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Starting with level 4, the game gets a lot harder and more hectic, regardless of difficulty. The easy (“Well Done”) difficulty would probably benefit from adding checkpoints at boss fights as well. Most have a mid-level checkpoint which proves extremely handy as the game gets tougher. Several of Spidersaurs’ 7-ish levels take place in unique environments like a forest and volcano, though more than one happens in a laboratory setting. Not a bad system, but it should have had an in-game explanation. Shooting the pod before it floats away will then provide a beneficial effect.
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Experience reveals that the selected pod will appear when players have racked up enough kills during a level. Oddly, the game doesn’t explain why we select pods or how they differ, so the selection is rather arbitrary at first. When selecting a level, players will choose from three different pods (see screenshot above). One new mechanic that Spidersaurs adds to the mix is pods. However, taking a hit will reduce the weapon’s level, which happens a lot, so the average player won’t get to carry beefed up weapons for very long. Collecting duplicates of a specific weapon can raise the weapon’s tier up to three levels. Weapon drones float across levels at specific points, dropping weapons like spread shot, explosive shots, and even a rechargeable shield. That should come as no surprise since director Tomm Hullet worked on Contra 4 for Konami. Spidersaurs’ run-and-gun gameplay draws clear inspiration from Contra III, one of the best run-and-guns of the 16-bit era.
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However, there are no collectibles or alternate paths that I’m aware of, so players have little incentive to revisit old stages. Story Mode levels can be replayed after gaining new abilities. The ground-pound is pretty much only useful for breaking specific platforms, but dashing is great for dodging. These abilities include double-jumping, wall climbing, a grappling line, a ground-pound, and a dash. After completing each level, though, players gain a new ability from eating the meat of the defeated boss. In Story Mode, players begin with only the most basic of run-and-gun abilities: shoot, jump, swap between two weapons, and lock in place for aiming (an ability we desperately wished for in Pocky & Rocky Reshrined). A third hero would have been even better. The different armaments are welcome, but choosing between only two playable characters feels a bit scant in a 2-player game. Players can choose from two lovable characters who each gain slightly different weapons from power-ups. The difficulties are amusingly named (Well Done, Medium, and Rare), but they’re the basic difficulty levels that would be found in any other game. All three modes support 2-player local co-op and offer three difficulties. The main mode is Story Mode, completion of which will also unlock the linear Arcade Mode and the story-free Speed Run Mode. When the 'saurs mysteriously escape from captivity and rampage across the InGest facility, only a pair of surviving volunteers who have gained superhuman abilities from eating the dino-bug meat can fight the beasties and save the day. At the start of the game, we learn that the InGest Corp has genetically engineered the gigantic Spidersaurs as a cheap food source for humanity. After that, the story comes to life between levels via fully voiced cut scenes with minimal animation. Spidersaurs opens with a beautifully animated introduction from Powerhouse Animation and a rocking theme song. What the game occasionally lacks in polish, it makes up for in enthusiasm and charm. WayForward draws from that legacy with Spidersaurs, a run-and-gun shooter with a goofy concept (genetically engineered spider-dinosaur hybrids on a rampage!), colorful, cartoon-like sprites, and ample humor. Shows like Dino Riders and Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors featured bizarre/creative premises and plenty of merchandizing potential. The 1980s and 90s were home to numerous cartoons that existed primarily to sell toys to kids.