Review: Galactic Attack / Layer Section / Ray Force / Gunlock

It's a game of many names and as usual the worst is the North American release title, "Galactic Attack".

Read the wiki article on why this game has so many names.

However, a rose by any other name smells just as sweet and an excellent shooter will remain an excellent shooter despite it's crappy North America release name!

And Galactic Attack IS a great shooter.

Awesome looking 2D sprites. Lots of different enemies. AWESOME bosses. Responsive Controls.

(for the most part, some people have complained about the controls being a bit slow, but I thought they were fine- then again I do have the analog controller. But I did use the regular controller on this game as well)

A couple of interesting things about this game.

#1- This game has two layers of action. The level you are on and a ground level below you where you can see enemies approach. (i.e. the Layer Section game name) As it's SHUMP "gimmick" you have a targeting scope for a secondary weapon that can "lock on" to enemies in the distance BELOW you. You can blow the crap out of these enemies with guided missiles. This will destroy them before they have a chance to get to your level and blast you. However you still have to deal with enemies on the same level as you.

This is where the bulk of the gameplay comes in. Do I take down that annoying mech that is shooting at me now or do I concentrate some guiding fire on that squad of flyers that are on the lower level? If you focus too much on taking out the Mech you might miss some of the fighters and be overwhelmed when they come up to your level. Concentrate on taking out all the fighters on the lower level and the Mech enemy will get a shot in. It's sometimes possible keep track of both levels, but that is what makes this game FUN.

#2- With the left trigger you can turn off all HUDs and have a nice clean screen. You can also turn your TV on it's side to play the game. (Be careful doing this as some models of TV can be damaged easily, ONLY do this if you have an older TV that you want to play SH'UMPS on). I have not tried it but I think you can also adjust your controller for side-play.

Bottom line:

If you are a hard core Sh'umps player and you have a Saturn YOU SHOULD HAVE THIS GAME.

If you like shooters and 2D sprites you might very well enjoy this game.

If you don't play many shooters the unique way you play the two layers in the game might appeal to you anyways.

I would pay $10 for a good copy. $7 for a decent copy. $5 for no case no manual.

8/10

More reviews.

Linked from Racketboys site:
Bottom of the list.

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~bevhome/rayforcerev.htm

http://ukresistance.co.uk/saturn/attack.htm

http://members.aol.com/aovg/reviews_gattack.html