Return To Home Page		January 27, 2004

Release Date	Publisher	Developer	Anticipation	Players	Price
2/11/2004	Atari	Konami		1-2	$99.95

Ahhh. Side scrolling shooters...

Gradius. Without a doubt the series is one of the all time greats. In an age when side-scrolling shooters are a distant memory it's great to see that Konami are trying to breathe new life into the series with some fantastic visuals and improved gameplay. The first Gradius game was released way back in 1985 in the arcades but since then the game has appeared on the MSX, PC88, Famicom (NES), Gameboy, Super Famicom (SNES), PC Engine, Sega Saturn, Sony Playstation, and Playstation 2 (as well as a couple of other more obscure systems). The amount of buzz surrounding this new release is understandable looking at the series' long and successful history.

Pick Mars...

Being developed at Konami TYO (previously KCET - developers of a little game series called Silent Hill) this is the same developer that worked on Gradius Gaiden and Gradius IV - both very solid titles in the series. Sadly, Very little is known about the actual gameplay in Gradius V. The game retains the 2D side scrolling style of the originals - although Konami have stated the controls will be configured considerbly.

Easily the best looking game.

Konami have promised 7 stages which, by looking at the screen shots released to date, should be simply stunning and quite varied. The game will also include 12 upgrade options for Vic Viper - the main ship which you control in the series. These upgrades includes a variety of weapons including lasers and bombs. These weapons can be combined with the all new option bomb and option stock - don't ask! What is also certain is the promose of 2-player simultaneous gameplay which should provide some very intense, and fun, gameplay.

Now that's an explosion.

This fifth game in the series was announced way back in January 2003 at Konami's Gamers Day Conference in America. That was over a year ago now, but as the surrounding screenshots demonstrate this game is progressing very well indeed. Originally Konami were aiming for a release in late 2003 in America, but at the 2004 Konami Gamers Day Conference they announced Gradius V will be released late in the America Summer 2004 (our Winter). The PAL release is scheduled for October 2004 through Atari, and for fans of classic shoot 'em up gameplay this game should be fantastic.