This bullet hell is heavenly.

Prepare Yourself For Sensory Overload

I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I didn’t know about this series sooner. Having completely missed the series first foray onto the Playstation Network I didn’t know what to expect with this side-scrolling shoot-em up. It’s not very often that a game pops out of obscurity and knocks me off my feet, but Söldner-X 2: Final Prototype did just that.  With a tightly balanced difficulty system, addicting unlockables, pumping music, and slick HD visuals; SX2 may be the most complete downloadable package available on PSN.

If you’re into shooters like this, it’s probably not for their stories. In keeping with that tradition, SX2’s narrative won’t win any awards in the originality department. There’s a threat in the universe and it’s up to the Söldner-X force to once again restore peace and balance. The story does its job, providing reason enough to annihilate everything that dares enter your cannon's path. Adding immersion to your role, members of ground control will provide in-game chatter detailing your locations and any immediate threats coming your way. Reminiscent of the classic Silpheed, it’s a nice addition that breathes life into SX2’s world.

A Game of Skill

Despite the lackluster story, the most important aspect of any shooter is the core gameplay of flying and shooting, and that's where SX2 excels the most. Using what’s called the “Play Rank” system, the difficulty is constantly adjusted based on your skills, culminating in gameplay that’s suited for all. Play like a newb and the enemy frequency and bullet patterns diminish, allowing you to cruise through most of the game. True reward lies in honing your reflexes and skills to get the most out of SX2. When you’re in the zone, a very surreal emotion takes over as the intensity of the action increases. This is no “bullet hell” shooter, but is immensely satisfying nonetheless when obtaining that coveted “S” score ranking.

To drive that score higher, you need the right arsenal to help lay waste.  The main ship (of three) carries, the standard laser, spread and lock-on weapons, as well as the standard bombs and screen clearing attacks you’re used to seeing in this genre. Each weapon becomes more devastating as power-ups are collected, steadily building up until you exhaust all your lives.  Further expediting this is a chaining system, which has you collecting Sonic the Hedgehog style rings from damaged enemies. This adds an extra degree to the onscreen madness as you fly in and out of harm’s way to drive your score and power further.

Traditionally an arcade experience, shooters tend to lack the bells and whistles of most of their home console brethren, lending themselves to frequent, though rather quick play sessions. To counteract this, SX2 greatly benefits from being designed ground up for the Playstation Network, packing in extras that add an addicting element and increase replayability. The biggest hook is in the placement of five hidden keys within each stage. As I mentioned earlier, you can cruise through most of the game if your skills aren’t up to par, but you’ll miss out on seeing the true ending if you can’t cut it. Finding these hidden keys open up gates to the last three worlds, which are hidden at the outset. Not all are easy to come by; some require players to earn high “Play Rank” levels before the key-bearing enemies appear. Snagging these keys can be a little frustrating at times, but provides incentive to achieve perfection above and beyond what I've seen in previous shooters.

Winning Isn't Everything

The extras don't just stop there with the hidden keys. There is a separate challenge mode, which varies from time trials to completing set levels without dying, and offers rewards such as extra credits, weapons, ships, and trophies.  Like the hidden keys, not all of these challenges are available right away either; requiring completed challenges or level specific conditions to unlock. Some can be ridiculously testing, but these diversions only help aid in level memorization and the reward of increased firepower only spices up the variety. Couple this with online leader boards and local co-op play and SX2 keeps fresh long passed the typical expiration date of most in this genre. Sadly there’s no online co-op support, but I understand how important a lag-free experience can be for these games.

SX2 is one sexy looking game and a great HD experience; you’ll fly through asteroid fields, submerge the depths of an underwater Eden and fight screen-filling bosses, but all that would just be for show if the gameplay wasn’t there. Compared to its retail exclusive cousins, SX2 offers more bang for the buck at a fraction of the price. I may not have known much about SX2 and its developers SideQuest Studios before, but they have my attention now. In a somewhat lost/dying genre I hope this isn’t the final prototype for the Söldner series. It’s a shining example of how to keep a genre relevant, and at the same time shows how complete a downloadable package can be.