Konami is really starting to embrace Xbox Live arcade, and that’s a good thing. Their Time Pilot game originally released in 1982 was a pretty difficult arcade game that found a fan in me when it was brought to the ColecoVision right before the console collapse of the early 80s. I was very excited to see it brought back to Xbox Live Arcade, and it doesn’t disappoint if you remember the old school game.
First, for the uninitiated: Time Pilot is a shooting game with a few twists. First, you are traveling through time – each level is a different time period and therefore your enemies are representative of that time period. For the 1910s you have biplanes, 1940s bombers, 1970s helicopters, 1980s jets and 2001 UFOs (keep in mind that 2001 was the future, similar to those “In The Year 2000” things on Conan O’Brien).
Secondly, instead of you moving around the screen, you’re left in the center and the enemies move around you as you control your ship. The technique was very novel in 1982, and it still is now, to the point there is a small learning curve before you’ll really get comfortable with the game.
In each level, there’s a meter on the lower left of the screen that decreases each time you shoot an enemy. It’s tough to say “I need to shoot 10 planes before I get to the next level” because of the way the meter goes down. In early levels you’ll see squadrons of four or five planes coming after you – if you can pick them all off before they break formation; you’ll get a nice points bonus. In later levels, you’ll see bigger enemies arrive which require multiple shots – those will also give you big points. In every level, there’s also a parachutist whom you can rescue with a progressive points bonus (1000 points, then 2000 points, etc).
Finally after you have reduced the enemy meter to zero; you’ll have a big enemy to destroy. The enemy usually only goes horizontally on the screen so taking it out is relatively easy. Then you are whisked away to the next level.
You have the option of playing the game as it was in 1982 or playing with enhanced graphics. Obviously, I recommend the enhanced graphics. As is familiar with XBLA fans, you can now stretch the screen to take over most of the real estate on your TV – for some reason, Konami likes to only use 1/3 of the screen for its arcade games. It’s really too small to view and you’ll need to stretch the screen.
The game does seem to have some sprite and collision issues, just like it did way back when. This can be considered “arcade recreation” or “still buggy.” The issues are that the explosions are a big sprite and that if your shot is anywhere near the pixel square, it seems to count as a hit. While this is helpful for you when shooting---be careful when the enemies shoot you.
Sound in the new game is pretty good but repetitive. It sounds like it always plays the same “explosion” .wav file over and over. Yawn. The original theme song is there but has been remastered.
In additional to the original arcade game, there’s also online split screen multiplayer. I find it hard to call this co-op, but you are playing with your opponent’s score – there’s no actual interaction on screen. The winner is the person with the highest score at the end of the game.
Achievements are pretty easy to get in this game (ie complete level 1, shoot 10 bombs, etc). Unlike Namco games, Konami doesn’t let you start at a different level, which can make the 2001 level a challenge.
