A solid and enjoyable 2D shooter, it's also one of Squares best obscure games.
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It’s the year 2245; you play as a volunteer pilot in the army from the Moon city Selene. Selene and the Earth are at war, and it is at a stalemate, so Selene sends one manned fighters nicknamed “Einhanders” on suicide missions to strike at Earth. These highly advanced and downright awesome vehicles are very powerful and have some unique abilities. The pilot is anonymous and little is known about him/her. Overall the plot is really great for a shooter.
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There are 3 types of Einhanders to choose from unlike in most 2D shooters where you can not pick your ride. There are also 2 more un-lockable ones. Each Einhander in some way represents the difficulty of the game, although the difficulty is chosen, the game is hard even on easy. One model called the Endymion FRS Mk. III is like the easy mode and the best choice for beginners. The other 2 are a mixed bag, one called the Astraea FGA Mk. I, it can be deadly or cumbersome and the Endymion FRS Mk. II, which is the one most well suited for experienced players. In Einhander you can take one hit and then you’re dead. There are continue points and a save function that lessen the difficulty ever so slightly, but Einhander is a real challenge, but it does not feel cheap or annoying, if you fail it is your fault.
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Einhander has a very original weapon system. Every one of the 3 types of Einhanders comes with an automatic machine gun; this is pretty standard and can take out most regular enemies. Enemies use weapons as well, but some use special weapons called gunpods. These are essentially weapons that enemies drop. Now enemies are unique themselves as well. Firstly, most enemies compose of an armored shell, core and engine. The armor protects the core, if the core is destroyed the enemy goes into a state of inactivity and is paralyzed in a way, it flashes and lighting crawls around it. During this time you can go right through the enemy without getting damaged, and the gunpod on the enemy will be flashing as well and the name of it will appear, you are now able to collect it. But if you destroy the engine of an enemy, the resulting explosion will usually destroy the gunpod with it, so taking gunpods from enemies is a risky and tricky at times, but has many benefits. Not all enemies have an armor shell, core and engine parts though, some are smaller and simpler while others may have multiple cores and many layers of armor.
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Each Einhander has a manipulator arm; this appendage is the most important function on the ship. It can be used as a shield to deflect shots coming below you, it can also be used as a last ditch close quarters weapon when you don’t have any gunpod equipped and it is used to control your gunpods. Einhanders have a top and bottom section, the bottom section being the claw on the manipulator arm, can hold a gunpod in the claw, where as the top part is the area between the wings. For both Endymion models you can use only one gunpod at a time, so the standard machine gun is available as well, Astraea will be explained later. You can switch the position of the gunpod from the top and bottom positions, and each gunpods fires differently depending on the position, some shoot backwards and some have different arcs. This way when using any Einhander you always have 2 attacks, for the Endymions one is the gunpod the other the standard machine gun. However Endymion Mk. III can only hold a single gunpod, but it has a stronger standard machine gun, the Endymion Mk. II has the standard machine gun but can hold 3 gunpods. Endymion Mk. II can only have 1 gunpod equipped at time though; the other 2 are stored away and can be switched with the currently equipped one at a button press.
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Astaea is very unique, it can hold only 2 gunpods at a time, but both are equipped at all times. This may sound like a good thing, but because certain gunpods have different firing properties depending on the position it can be difficult to use your weapons effectively. Also the standard machine gun is not usable when you have 2 gunpods equipped so if you have a gunpod that shoots backwards and one that has limited range, then you can find yourself in some tight spots. But if you learn the ups and downs of each gunpod and maximize their strengths, the Astraea can be the best Einhander. This model is for the pros or people looking for a unique way to play. Sticking with the Endymion Mk. III until you get the ropes and then using the Endymion Mk. II is the better and less confusing way to play. -
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Another cool and innovative function is the ability to change your speed at will. Each model has 4 levels of speed that can be toggled through 1 by 1, so you can switch from full speed to snail pace at will. This may not sound that important, but with projectiles with varying velocities coming at you and the importance to protect your gunpods and manipulator arm, having perfect control of your craft is important. The D-pad controls the Einhander smoothly already and the bonus of speed switching is a welcome addition.
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The gunpods are very different and varied, each one has it is own strengths and weaknesses but some are flat out better than others. Learning each individual gunpod is important, as being stuck with a high explosive one with 3 shots left and a close range laser sword right before a boss, pretty much guarantees a trip back to the next continue point. Then if you have a weak heavy machine gun in a fight against a group of heavily armored enemies or a sluggish electric chargeable pulse launcher against huge swarms of smaller kamikaze ships, then you will probably be set back a life. Gunpods are made even more significant as they are the only power-up in Einhander and the strength of them cannot be upgraded, except for the ammo. Unlike most 2D shooters where extra ships, shields, mini allies and screen clearing super bombs come to assist you, Einhander only gives you gunpods that usually need to be taken from your enemies first, and don’t forget they also have limited ammunition.
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Even though gunpods have limited ammunition, by collecting the same gunpod that you are currently using, it will add to your stores of ammo. But when a weapon runs out it is discarded. Keep in mind though that when using a gunpod and collecting a different one, it will replace the one you are using with the one you just got, but not if you’re using the Endymion Mk. II, the gunpod you collect will be stored in an open slot. Gunpods also can be destroyed, while they are floating around the screen, on your vehicle or flashing on a paralyzed enemy they can take damage and explode. The manipulator arm can be destroyed as well, if it gets hit too much it will be destroyed.
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Square went the extra mile in the production values. The game looks amazing, it has a great futuristic gritty look and your Einhanders design is so fantastic that you can’t help just marveling at it, even after playing for a long time. It is also polygonal and doesn’t use sprites unlike in most 2D games. The special effects and weapons look great as well; the explosions are especially eye popping. Plus it runs at a constant smooth framerate. There are neat uses of foreground, background as well, some enemies switch their perspective and zoom form the background to the front of the screen, also a neat thing is that the Wasp gunpod, which shoots homing rockets, will attack enemies in the background or foreground. Camera positioning/panning sometimes permits a cinematic view or it zooms out to view a large enemy. There are several fantastic cutscenes as well, with some very slick CG. Like most flying 2D shooters the soundtrack is kind of subtle and minimalist and is mostly an electronic style. But there are some snatches of voice acting which sounds great and the weapons and explosions have a satisfying resonance.
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Einhander could be considered some weird German, Greek and Judeo-Christian Biblical cultural melting pot. Some locales and bosses have German or Greek names and the names of Earth cities are named after Biblical cities. Also the voice acting, mainly taunts and jibes from bosses are in German and when you first hear them you will dismiss them, because you will be too amazed by the awesome hulking behemoths and their superb design.
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There are a few bonuses as well in Einhander; as mentioned earlier there are 2 un-lockable ships, plus there is a gallery where you can look at concept art. Unfortunately Einhander has no multiplayer mode, but this way there will be no disputes over who gets which gunpods. Also there are some secret gunpods as well; these can be obtained at certain points in the game. These secrets help flesh out the games length, but Einhander is a short game like most 2D shooters, but the fine tuned game-play and details crammed on the disc will keep you coming back to replay it.
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Einhander also let’s you choose your starting weapon when you start a new game, however certain requirements must be met before you can do this. There is also an options menu only available at the main screen where you can change various settings. Einhander has a nifty scoring calculating device as well, as you rack up kills a score multiplier increases, it hits the max at 20 and goes down when you’re not killing stuff. -
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The game may seem daunting as first and there are a lot of concepts and mechanics to let sink in, but Einhanders complexity is one of its best traits. When playing it requires balance, gunpod management, reflex dexterity and some luck. It’s a great balance between twitch based non-stop action and methodical tactical maneuvering. 2D shooter fans can rejoice, but don’t expect to be able to jump right into it though, it takes some time to learn the ropes. Everyone else should give an Einhander a test drive though, it’s a smooth ride.
Pros:
- Awesome game-play.
- Audio and visuals are great.
- Gunpod/manipulator arm system is innovative and cool.
- There is a gunpod called “hedgehog” which also happens to be a good weapon.
Cons:
- Too short.
- Sort of geared towards pre-existing hardcore shooter fans, new gamers may be put off by it.
- No multiplayer.
Traditional 5 step scoring.
Gameplay – 9
Graphics – 9
Sound – 8
Value – 8
Tilt – 9
Average – 8.7 – 9