Lords of Thunder (MCD, 1995)
Graphics-8.5 Sound-8 Control-7.5 Challenge-7
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-7 Fun-8 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-8
+
Varied and intense action
shop for equipment (armor, weapon power, elemental power, smart bombs, lives and credits)
four different elemental suits to choose from before stages
choose your own path between levels (throughout the entire game!)
well made metal/fantasy aesthetics
difficulty options, different soundtrack (better produced), good bosses overall, smooth difficulty curve, you control a flying warrior instead of a ship which besides shooting can also attack in melee (sword slash), narrated cutscenes with some limited animation, lots of different enemies, animated cutscenes (very choppy animation though)
+/-
Normal mode plays like an easy mode in your regular shooter
very easy to afford the best equipment for each level,
-
Some slowdown
some trial & error (a few cheap hits, your ship moves too slow to dodge some projectiles and enemies)
some backgrounds and sprites aren't as lush as in the PCE CD version (fewer colors though the MD is capable)
hard to tell if you're damaging some enemies (they don't flash like in the PCE CD version)
having to choose a suit and stick with it for the entire level isn't very flexible
some annoying sound effects, final boss is a pushover on normal (default) difficulty, lacks some sound effects heard in the PCE CD version (though I personally prefer the MD sounds)
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-7 Fun-8 Originality-6.5
Overall Score-8
+
Varied and intense action
shop for equipment (armor, weapon power, elemental power, smart bombs, lives and credits)
four different elemental suits to choose from before stages
choose your own path between levels (throughout the entire game!)
well made metal/fantasy aesthetics
difficulty options, different soundtrack (better produced), good bosses overall, smooth difficulty curve, you control a flying warrior instead of a ship which besides shooting can also attack in melee (sword slash), narrated cutscenes with some limited animation, lots of different enemies, animated cutscenes (very choppy animation though)
+/-
Normal mode plays like an easy mode in your regular shooter
very easy to afford the best equipment for each level,
-
Some slowdown
some trial & error (a few cheap hits, your ship moves too slow to dodge some projectiles and enemies)
some backgrounds and sprites aren't as lush as in the PCE CD version (fewer colors though the MD is capable)
hard to tell if you're damaging some enemies (they don't flash like in the PCE CD version)
having to choose a suit and stick with it for the entire level isn't very flexible
some annoying sound effects, final boss is a pushover on normal (default) difficulty, lacks some sound effects heard in the PCE CD version (though I personally prefer the MD sounds)
