Space Giraffe - Review

Space Giraffe, PC - £13.45
Space Giraffe, XBLA - 400 MS Points

Review by LewieP



The closest I can come to flat out recommending Space Giraffe is saying "I would feel like an idiot if I didn't flat out recommend Space Giraffe".

I could break it down it to its component parts and say which bits are nice, and which bits aren't nice, but that would probably be missing the point. It, like pretty much any other game, is just a collection of graphics, sounds, and gameplay mechanics. It's hard for me to give any kind of definitive answer as to whether it works well or not, but it certainly works for me, and at the very least you should be open minded towards it.

Space Giraffe is a psychedelic, light-synth looking game about moving and shooting.

On the surface, it might as well be called Tempest 4000. The controls are similar to the tempest games, and the levels are presented in a very similar fashion, and the graphics are exactly what you would expect from a Llamasoft game.

However, if you are willing to look beyond these superficial similarities to previous games, you'll find a deep, rewarding, utter bastard of a game.

Stuart Campbell did a far better job of dissecting the gameplay mechanics and scoring system of Space Giraffe than I could ever do, as does Jeff himself. The most important new mechanic present in the game for me is the bull attack. There is a horizontal line visible on the level, and it's distance into the screen represents how full your "Power Zone" is. As long as it is not empty, you can bash enemies that have reached the top of the level. You will also get a massive multiplier for doing this. Your Power Zone is constantly draining, but it gets topped up by shooting enemies.

What this does, for me, is remove a lot of the feeling of fragility that was present in Tempest 2000. Now, when enemies reach the top of the level, I don't feel helpless, I see opportunity. It is risk/reward gameplay at it's finest.

There are a bunch of similar interesting mechanics all going on at once.

It is a great looking game. Yes, lots of people say "I can't even see what's happening", but you just need to look with better eyes. There is a lot of visual information you have to decipher, and there will be some doubt as to what exactly is going on at any given time, but that is simply part of the fun.

Fun.

Yes fun. Fun is one of the things that happens whilst playing Space Giraffe. You will have fun.

Unlike many other games though, it will make you work bloody hard for it. You basically have to concentrate all of the time. You will have deaths that you don't even feel are your fault. You might get angry with it, uninstall it and vow to never play it again. Then you will redownload it, and get a new high score.

It tells you that you are rubbish, it tell you that you are not really good enough to be playing it, and it is probably right at first.

But then you, even if just for a few moments, you'll do well. The brilliant (free download) soundtrack will step up a notch, lots of bright lights will go off, and you will be king of the world.

Jeff Minter has been making games for a long time, and has gotten pretty damn good at it. What he is not as good as, it seems, is marketing. Space Giraffe was not a commercial success, which really doesn't surprise me.

There is a demo, but I am going to suggest you don't play the demo. I downloaded the 360 demo, played it, didn't quite get it, then deleted it. Then downloaded it again, didn't quite get it, then deleted it. I went through this process several times before I got the full version on the PC. It's not an expensive game, the XBLA version is 400 MS Points (or two horse armours) you can get it on the PC for £13.45. If you are at all interested in it, get it, and play it for an hour before formulating any opinion on it.

I'm sorry for wasting your money if you buy it on my recommendation and don't like it at all. Hopefully you will.