The anchor system makes it a fun experience, but it needs more substance.
The basic premise is choosing one of the game's two heroines-- Exelica or Crueltear-- and defeating the Ver'mith army. You know, the same "one ship against the odds" story. The game is a vertical "bullet hell" shoot-'em'up game, and you will see enemy fire flood the screen. The key to mastering Triggerheart Exelica is the "anchor shot". You can launch an anchor at the enemies and do to them as you see fit, like using them as a projectile or to clear away enemy fire. The game also introduces a "Variable Boss Attack System", and basically, the more yellow score items you collect, the more phases the boss at the end has. And of course, you have your standard "smart bomb" that clears all enemies off the screen.
The anchor shot system is very fun to play with once you get the hang of it, as you can amass a greater score and get a shot at meeting the game's main recurring enemy, Faintear.
The graphics in this game are nice to look at as the game takes you through its stages, though not the Xbox's full potential. The music has been redone from the arcade game and sounds great as well.
However, Triggerheart Exelica does have a few flaws. For one, it is very short, and is somewhat lacking. The game feels like a straight-foward port from the arcade game; there's hardly any story in between.The Live Arcade version also doesn't include the arrange and story mode found in its Dreamcast port.
Overall, Triggerheart Exelica is great, but far from perfect. Being a bullet hell game, it isn't for everyone, but hardcore shmup fans might want to check this game out, or at least try the trial game. It's fun and fast, but somewhat lacking.