"3D Classics: Xevious" Review

For Nintendo eShop

Pros:	Cons:
Fantastic use of 3D effects	Terrible audio and repeating music
Dual layered gameplay is fun	Obnoxious difficulty level is borderline crazy

     The second 3D Classics game doesn’t feature as great as gameplay as Excitebike did, but the 3D enhancement saves this game from being a total fail, and instead provides nice eye candy for 8-bit fans while providing ear aches for modern day crowds.

    The selling point for 3D Classics: Xevious is the brilliant 3D effects. The regular 2D graphics are pretty good for old NES games with the exception of the tiny near impossible to see bullets. The 3D however, creates a near holographic feel in which ships come out of the screen, and the area that you bomb remains inside the screen deep down. This amazing effect is honestly the only good thing about the game as everything else is fairly mediocre.

      The sound effects are not that great themselves, but the music in the game is absolutely awful. All it does is repeat the same atrocious theme over and over and I cannot stress how bad it really is. You’ve got to hear it to believe it.

     The gameplay itself is actually really fun and utilizes a revolutionary (at the time) dual-layered gameplay which fits the 3D well. Shooting ships is fun, and it is always satisfactory to bomb targets below. The only problem I had (which this is a massive problem) was the difficulty of the game: I never could pass the first level. I wish the difficulty wasn’t so high as it seems that bullets begin coming out of nowhere and hit me when I never expect it. Maybe this game gets better after the first stage, but thanks to the terrible difficulty levels I never had the chance to find out.

    The controls work as one might imagine: moving around the screen with the D-pad, shooting enemies, and bombing targets works well enough to be satisfactory, but there is always room for improvement. But the controls work well enough for an 8-bit shooter.

   I can see why Nintendo chose to give Xevious the 3D treatment: it looks beautiful in stereoscopic 3D, but the game itself really isn’t all that great. While I did give the game a 7.0, keep in mind that this is for the 3D version as the original would’ve likely received a 5.0-6.0 or so. So, if you’re not into playing the game in 3D, I definitely recommend avoiding this at all costs, and if you do like 3D then prepare to feast your eyes on a beautiful looking terrible game.

Graphics: 3D effect is unbelievably brilliant, 2D visuals are ok but bullets are hard to see     9.5

Audio: Terrible, awful repeating music and bad sound effects, yes, it really is that bad           2.0

Gameplay: Dual-layered gameplay is fun, but game is so difficult all the fun is sucked out    7.0

Controls: Moving around the screen, shooting enemies, and bombing works well enough   8.0

Overall: While the 3D is insanely awesome, the awful audio and difficult levels makes this only moderately playable  7.0