Just wanted to share my thoughts on this cool Saturn game
I haven't heard much about this game in years past, but whenever I did I heard nothing but pure raves for this little-known 3D action adventure title.
It will remind you a lot of Virtual On, Gundam, and even Burning Rangers.
Yes. It's BULK SLASH
I got this game from a friend last year but just recently played it. I know, for shame, but it just got lost in the to-play pile.
After playing it for a couple hours I came to one simple conclusion:
WHAT WAS I THINKING!?!
Bulk Slash is one of the coolest games on Saturn. If you love robots you'll love this. If you love Virtual On you'll love this. If you love quality games you'll love this.
There are 7 stages total, and to begin with you can start on stages 1, 2, or 3. Once all 3 missions are completed, you can pick from 4, 5, or 6. Beat those 3 and you come to the last level.
Each stage is a huge sprawling 3D world. The graphics are solid and very colorful, one guy said "It's very PCE-esque." Gameplay is sweet. You start off each mission on foot, B fires your standard blaster gun or chucks a bomb. C jumps. L and R are used to rotate the camera. You can hold B and press left or right to shoot and strafe... it becomes 2nd nature not before too long.
The cool part is when you press A. Here your robot transforms into a flying ship... and you have lock-on missiles and a standard blaster. So anytime you wish, you can run on foot blowing things up, or take to the skies and deliver a deadly aerial assault. Whatever suits you. Ace huh!
Lock loaded and ready to make someone have a baaad night!
Speaking of blowing up, man you do a lot of that. And thanks to the mission variety, you never get bored doing it. But before we get into that let's go back to the blowing up part. Futuristic stop lights, billboards, you can blow anything up except buildings. And enemies? They're scattered everywhere on the 3D landscape... firing missiles and lasers at you... it's quite a sight.
Like Virtual On, when you get up close your robot will deal out a lethal Light Saber-esque blow. Nothing is more satisfying than slicing a tank in two and watching the polygons crumble before you. *MAD LAUGHTER* AHAHAHAHA!
*ahem*
I love the feel and look of this game. It's just... really like nothing you've seen on Saturn before. Our robot hero appears to be about 20 feet tall... it's fun to manuever him across city buildings and whatnot. It's like you vs. the world in a very cool futuristic world.
whether on foot or flight, the action never ceases
Here are the missions:
Level 1- Standard day time city. Gets you used to controls and kinks. Your goal here is to dismantle 4 or 5 pods... once all targets are destroyed, look out for the spider-like boss.... he's HUGE!
Level 2- Wow. The first time I saw this I just dropped my jaw. Talk about atmosphere! Neon green lights ... look up and you'll see the moon even! Great details. Your goal here is to destroy 4 bases. Once you do that, prepare for one of the coolest bosses you will ever see... a HUGE HUGE butterfly robot with an extremely long tail. Remember the stage 1 boss from Thunder Force V? Here he is in a true 3D setting....
Level 3- Here is where the game makers decided to give Bulk Slash some variety. Instead of making each stage the ole "destroy a set of items then face boss" this is where stage 3 shows you how good the minds at HudsonSoft really were. A huge ship takes off to the (not-so) friendly skies, with a long energy bar, and it's up to you to protect it from the many enemy forces! If you do your job successfully, the ship will reach its destination and you'd have completed the primary mission. But wait! Here comes another big mutha of a boss.....
can you escort this bad boy to safety while fending off hordes of machinery?
Level 4- More variety ensues. Here you're in the vast darkness with blazing streaks of outer space. You must fly and transport 4 pods into a fixed base to fulfill your primary mission. (Think NiGHTS here). Then, try and defeat the Mothership boss....
*breathes, whew, this is a lot of good action, but we're not done yet!*
Level 5- This level screams BURNING RANGERS. Here it really emphasizes the platform part of Bulk Slash. You're indoors in some strange looking factory. Enemies litter the floors, you start on floor one and must find the key on each floor. You do this til you reach floor 5 where you face off with another mean nasty boss. Once you defeat him, he turns into a huge mechanical spidey creature. AH! No rest for the wicked! But cheer up, this is where the game introduces us to the baddest weapon of all -- the Bezier gun! Like the old Ghostbuster cartoon gun, it homes in and shoots a constant strong green stream of destruction!
the beautiful and most powerful Bezier gun in full effect
Level 6- A city in winter... snow is everywhere as are enemy tanks, ships and what have you. Your primary mission here is to destroy four HUGE and boss-like-tough AT-esque walkers. All in the snow... hmmmm.... I wonder where Hudsonsoft got the inspiration....
Man, they're hard! And if you can destroy the four boss-like death machines... you then face off with this bad boy...
holy shit!
-Level 7
???? Let's not spoil everything now shall we....
Overall Bulk Slash scores and scores high. An extremely enjoyable and playable blaster/shooter, it's got a bit of everything. When you're flying, it's true go-anywhere flying. No rails. You're weaving, ducking, dodging, jumping, strafing, shooting, locking in, all while bullets are screaming your way like there's no tomorrow.
Just like NiGHTS, the replay lies in scoring as many points as you can. If you liked NiGHTS but wished there was more action and overall a bigger OMPH, it's safe to say you'll like Bulk Slash. At first I was a little overwhelmed. But on my 2nd go I just got completely addicted to it. It's a beautiful game with classic gameplay in a "modern" look. Great details, great feel, great atmosphere. And the boss battles... they're very intense and epic. It's really satisfying to zap them and watch parts of them flash before finally you have destroyed another giant machine of destruction. Put this baby at the top of your wish list, folks. Bulk Slash is one hell of a game.
ahhhh, and just wait til you see how it is in motion with zero slowdown..
It's the 4th of July -- no! Just another day at the (Bulk Slash) office
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