Game:

Tyrian (1995)

Duration: 5:33

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13

If you want to find details or download the game, go here :
http://members.iinet.net.au/~vannevar/tyrian/downloads.html

If you want to learn the special codes essential to survive Engage Mode, go here :
http://members.iinet.net.au/~vannevar/tyrian/codes.html

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I plan to upload an entire Engage Mode playthrough of Tyrian.

*Note that the first episode is generally in Low Detail. This level was on Normal, so that the light cone appears, but as a consequence it lags. For some reason my computer suddenly decided, after Episode 1, that it can play in higher Detail.*

Tyrian is, as you can see, a vertical scrolling shooter game. This is actually Tyrian 2000, a free re-release of the original game, with extra stuff.

The difficulty levels of the game are absurd in that there are many of them. There's "Easy", "Normal", "Hard"... "Impossible", "Suicide", "Lord of Game".
Also, depending on what type of game you play, the High Score Table shows OTHER difficulties : "Unranked", "Maniacal", "Zinglon", "Terror", "Master".

And FINALLY, There's the "Engage" mode. It's basically the "Lord of Game" difficulty (the hardest), with SEVERE limitations on what you can use. You can't buy or find weapons. Instead, you're restricted to a mediocre one, although your ship can "make" some out of a limited number.

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Trent Hawkins, ace pilot, is on the run from Microsol, an evil corporation in the distant future. His skills as a terraformation pilot on the newly discovered planet Tyrian are his only chance at escaping the countless ships of Microsol's wrath.

Following Microsol's murder of the lizard-like Hazudra, Buce Quisillac, Trent's best friend, the ace pilot knows he is next. The glowing green ore they recently witnessed on Tyrian, dubbed Gravitium, is sought by Microsol for unknown purposes. The amoral corporation will stop at nothing to eliminate all third-party individuals who know of the Gravitium's existence.

Trent's ship blasts off in the half-terraformed landscape of planet Tyrian, the same sky which swiftly gets filled with fire as Microsol's defense systems realize he is on the run.

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Finally, about the level itself.
Don't be fooled. It takes some practice to get used to Engage Mode. Even the first level is a nightmare if you don't know what to do. The Sidekicks (which your ship can materialize in this mode) I've used are the BattleShip-Class Firebomb and the Companion Ship Gerund. The Firebomb is basically a friggin' nuke. Throw it in the enemy fleet, let it shoot them from within, call it back. The Gerund is just extra firepower.

I am playing with the mouse AND the keyboard. Keyboard for special commands such as summoning Sidekicks, and the mouse for movement. Using the mouse makes the game A LOT easier, as you can be more agile with it. You can argue it's unfair, actually.


Overall, easy level... on Engage Mode standards. The hardest part is the boss ; I screwed up there and almost became space bacon.

Difficulty : 3/10
Number of tries it took me : 1

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