Gradius Collection Coming to PSP (Classic gaming fans rejoice!)

Konami wowed old-school gaming fans with its upcoming Gradius Collection, an all-in-one compilation of the classic side-scrolling space-combat games, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles earlier this month. The collection features five Gradius titiles, including Gradius I, II, III, IV and Gradius Gaiden. Kit Ellis, a spokesperson for Konami, told SCI FI Wire that the new PSP title will feature a number of extra modes as well.

"Players will have a lot of customizing features to play around with," Ellis said in an interview. "Players can resize their ship, play with arcade-accurate slowdown on or off and zoom the game to fill the wide screen."

Konami chose the PSP to release the Gradius Collection because of its fast interface and easy "pick-up-and-play" accessibility, Ellis added. "This is one of those games you can jump into really quickly for a few minutes and them put down, or you can get really deep into it and play it for hours," he said.

Each title appears in its full original form and has not been updated, so every fight and power-up has an old-arcade feel. Playing the Gradius titles is considerably more difficult on the PSP than on a larger screen, so the developers have included the ability to customize how much damage a player's ship takes. The adjustable "hit-box" feature is optional for players who want the challenge. Players can save any game they want in each title.

For veteran Gradius fans, the collection offers a new gallery of content, such as the movies from the Gradius Deluxe Pack (PlayStation), Gradius III and IV (PlayStation 2) and Gradius Gaiden (PlayStation), as well music from all five titles. The Gradius Collection is due for release this summer. —Casey Lynch

Source: Sci Fi Wire
posted on Monday, May 22, 2006 4:40 PM by Auri

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