Giga Wing 2 is that kinda of shmup out there that exudes 2000s energy. From it's models being a mix of 3D and 2D to it's immense arcade feel as the game merciless takes advantage of your lack of knowledge of it's bullet patterns. Not only is the game immensely difficult to go up against, but it also has this wonderful pick up and play style that feels incredibly rewarding. Mix that with a killer soundtrack that gets the blood pumping, and Giga Wing 2 might just take your heart along with your quarters.

Like, it's not exactly that I need a gimmick to fall in love with a shmup game, honestly, I don't know what makes me love a shmup game more than another currently, but I do know I would like to play Giga Wing 2 again. This is almost entirely due to it's way of playing over any aesthetic vibes it has, which mind, those help a lot, but not why im fever-ing to come back. No, entirely what separates my mind with Giga Wing 2 is the reflect shield it has going for it. While most bullet hells are all about dodging and weaving, Giga Wing 2 decided that it give you a button that does the opposite. In comes the reflect laser ability that when pressed lets you absorb a certain amount of bullets / enemy fire as you reach your limit and unleash it right back at them. There is something incredibly intoxicating by being on the brink of death with bullets flying everywhere and overloading your mind to turning that carnage of death to a harbinger for yourself. While the game also has standard use of power ups and bombs are your disposable largely the way Giga Wing 2 is set up is to have too many bullets to consistently dodge fairly. Is it possible to dodge everything? I'm not 100%, but I can tell the game rewards you greatly for reflecting at the right time. Plus whenever you do reflect a relatively good amount, the game hands out points like a jackpot from a slot machine which sets off an entirely different neuron in my head.

Can't say I cared much for the story or even understood it tho, whether that's due to sequelitis or from the game simply not being good with it's story telling is rough to say. Still it was rather melodramatic and held pretty well to the 2000s energy I was stating earlier. Thankfully, Giga Wing 2 is mostly it's gameplay. While there is a lot of neat character design and cool 3d Models mixed together in the wonderful backgrounds; it really just doesn't compete with making one real good reflect moment. Perhaps I got too overstimulated to really judge Giga Wing 2 properly, but that's kinda what I hope for in any given arcade run. If you happen to spot Giga Wing 2 or able to play it some how; I strongly suggest giving it a go. The game just clicks in a way that feels good, like a video game should.

Honestly, Riptide GP 2 is a very solid title that ultimately feels rather empty despite having a rather healthy amount of content and things to do. Perhaps it's because I played Renegade first (a sort of reboot/ sequel to this game), but it really feels like they were just testing the waters rather than simply making something a bit more interesting. From it's milder soundtrack to it's non-campaign career mode there just isn't much there to push you forward aside from the races. And in that vain, are the races really good enough to hold this game? Well yes, but having played Renegade, I know these developers can do better.

When I think back to the track design and overall world they create with it, this game really feels like we both just scratched the surface, and have something rather unique here. The game takes place in the future, and the tracks and style certainly reflect that, but there really is no story to go by here. Like I can't quite explain it, but it's more of a matter of if you have no story or characters, it feels harder to associate with wanting to win races and it kinda just makes everything rather hallow in a way that doesn't feel quite right. Maybe that's just a me problem, but there is a reason why racing games with no clear focus on anything tend to focus on having a good soundtrack. It's a little something extra that keeps you in the race or pumps you up in a way that makes you want to push forward. While this game does has a soundtrack, much like it's sequel game, it just kinda blends in with everything else in the game and feels rather forgettable.

I don't think this really takes away from the overall amazing track design or racing mechanics this game sets forth tho as a lot of the games focus is on racing or stunt tricks. The game's track design does feel more formal with it's jumps which for completion purposes makes it easier to complete compared to it's sequel Renegade, but honestly with marathoning those two back to back, it feels kinda nice. That being said, career mode kinda ends up being a joke once you get some of the later vehicles in this game, and it really shows just how limited this game can feel once you kinda exhausted getting all the stars in campaign mode, yet you still won't have enough to buy everything in the game. Having to fully completed this game, by like fully upgrading everything would certainly become far too much of a grind fest, but thankfully if you stick to about 2 to 3 vehicles it shouldn't be too bad to complete it. Still, the games stunt tricks and tracks it has still feel rather unique and fun to do despite it being a more simplified version of Renegade's. All the tracks are thankfully unique from it's sequel game, and they are all built solid in a way that feels fun to play through from the first time to the 100th. Especially with some of the more ice theme tracks that seem to really work well with the future aesthetic this game has going for it.

Overall it's very hard to look at Riptide GP 2 after playing Renegade and seeing just how the series gets better and has more personality. It's not so much I feel this game is bad, or that it's not worth playing, but just that I have seen it done better. Do I still think it's worth playing? Absolutely, everything else in this game is unique and has more tracks to race through in this world that make it really fun to go fast and do stunts, but I wouldn't really put it over Renegade. If you have a phone, this game also uses motion controls for steering, and as far as I know, is free to play. So like I really do think this game is worth playing if your phone could run it or even if on sale as it's an easy 100% for achievement hunters and trophy sluts alike. Either way, I don't think Riptide GP should fade away and even at it's worst it's still better than some other notable racing games out there like Super Mario Kart or Team Sonic Racing. If you can't play Renegade, play this.