Don’t know where I was when this incredible game got released, but I missed out on a good thing. By far the best arcade-type shooter on the PlayStation, Einhänder is a thrill-a-minute killing spree. Don’t worry about warping young minds though, because the scenery is so fantastic you’ll think you’re in a William Gibson novel. Instead of blood and guts, Einhänder is about exploding spaceships and fluorescent laser beams. The graphics are beyond belief, mostly because of lighting and the speed maintained throughout. Even though it’s a side-scroller, Einhänder is in that nebulous 2.5D world that Klonoa and Pandemonium made such good use of. The perspective never gets old. And we all know Squaresoft wouldn’t put out a game with bad music or sound. If you’re not a fan of loud beat-crazy techno, read no further. But even for tame listeners out there, believe me when I say it all sets a mood and pulls you in.

The story behind Einhänder is cool, though you wouldn’t know it by reading the manual. Basically, the Earth and the Moon are at war, and you (the Moon’s hot-shot pilot) have to fly a suicide mission against overwhelming odds on Earth. At your disposal are three ships, and they are baaaad mamma-jammas! The Endymion models (named after a young shepherd in Greek myth blessed by Diana the Moon Goddess) pack a wallop, and are the beginning and advanced options. The Astrea model (also a Greek name; the daughter of Themis, Goddess of Justice) is a mid-range option, but in some ways the best. The name of the game is search and destroy; kill anything that moves. Along the way, you have the ability to pick up the special weapons that some ships carry, and add them to your arsenal.

Each of the levels has a stated objective, but as in every game like this, it’s all about the boss. Einhänder has a mid-boss and an end-boss for each level. They boggle the mind, dwarf everything in the game, and cut you down to size quickly. When I started playing, I felt pretty good plowing through the drone-type enemies, but the bosses are intense and really require strategy. Also, a huge gun with lots of ammo doesn’t hurt.

Einhänder is a hard game. I finished the first time on Easy with the Astrea, and it kicked my butt. The ability to pack different weapons is a blessing and a curse; it’s distracting at first. The biggest difference came after earning the secret weapons, which evened the odds and lowered the difficulty level. Some bosses are nearly impossible without the right weapons, and there are times when the volume of enemies is too extreme. Also, the controller set-up is crucial. The default setting didn’t work for me at all and made things more difficult than necessary.

All of the firepower choices make things interesting, to say the least. My favorite combo is the Astrea with two Junos. A Juno and a Flash is good also, but the Flash is unwieldy in traffic. Nothing takes out a mob of drones like that Juno! Notice that those are both secret weapons. Email me if you can’t find them all; they rock... The trick is picking up the right gunpods at the right time. Weapons generally have high ammo/low power or low ammo/high power. Secret weapons are just more of the same. The ships have their individual strengths, but I do love that Astrea. Also, there are secret ships to earn. I got the first one, but the second is still a rumor to me. Like any arcade shooter, Einhänder is about blowing up waves of enemies and learning the patterns. Most are predictable after a while, but there is enough random activity built-in to make things really challenging. Along with secret weapons and ships, there are secrets scattered through the game that are awarded for performing certain activities. Often, earning a secret will open up different areas of the game, again adding replay value. Einhänder is a great game that everyone with a pulse and a PlayStation should own. In a word, “Wunderbar!”