CORBIE'S GAME BLOG

Salamander was originally intended as a slightly easier spinoff of the quite difficult Gradius series of shooters. The game simplified the control system and toned down the difficulty a little bit giving shooter fans who were not accustomed to the high degree of difficulty a chance to enjoy a good shooter. While this may have been the original intention of Konami, Salamander and Gradius soon became pretty much the same game series as the name change went back and forth at times, and even changed altogether with the release of Life Force in the US and Xexex in Japan. There have been quite a few Gradius and Salamander releases over the years, many of which actually made it to release here in the US, so American shoot em' up fans will most likely flock to this PSP title much more so than the other two which have seen little exposure here in the US. Click on the logo to visit Konami's game page for these games.

Salamander Portable sports five games which are the best of the series, at least in my opinion. Sometimes with these collections you see one or two great titles and then a lot of filler. Not with these three Portable releases. Salamander Portable contains the following games: Salamander, Life Force, Salamander 2, Xexex, and Gradius 2. You'd be hard pressed to find 5 better space shooters from the 8 and 16-bit era. As with the other collections, there are not graphical or musical upgrades, but in truth, these games are outstanding just the way they are. As you'd expect, the games get better looking and sounding as you come to the more recent releases like Xexex. All in all, Salamander Portable is shaping up to be the best of the three and a must-have for any shooter fans out there looking for a hefty dose of space shooting nostalgia.


** Tomorrow: Don't miss the conclusion of this three part preview series with a look at Parodius Portable. **