Features
This is a shooter which makes me very proud to own a Dreamcast. Mars Matrix is a little like Giga Wing, but different enough so it isn't just a spin-off. You pick from two ultra cool looking ships. A red ship with the standard vulcan shot that covers a wide area. And the blue ship with the Raiden-esque concentrated laser blast. In addition to those main weapons you can use the powerful Piercing Cannon. This shot doesn't go across the screen, it is more of a close range attack. But it is very damaging. Instead of picking up items to enhance your main gun, you level up like you would in a RPG (or Radiant Silvergun). You gain experience by collecting gold cubes of various sizes and values (they look really cool). These are given to you when you destroy certain enemies. Collecting them quickly in succession increases their value. The cubes also act as your score multiplier. The sound and music is amazing. The sound effects are very fitting and your weapons sound really cool. It is not an irritating droning sound, the sfx makes you feel like your weapons are doing some damage. The music is really cool sounding techno. It fits the game's atmosphere flawlessly. There is a shop system (Capcom-style) that lets you buy hidden features like ship colors, strategy demos (these are impressive displays of shooter skills), gallery pics, and many more. If you like fast-paced shooters with an interesting scoring system, then give Mars Matrix a shot, it won't disappoint.
My rating is ***** out of *****.