GRAPHICS
   
Shoot 'em ups rarely look as fantastic as
Einhander. It runs at a smooth frame rate
which rarely lets up. Absolutely
everything on-screen is animated. The
backgrounds are full of atmosphere and
include a neon-lit Chinese metropolis, a
flyby past a cargo train through a
macabre desert at night and a complicated
maze through a robotics factory.
Explosions are also eye-openers and each
is different depending on the type of
enemy that is exploding - for example,
small ones tend to combust in mid-air
while a few of the bigger ones skim the
surface a few times before blowing into
pieces. The shading and textures of
polygons to make surfaces appear real is
almost comparable to those seen in
Konami's Metal Gear Solid. The
perspective and camera angles also
changes seamlessly from between isometric
two-dimensional view-points without
confusing the player. The lighting is
also superb, such as the bolts of
electricity that crackle around an
aircraft which has just lost it's engine
or the violent flames given off by a
gattling gun.
(ABOVE)
The neon-lit night-time city-scape of the
opening stage is incredibly atmospheric
(BELOW)
(left, middle) the second stage assault
on a huge weapon-laden train, (right) in
the enemy complex.
  
BOSSES
The bosses
are amazing. They have a
countless range of manoeuvers and
attacks. They are huge.
My favourite one
happens to be the humongous
titanium air-born octopus
in the cavern of the second
stage. As soon as you approach
it, Square crank up the tension
by employing the sound of
a tannoy. Then menacing German
speech is spoken as you
get ready to battle. The brute
emits some vapour before
unfolding out its tentacles, all
of which armed with various
weapons such as a flame-thrower.
Or how about the transforming
triangular tank of stage 3 or the
two-legged
steel troll of stage four?
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All the bosses in
Einhander have German language names, the
boss on the lower left is nicknamed
'Spinne' - or spider, the tank boss above
'Gustav', the robot below right, 'Ausf A
Gestell'
 
MUSIC/SOUND
The sound effects of explosions and
bullets are nicely done. But no effect
here that
you haven't heard before. The music which
is mostly techno has a fast tempo to play
by and goes hand in hand with the
evil-sounding German speech which is
heard throughout the game.
OVERALL
Wonderous, imaginative graphics and an
innovative gameplay concept make
this a very solid shoot em up. A must
have for fans of the genre.
Score out of Five:
Basi
 Further Einhander resources:
Blazing
Lazers Einhander Mainframe
David's
Einhander Site
Shmups
Anime
Playstation: Einhander review
Einhander
FAQ (by Zach Keene)
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