| The futuristic shoot-em-up is among the most common of genres in the games industry, and many of them struggle to demonstrate competent gameplay and a polished game engine. MADia's Echelon however, proved to be one of the better games in the genre when it was released back in 2001. A little over two years later, its sequel, Wind Warriors, is ready.Because of Echelon's galactic setting, Wind Warriors is likely to be compared with classics such as Rogue Leader and Nintendo's Star Fox. And although Wind Warriors will probably be scrutinised by gamers for this reason alone, it is its own game and shouldn't be judged by its cover.Combat takes place on a variety of foreign planets as players join a team of elite fighters over some 40 well-balanced missions. Much of the game is a simple airborne shoot-em-up as players shoot weapons to take out the enemy as quickly as possible. But it's this uncomplicated gameplay that makes it so accessible. Players new to the series will be able to master the basics with ease, whilst those familiar with the original outing will still find a respectable challenge.There are 100 vehicles to get to grips with, 30 types of enemy and allied craft, new objectives and new items. But it's the sheer size of the Echelon gameworld that is most impressive. To put it into perspective, the Echelon world would take seven hours of real-time flight to cross. Complete with its lighting and particle effects, it looks gorgeous too.The single-player mode is indeed lengthy, but there are also several competitive and co-operative multi-player missions available to extend the game even further. There are literally hundreds of hours of gameplay to be had here - we suggest you take some time off and give it a go. |
