Insector-X

Developer: Hot-B    Publisher: Sage’s Creation     Released: 1990    Genre: Shooter

For as much as we craved arcade perfection back in the day it was still pretty interesting to see what changes would be made whenever a game was ported from the arcade.  Most arcade ports to the 2600 were absolute disasters; anyone who had the misfortune of playing the Atari version of Pac-Man can attest.  The 8 and 16-bit eras brought an end to such atrocities for the most part as the technology was capable of pumping out respectable approximations of big money coin ops.  In some cases the games turned out even better with Insector-X being one such instance.

This Sega version isn’t so much a port as it is a pretty major re-imagining.  In the arcade Insector-X was a cute-em-up like Parodius. The cute character and enemy designs were at odds with the semi realistic backdrops, almost as if the designers couldn’t decide on the artistic direction. For its home debut the game has been given a visual makeover with a more realistic tone that depicts the threat of the robot insect army more appropriately. It was kind of silly to have these large end level bosses that were supposedly menacing but had the goofiest facial expressions.

Aside from the sprites the backgrounds have been given the same attention but they did not need it. Though this was an early Genesis title the levels are full of detail if a bit flat. The many layers of parallax scrolling that would later categorize many Sega shooters had not become en vogue yet but even taking that into consideration the game feels empty without it. It has the look of many Turbo Grafx games; that is not a slight. You also can’t fault the game for this; the arcade game was also missing scrolling. They at least cover a nice range of environments throughout its five levels, from Egyptian pyramids to a forest, a ruined city and eventually the insectoid stronghold.

The changes go beyond just visual. In the arcade Insector-X allows you to carry a regular weapon and a sub-weapon. Sub-weapons were of two types, anti-ground and anti-air but you could only carry one. The difficulty is such that it lead to situations where you could have a completely inappropriate weapon that made it all but impossible. The Genesis version lets you carry all three and switch at any time. This improves the game significantly and to an extent does make it easier. Your large sprite should offset this but overall the better gameplay wins out over minor inconvenience.

Overall the game is pretty easy as it literally showers you with extra lives at every turn. By the time I reached the final stage I had 23 lives without even trying. You’re sent back to a checkpoint upon death but they are evenly paced so you aren’t penalized too heavily. The bosses, while looking cool, are so simple they shouldn’t have even bothered. There patterns are easily recognizable and at that point it’s simply a matter of going through the motions. The only real rough point would be the final level. The game goes nuts and tries everything possible to give you a front row seat to the game over screen.

The lack of any perceptible challenge highlights the other critical flaw, its length. At a meager five levels Insector-X is a brief experience. Most will have the credits rolling in as little as thirty minutes. I can respect the work the developers have done giving the game a visual makeover. But a little more content would have gone a long way. While Insector-X is enjoyable there really is not much reason to go back to it once it is over. The truly great games in the genre have moments or a level of challenge that entice you into replaying them again and again or to even one cc the game. Insector-X is decent but not a memorable experience in the long run.

In Conclusion

In spite of its flaws Insector-X is solid. Despite that better games would eclipse it in short order. I like it but not enough to recommend it over far superior shooters such as Thunder Force 3, Bio Hazard Battle, and Wings of Wor. I will say this, it’s probably the best game from Sage’s Creation. Whoa man did they release some stinkers.