Zogs you bank -- but you do lose Zogs you carry if you get destroyed during a mission as well as activated powerups -- just like those old shooters. Difficulty is dynamic and is based on the hostility level as well as the type of planet. Several ingame achievements can be earned for pulling off specific feats during a mission or throughout the course of a game. And with so much to explore -- and CONQUER -- it will be likely that the game will take many hours to complete. Interestingly recommended.

R-typeフォロワーSTG。１～２分程クリア出来るステージをクリアし続け、領地を拡大していくゲーム。ときどきボス戦あり。 現時点でフルスクリーン、音声の調整は無い。ショットの音がちょっとうるさい。 敵が落としたりするZOG（パワーカプセルでもある）というアイテムは装備品をアップグレードするために使う。やたらステージが多い。１ステージクリアしてもゲーム進行度が0.1%しか上がらないぐらい。でも似たようなステージも多い 　このゲームが致命的にダメだなと思った点は攻撃ボタンですべての動作を行おうとしてる所です。ステージ内ではグラディウスのようなパワーアップシステムで、４つの装備スロットがあり、複数のカプセルを拾い、欲しい装備まで来たらボタンを押して装備を呼び出すと普通は思うでしょうが、このゲームの場合、チャージゲージの右側に装備スロットがあるのですが、ゲージを最大まで溜めて、更に装備スロットの方までチャージを続けないと、装備を選択することが出来ません。しかも攻撃ボタンを押し続けている間は攻撃が出来ません・・・ 　R-typeでいうフォースの様なプローブというものが有るのですが、挙動や操作にも問題が有ります。自機の前後にプローブを付けることが出来ますが、後ろから前に装着したいと思っても面倒だ。 まず、プローブの装備スロットまでチャージゲージを貯めプローブを自機から離す。また、プローブスロットまで貯めて自機の前方に行く指示を出して・・という感じに一連の動作に８秒ぐらいかかるので瞬時に付け替え、臨機応変なプレイは正直できませんし、チャージ中はショットが撃てないのでこんなことをしてたら追い込まれます。プローブも自機から逃げるような挙動してるのも問題です。 どう考えてもスマホ版に合わせた１ボタンで完結させてる操作性が残念過ぎます。それを改善してくれればゲームのボリュームもありますし理不尽なレトロゲー難易度を体験出来るのでオススメできるのですが・・

Прошел игру полностью. Посмотрите видео игрового процесса, если понравится - покупайте. Мне лично понравилось: не просто стрелялка, но также своего рода головоломка, нужно найти нужный вариант прохождения и подобрать нужное оружие. Плюс элемент ностальгии... Игра сделана в ретро стиле в цветовой гамме 8 битного компьютера ZX Spectrum. Несомненно автора вдохновила версия игры R-Type для ZX Spectrum. Сделано все с большим размахом: карта 31*31, а это почти 1000 уровней игры (но некоторые уровни можно пропустить, см. ниже), 10 категорий планет, 4 вида улучшений для корабля: ракеты, летающий модуль, стыковочный модуль, не боевые улучшения (ускорение, умная бомба, энергетический щит и т.д.). Каждый из 4 видов также содержит по 7 вариантов, плюс общие улучшения, например наличие ракет при старте. Вы начинаете с центра карты и завоевываете планеты в произвольном порядке. Проходить планеты-уровни интересно. Практически под каждый тип планет желательно использовать свой набор оружия, т.е. здесь нужно не только уметь правильно перемещаться и стрелять. Заметил, что для каждого типа планет созданы мини уровни или шаблоны. Сами же уровни состоят из различных комбинаций шаблонов и их количества. Но не думайте, что будут все очень просто: их сочетание приводит к новым игровым ситуациям. Сам я нашел ключик практически ко всем шаблонам кроме двух: для планет типа "Water" есть очень длинный зиг-заг к тому же скорость корабля в воде падает (нашел выход пройти через стену потеряв энергетический щит :) ) и шаблон с огромным кораблем на весь экран (теоретически есть место в притирку, но перемещаться там очень тяжело). Советы. На некоторых планетах можно обнаружить "идола", если вы уничтожите 3 идола, то остальные планеты сдадутся без боя. Ближайшие планеты с идолами отображаются на карте салатовым цветом (сливаются с зеленым). Эта информация нигде не указана! В опциях отключите рамку (frame). Рекомендованное управление QAOP-SPACE. Стыковочный модуль можно прицеплять спереди или сзади или использовать впереди на расстоянии. При его выходе можно нажать клавишу "огонь" и подцепить сразу. Удачи :) .