Gridrunner Revolution or GRR for short, by LlamaSoft is a new arcade shooter in the style of classics such as Space Invaders and Asteroids.  It does everthing the afformentioned games do only better and with much more style and a somewhat unique approach to scoring, gaining lives, and earning power ups.

Other recent arcade shooter games such as Geometry Wars haven't necessirily reinvented the wheel when it comes to arcade shmups, but games like it have certainly added new elements and a whole new level of style and gameplay to a not quite dead, but slowly fading away breed of game.  Grid Runner Revolution is another such title that brings newfound fun and interesting new elements to

a well worn formula.

There are 200 levels ranging in difficulty from beginner to expert and the difficulty increases gradually allowing newer gamers to become better while letting veterans exploit hidden gameplay mechanics that might increase their personal best scores, all while trying to collect sheep...  in space.  Yeah, it sounds weird, but that's because it is weird but in a fun way and I'll explain more about that later.

As a bonus for progressing deeper into the game, players will unlock all kinds of extra modes and funky features to fiddle around with when they're not playing through the standard course of the game.  Some of the modes unlocked give the player the ability to play the original Vic 20 version of Gridrunner in all it's classic glory, while another mode unlocked is the Jukebox which gives the player access to the games sound track.  Those are just a couple of the bonuses, but rest assured, GRR is chock full of bonuses.

Playing the game is easy enough.  Shooting happens automatically.  There's no need for precision aiming (at first), only precision moving.  Players can move their ship around the screen simply by moving the mouse which is all very intuitive.  So you'll be pretty busy shooting down enemies while trying to collect sheep...  yes, there are those sheep I was talking about.  Having floating astro sheep is humorous, but they do add yet another element to the gameplay because collecting them increases your score multiplier and extra bonus points. 

That's not all though.  Ship movement is only limited to avoiding bullets and enemies.  So on top of moving around the stage area ships can be rotated 360 degrees in order to counter and concentrate fire power against the waves and oncoming patterns of various enemies enemies while trying to dodge their bullets.  However, the levels aren't only about destroying the onslaught of adversaries.  Each stage has a sun that will release a wave of bullets that can easily destroy a ship.  This means you'll have to dodge, a lot.  If you're unable to dodge and your ship is damaged another unique feature is brought into play.  If your vessel does get shot you have a brief opportunity where your ship will slowly start to fall off the bottom of the screen.  If you can bring your ship in contact with an enemy before this happens you'll keep your ship in play for a second longer.  If you can do this multiple times you'll keep the ship in play even longer and perhaps long enough to collect a sheep...  yes, there they are again.  Sheep are not only present in the game as an incentive for big points, they also act as a ressurector.  Collect one of them when your ship has been destroyed, before it falls off the screen, and your ship will be ressurected.  See, doesn't that make total sense?  Not really, but it's a fun idea and though the sheep could have been anything really, it's a unique gameplay mechanic that can keep a player in the game for much longer periods of time racking up huge high scores.

The last element that I should mention is the fact that you can shoot and destroy the suns seem to act as nothing more than a nuisance.  Once they're destroyed they give the player an extra life in the shape of a new ship.  When I say new ship I mean it literally.  The new ship while controlled the same way actually has different shooting patterns of its own and that includes every bonus ship you earn.  They each have a different look and shooting pattern which can be utilized to counter the different patterns that enemy waves come at you in.  Last but certainly not least, once a sun is destroyed it goes super nova and turns into a black whole which then becomes a gravity well that can curve and bend your bullets forming unique patterns that can (and should) be used to destroy your enemies with.  Using this mechanic adds yet another element that allows a gamer to rack up an even higher score based on how their bullet pattern bends and curves while when destroying the enemy.  It all sounds very weird, and it is but in a fun and unique way that has never been attempted before in an arcade shmup.  Gameplay mechanics such as this could have just been silly, but they are an important element and work cohesively to bring a fresh and unique gameplay style to a dated but enjoyable genre.

Gridrunner Revolution has graphics that are loaded with blinking and flashing neon coloured fun.  They're simple, polished, and modernistic, though purposely pixelated to bring back the nostalgia of classic shooters.  Although upscaled in comparison to its older bretheren in the genre, they fit nicely, bringing back classic arcade goodness to Generation X's gamers.  The fireworks display may be a bit much for some but arcade shooter fans will most likely appreciate the revitalized look.

The music and sound are reminiscent of classic shmups with an updated techno groove that is fun and decorous lending nicely to the games limited atmosphere.  Some of the music tracks are worth listening to on their own making the jukebox mode a welcome feature as well.  The sound fx are far more mundane and do the trick, but I also felt that some of the fx could become slightly annoying by the time you reach level 99.  Still, I found myself wanting to press on and finish just one more level every time I played. 

I really like GRR for all of it's classic goodness and it's unique modern mechanics.  There is a lot of play value here for a game that could be described as simple by todays standards.  I think the game offers something for everyone including both casual and hardcore shmup enthusiasts.  With that said, I also have to wonder if there is anywhere left for the classic shmup to go.  Can the genre evolve any more without becoming a sub genre or gimmick itself?  I'm not sure.  I'm glad LlamaSoft has come out with Gridrunner Revolution though because this is a fast, fun and enjoyable evolution to a game category that has been around as long as the words ``Video Game``.