Gradius Deluxe Pack is a video game set that includes Gradius I and Gradius II arcade shooter video games. The set includes an opening sequence that was created using computer generated imagery. You might know this game under a different name, as Gradius was known to the North American and European gaming community as Nemesis.
The game’s story is this: the planet Gradius is being attacked by Bacterians and it’s your job to save the planet. You control a state-of-the-art fighter ship called the Vic Viper.
Gradius Deluxe Pack is a video game set that includes Gradius I and Gradius II arcade shooter video games. The set includes an opening sequence that was created using computer generated imagery. You might know this game under a different name, as Gradius was known to the North American and European gaming community as Nemesis.
The game’s story is this: the planet Gradius is being attacked by Bacterians and it’s your job to save the planet. You control a state-of-the-art fighter ship called the Vic Viper. You have to destroy the waves of Bacterian enemies that come toward you. And this isn’t as easy as it seems. You are bombarded with so many enemies at times you aren’t sure if you can make it. And there are different
enemies on each level—of which there are over a dozen levels in each of these games.
After you destroy those swarms of enemies, you have a giant craft that you have to destroy in each level. They have one or more cores that you aim for. The craft is designed so that there is a straight passage from the outside of the craft directly to a core. You must fire into this passage to blast away the walls that lead to the core. Eventually with enough shots, you will destroy these walls and allow you to directly shoot the core. But some crafts can regenerate these walls, making this task difficult. Once a core has received enough hits, it changes from blue to red, showing that it is in critical condition and just a few more shots will completely destroy it. There are many environments in which you have to fight off your enemies. And that last enemy is a whopper.
The Vic Viper starts off with a weak gun, but you can upgrade as you go along. As you progress through the game you collect powerups—and you better collect them as they can mean your survival. The powerups can give you extra speed, special weapons, and defensive items such as shields. Gradius has a weapon selection bar called the Power Meter. You collect capsules to fill up this meter so you can purchase extra weapons. This game popularized this feature.
Gradius II is very similar to the original. The Bacterians are back to destroy Gradius again, but under a new leadership with more powerful forces. In some levels you only have the crafts to fight—no hoards of small enemies to zap. You also have four different weapon configurations to choose from along with other new weapon options. There are now two types of protection: the regular shield and now forcefield.
If you like other shooter games such as Asteroids, and would like to see why Gradius is considered to be one of the great classic shooter games, this should prove to be a worthwhile download.
