
	Platform Genesis Genre Shooter Developer Telenet Japan Co. / Renovation Products Publisher Sega Year released 1990
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Gaiares

The story’s not important. The year is sometime after 3008 and Earth is a wasteland of toxic waste. A young idealist dreams of a green Earth, but standing in her way is a group of terrorists, known as the Gulfers, who use Earth’s toxic waste to manufacture weapons. As usual, it’s a lone ship against an armada of assorted bad guys.

gaiares,sega genesis

The one aspect of this game that distinguishes it from other space shooters is the TOZ system. The TOZ system takes on the form of a "little buddy" that floats near your fighter. The TOZ has many uses, the main one is that it leeches power out of targeted enemies. You start with a piddly vulcan gun but by using the TOZ to grab onto enemies to power-up and upgrade your weapons you’ll be kicking ass quick enough. There is a good variety of weapons, too. Speed can’t be upgraded but there are three speed modes that come in handy depending on the situation.

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The action is fast and furious and occasionally you’ll blow up and you won’t know exactly why. There is so much happening on the screen that it’s easy to lose track of where you are. All the graphics are good, especially the backgrounds and blackholes. Blackholes pull your shots off course and pull you toward their impacting center. It’s a tense situation when you’re fighting the pull of a blackhole while trying to blast enemies into

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dust! Most of the levels are well designed. Apart from the constant left to right movement there are a few instances where it’s possible to move down or up, which allows you to pick your path to some extent. The enemies are varied and offer a solid challenge. The real frustration sets in when boss characters are encountered. Most of them are incredibly hard. Some are a cakewalk if you have the right weapon, but if you have a weak weapon you can spend up to ten minutes fighting a boss. This is assuming you don’t get killed every seven seconds. Fortunately, there is a shield power-up that will extend your life span. Some of the bosses fire weapons that can’t be avoided. If you don’t have a shield, good luck. The second to last level is the most frustrating. You’ve got to face off against the bosses consecutively. (There aren’t nearly enough continues for a novice gamer to finish this one.)

Sound and music is slightly above average for the Genesis.

Good for some mindless fun, but the bosses found on the later levels will drive away all but the most ardent gamer.

- Omni