Game Info
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Developer: Taito
Publisher: Taito
Year of Release: 1994
Game Review & Impressions
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Gunlock is the European release name for RayForce, a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up released into arcades in 1994. The game uses 2D sprite scaling effects to create a convincing sense of 3D, one of a final tranche of games to do so before the industry started transitioning to true polygon-based visuals.
At its core, Gunlock is a typical shoot 'em up involved blasting everything in sight and racking up points for doing so. The Gunlock nomenclature is suitably apt, however, since it describes one of the game's primary features. Projected in front of the player's craft is a reticule which, when passed over an enemy ship or ground target, causes a 'lock' symbol to appear. Locked targets can then be hit with a barrage of energy pulses which home in on targets, causing significant damage.
There's not much else to say about the game, other than the visuals are quite impressive. The sprite scaling is used to create a convincing level of depth to the playfield, used in conjunction with multiple layers of parallax to create an impressive sense of perspective. Enemy craft rise from the ground to fill the camera viewport, while laser trails from the player's missiles shrink in size as they descend to strike targets below. It's a subtler use of the technology than, owing to the top-down perspective, but to Taito's credit, they did a really excellent job in creating a 3D effect using 2D assets.
In consideration, Gunlock is a visually impressive shooter with responsive controls and mechanics, one that does pretty much everything right. The gameplay isn't amazingly innovative, but if you want a solid shooter with great visuals, this will be right in your wheelhouse.
Chapters
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00:00 Attract mode
01:50 Stage 1
04:23 Stage 2
08:17 Stage 3
11:48 Stage 4
15:17 Stage 5
18:07 Stage 6
23:15 Stage 7
27:58 Ending