Eclipse Games’ twin-stick shooter imitates the classics, but manages to bring some fun ideas of its own to the table to make a worthwhile experience.
| Developer | Eclipse Games |
| Publisher |
Eclipse Games; eastasiasoft
|
| Franchise | N/A |
| Genre | |
| PSTV | No |
| Physical English |
Yes – AS only (Eastasiasoft)
|
World-building & Story
Set in the underground world of hacking, Tachyon Project follows a self-aware AI program named ‘Ada’ created by two hackers who, after being unleashed into the world, discovers her creators have been kidnapped and goes about attempting to find their whereabouts through breaking in to the security systems of a number of organisations.
It’s quite rare for a twin-stick shooter like this to have any kind of story and as such it’s interesting to follow the twists and turns this title has to offer. You’re introduced to the masterminds behind Ada – Helen and Halt – who quickly get raided by a masked organization and the game then follows Ada’s thought process as she attempts to hunt them down. There’s nothing mind-blowingly new or unique here, but it’s a decent idea that is handled fairly well.
The main problem Tachyon Project faces is in its pacing. The campaign is fairly brief – as soon as you’re introduced to Helen and Halt they’re whisked away and you’re given the loose narrative thread of “save them”; with some large leaps of logic between one level to the next. Although you’re given a reason for your actions before each mission, there’s no real exploration of the personalities of the people you’re trying to save making the plot a little lifeless. As such, it feels like the story is somewhat of an afterthought – something that needed to be fleshed out further but acted as a decent framing device. It’s completely inoffensive, but could have been better.
Atmospherically, the game opts for a grim cyberpunk feel – not dissimilar to contemporaries such as Neon Chrome but with some nice ideas of its own. It’s a dark, gritty world that’s represented here; although the computer programs you’ll be hacking are designed to be brighter and more science-fiction-y. World-building is one of the title’s high points – even though it’s standard cyberpunk fare, it’s still an interesting place to explore.
Presentation & Sound
Running with its hacking theme, everything in Tachyon Project is designed to invoke this feeling – from the menus to the missions – making an enjoyably cohesive project to look at.
The bulk of your time will be spent hacking which takes the form of a twin-stick shooter (not dissimilar to Bentley’s Hackpack) on a two-dimensional grid. You control a little indistinct c-shaped ship who can fire a variety of weapons at the various obstacles the game throws at you. Like many titles in the genre graphics are mostly sharp – ships are cleanly drawn and the screen lights up with firepower and explosions at times making it very enjoyable to look at.
One of Tachyon Project’s strengths is in its enemy variety – you’ll come across a range of foes each with unique movement patterns and many have interesting designs. Whether it be little squid-shaped ships that fly erratically around to much larger shield enemies, each looks different and (most importantly) is colour-coded, leading to quite a vibrant looking title as they swarm the screen.
What lets the game down in the presentation department is the environments. Each looks nearly exactly the same – a square mesh grid with little in the way of unique features aside from some minor lighting changes. They’re not as brightly designed as the objects inhabiting them nor do they really evolve as you progress, making them feel a little sterile over time. It’s not a deal-breaker, but is rather disappointing considering other aspects of the title’s graphics.
Everything else is pretty great – for example the menus feature a unique, pulsing design that reminded me of the PS1-era WipEout games with their incredible Designer Republic-penned screens; while being fun to navigate around thanks to some smart button choices. The story is told through some nicely stylish static portraits that do feel a little samey after a while, but do manage to effectively convey the plot that’s happening at the same time.
The biggest flaw with regards to presentation is performance. There’s nothing majorly wrong here – for the most part things run extremely smoothly despite the plethora of things happening on screen allowing for an very enjoyable time. Unfortunately, things like a lengthy initial load and some slight stuttering between waves of enemies are just enough to be noticeable – particularly when music distorts due to a major foe being dispatched. It’s a small blemish, but there all the same.
Speaking of music – sound on the whole is superb. There’s no voice acting (although it’s not really needed) while the electric bleeps and pew-pew of laser fire fits right in with the action happening on screen. Music is undoubtedly the high point, though – the game opts for a standard-for-the-genre electronic soundtrack but some of songs on it are absolutely top notch, surpassing even the highs of something like Super Stardust Delta (which is no mean feat)
Gameplay & Content
By all measures Tachyon Project plays things incredibly safe in the gameplay department, opting for tried-and-true twin-stick shooter mechanics throughout. With that said, it’s an incredibly well-made and polished experience and does manage to bring a few unique ideas of its own to the table.
Most levels play out in the same manner – you control a ship which moves with one analogue stick and fires with the other while you have two special weapons mapped to the shoulder buttons. You’ll face numerous waves of enemies within each level and each one comes with a specific challenge – take down x number of y foe; survive for z seconds etc. Rather than having lives, your progression is measured by time – kill foes to increase it; get hit by them to decrease it. Everything is incredibly easy to pick up and get used to, particularly if you’ve played any previous games in the genre.
Enemy variety is undoubtedly one of the title’s strongest points, as you’ll face a range of foes who are slowly introduced throughout the campaign. They’re all relatively unique too – some will swarm you; some will move erratically and are difficulty to dodge; some will charge straight at you etc. The game has fun experimenting with different combinations of these later on, which can make things enjoyably challenging.
Aside from enemy variety, another thing that Tachyon Project excels at is providing slightly different challenges on each level making it always feel fresh. While you’re often asked to do standard things such as defeat a set number of enemies, the game shakes things up by occasionally throwing in a survival or escape task. This variety is best demonstrated in ‘spotlight’ levels – where enemies swarm towards the light source which will always be the last place you fired from; allowing some stealthy movement through the shadows if played right. These levels are undoubtedly the game’s best, as they require careful thinking between the advantages and disadvantages of attacking.
You’ll be given a variety of weapons to assist with taking down foes, ranging from wide-spread shotguns to thin-firing lasers and it’s enjoyable to experiment with each of these to figure which fits your playstyle. In addition, you’ll be able to unlock various perks and special weapons through completing score challenges which can help you get out of a pickle, but also encourage repeated playthroughs in order to unlock them. It’s a neat system that has that ‘just one more go’ appeal to it.
Speaking of replayability, Tachyon Project features a number of different modes to encourage you to keep coming back. After you finish the story a ‘Story Mode+’ is unlocked with additional difficulty; while challenge modes ranging from endless survival to a one-hit mode exist for you to keep testing your skills. There’s plenty to keep you going here, although it’s a shame that the story itself is such a brief experience.
The additions above and beyond the core gameplay is what makes Tachyon Project stand out – it has some neat ideas that are well-implemented here. Combined with a solid base, it makes a twin-stick shooter that’s well worth checking out in a rather crowded genre on Vita.
Conclusion
Thanks to a solid foundation of twin-stick shooter mechanics with some neat extra bells and whistles added, Tachyon Project manages to stand out as an easy recommendation on Vita despite some stiff competition from genre heavyweights. Some issues with storytelling; backgrounds and performance problems cause minor niggles, but the overall experience is polished and enjoyable enough to shine through any flaws.
7.0/10
kresnik258gaming 