Jamestown

 
Developer: Final Form Games
Steam Release: June 2011
Hours Played: 8.8 (Includes Jamestown+)
Similar To: Crimzon Clover / Dodonpachi Res... / Mushihimesama / RefleX / Space Moth
Rating: 5/5 Parsnips




*This is a review for the original Jamestown game.

GAMEPLAY
Jamestown is a bullet-hell vertical scroller done in the 16-bit style, old-school way. You select one of four ships before being thrown into the action as you travel up screen over a war-torn landscape and shoot enemies with your standard weapon. Depending on the ship, you're also equipped with a special weapon that can dish out more damage at the cost of a handicap. Both enemies and missiles come at you relentlessly as you figure out where the safe spots are. Destroyed enemies drop golden nuts and bolts which you collect to fill up your vaunt meter. When activated this forms a barrier making you invincible for a short time. Each stage lasts about 5 minutes (unless you're tackling Gauntlet) and ends after dispatching a tricky boss. You get 3 credits (or nine ships) to get the job done.


BALANCE & PACE
It's all about survival while amassing the best score possible which you'll do by sussing out patterns of behaviour in the enemies (and their missiles) and then using this knowledge against them. There are just five stages (plus Gauntlet) and this is all you get. However, once you tinker with each of the ships’ special weapons and understand what works well, doors start to open. You can then figure out your survival strategy, add in some trial and error and work your way up to that all-important best score. The four main difficulty settings for each stage unlock as you succeed with the preceding one; Normal and Difficult are reasonable while Legendary and Divine will present a suitable challenge. Judgement is for the hardcore.

 

PRESENTATION & DESIGN
Jamestown is old-school in almost every way right down to the 16-bit retro-style graphics. Those brought up on Triple As will probably find the hub to be scrappy and untidy. Still, the main part of the game offers a great deal of variety with explosions giving great satisfaction. Sound-effects are subtle and quiet while the music, although bland during gameplay, is sombre and grand at the title page which creates a suitably moody atmosphere. Finally, the high-score storage system is a little fiddly. You upload your score at the end of a stage (whether you’ve hit your high-score or not), go back to the main menu, click the Leaderboard menu then wait for a load-screen to view your one best high-score for each stage – making play-throughs on other difficulty settings rather pointless.
 

PROGRESS SYSTEM
On selecting one of six areas on the map, you first select one of four unlocked difficulty settings, namely: Normal, Difficult, Legendary and Divine. (Judgement comes later.) You then select a ship and dive in. You record a high-score and are given a world ranking for that stage. Progress comes in the form of building up your skills and slowly battling your way up the ladder. Gauntlet mode is where you attempt to play your way through all stages continuously. You view your score from the Leaderboard which is available from the title-screen. From the title-screen you also have a Shoppe to unlock those special attacks which occurs very swiftly as you play. Finally, ridiculously difficult  Bonus Levels can be unlocked from the title screen as well but unless you’re really hardcore or want a brutal beating I think it best to steer clear from these anyway.  
 

CONCLUSION
With notable contenders like Crimzon Clover World Ignition and Danmaku Unlimited 2, not to mention the eXceed, Gundemonium and Raiden series, this side-scroller has many reputable competitors. However, where games like Raiden III’s retro graphics limit enjoyment, Jamestown’s adds to its character, where the eXceed’s series is inconsistent, Jamestown’s tight and responsive controls are spot-on... and where the Gundemonium series overcomplicates things, Jamestown keeps it simple. Apart from the story encroaching and getting in the way of blasting and shooting, the only stand-out area for improvement, in my opinion, would be in showing high-scores for each stage on all difficulty settings. This, although probably a nit-pick among all its good points, would just give the game a wider scope for the high-score hounds.