This is a run-and-gun shooter with no time limit, which means it'll likely be a walk-and-gun. There's not much challenge to it if you pick up all four of the special weapons that are found in the stages. The back of the box says there are eight stages, but there are actually only six. While it has continues, you only get one life per continue and you get extra continues at certain point thresholds (at 100k, 200k, and every 200k thereafter), which makes continues what is normally considered to be lives.
The controls took me a bit to get used to, and I never got fully comfortable with them in the relatively short amount of time it took me to beat it on the hardest (Heavy) difficulty. When I bought this, I thought having to control the two separate units (the mech, Ranger X, and the courier the mech can ride) would be a lot more difficult to wrap my mind around than it ended up being, as it isn't as I read it to be. Using the default button layout, A fires to the left and C fires to the right, which is nice as you can move backward while firing. The box recommends the 6-button controller, which is what I used, being the controller I always have hooked up, but the only added functionality is the ability to move one of the couriers left or right (with the X and Z buttons) while Ranger X isn't riding atop or in it, and since the courier you can control is only in about half of the stages, I don't see it as much of a bonus. The biggest negative to me regarding the controls is that you have to get into the courier in order to change the active special weapon.
Because there is no time limit, you're free to search around the stages at your leisure to find everything you need. Most of the levels do not have respawning enemies. This makes it a very viable strategy to slowly advance forward, defeating all the enemies, usually one or two at a time. Nothing can shoot at you from off-screen. The only stage that I would consider venturing into the "frantic" realm is the third stage, as certain rather fast enemies come at you from both directions, and there seems to be an unending stream of them. I didn't find any of the seven bosses to be truly difficult, especially with the Proton Storm/Cannon, which is the only special weapon that I would consider being hidden. Because of these aspects, I found it to be extremely easy once I learned the stages, which didn't take that long to do. It only took me one attempt to beat it on Heavy difficulty after beating it on the three lower difficulties. My biggest hang-up was on Hard difficulty on the fourth stage, which has you scaling a skyscraper. One section seems to have the next ledge you can stand on too far for your thrusters to make the ascent to (Easy and Normal have floating platforms to land on and recharge the thrusters). It turns out if you crouch before "jumping", it gives just enough of an extra boost to make it -- nowhere in the game or manual is it mentioned that this happens.
While having the couriers giving a second attacker and the convention of needing to be within a light source to recharge the special weapons are a nice twist, they can't overcome the lack of any real challenge for me to consider this anything more than a good game, and being on the bottom end of the good category. Even though it only takes about an hour to play through it, it seems to take a lot longer. It is worth beating it on all four difficulties, as the ending is different for each one.
I got this as the free game of a buy one get one free sale and I can't remember what the store was asking for it. I likely would have been very disappointed if I bought this for full retail price back when it was released. I can't recommend this unless it's relatively inexpensive.
