TGS 2005: Trizeal Hands-On

TOKYO--Trizeal is one of many shooters on display in Sega's TGS booth this year, and like some of the other games there, it's based on an arcade shooter that, until now, has found its way home only on the Dreamcast. The game is a top-down 2D shooter that throws buckets of enemies and bullets at you to see if you can stay alive. There's a plot somewhere in there too, but the bottom line is you want to shoot anything that moves and avoid being destroyed.

The gameplay in Trizeal is standard as shooters go. You'll want to destroy everything, collecting power-ups and point bonuses along the way. Your ship will have an assortment of weapons that you can toggle between--standard rapid-fire shots, dual lasers, and missiles--and that you can power up by collecting power-ups from certain enemies. The pacing starts fast and works its way up to brutal as you progress, so if you're rusty at shooters, you'll want to brush up on your skills, as the game won't hold your hand for long.

The game's presentation is an uneven mix of good and bad. The visuals in the game are the weakest part of the package--they tend to be pretty pixelated. It's been a while since we played the arcade and Dreamcast games, but we don't remember them being quite so ugly. However, ugly or not, the game throws a ton of action on the screen and manages to do so without slowdown, even in its incomplete state. The music in the game fares better, thanks to a pretty classic approach for its soundtrack. The tunes rely on a solid assortment of tracks that fit the action well.

Of the various shooters we've seen at the Tokyo Game Show, Trizeal certainly isn't the prettiest. However, despite its pixelated look, the gameplay is sound and is certainly fun. If you're looking to import a fast-paced shooter, you might want to consider Trizeal, if you can get over the visuals.