The Red Star
What's it all about?
You may have heard of this one before. In fact, you probably heard about it quite some time ago. The Red Star, an action/shooter based on a comic and styled on the arcade classics of yore, was to be published in 2004 by Acclaim. The company's death, however, effectively stopped that. Thankfully, The Red Star has finally been rescued from publishing limbo thanks to Take-Two and it's every bit as awesome as it was when we last saw it.
What's the big deal?
Do you like shooting things? Do you derive satisfaction from blowing stuff up? Do you get a kick out of fast-paced action gameplay? If you answered yes to all of these questions, odds are that you'll enjoy The Red Star. The game combines the best elements of old-school shooting games and all-out brawlers into a solid package. It also offers lots of variety: there are both classic side-scrolling and overhead-view stages, along with a few other interesting presentation angles we won't spoil for you. Plus, you can bring along a second player for even more destruction, chaos and good times.
How does it stack up?
A mediocre PS3 or 360 game will set you back about 60 bucks. A couple of Virtual Console downloads for games you probably already own can cost around $30 total. Meanwhile, The Red Star will retail for a mere $20. Considering the game's quality, that's one helluva deal.
