Tempest X3 on the Playstation was flawless. The music, sound effects, graphics, gameplay, difficulty level were all perfect. I played with the web fixed, not the default moving web, which fortunately was an option, along with the option to assign the controls to the buttons of choice. Although you could start at a previously reached higher level, I always started at level one,  because every level was fun. For the same reason I always missed the last goal in the bonus level so I would not be 'rewarded' with the five level skip upon returning to the regular web levels. Tempest 2000 was included as an unlockable game on the Tempest X3 disk, but it did not compare favorably to Tempest X3. Tempest X3 blew away Tempest 2000 just as Tempest 2000 blew away the original arcade Tempest. I don't know if Jeff Minter had anything to do with Tempest X3, and I never saw his Tempest 3000, so I don't know if I should fall in behind his loyal followers or not. There are feeble echoes of X3 in Space Giraffe, but mostly Space Giraffe disappoints. I find a few things actually irritating, like the child reciting gibberish at the title and end screens, or the horrible grammer and spelling: CONGRATURATION! YOU SUCCESS! A WINNER IS YOU! You Would Have Got ACHIEVEMENT. Nobody is this illiterate, so this must be really lame humor. I just wish that kid would shut up, after a while it's like nails on a chalkboard. Really, the best way to enjoy this demo is to start a game and then pause it and just listen to the music. If I had a high definition television I might find this game playable. If I had not been expecting a prettier Tempest X3 I might have found this game fun, although I doubt it. So, to the powers that be who may be listening: A prettier Tempest X3 - yes, yes, yes. Tempest, Tempest 2000, Space Giraffe - No thanks.

Hmm... to each his owm methinks. I have all the versions of Tempest 2000 released as well as T3K (NUON) and TX3 (PS1). My friends all had a go at the various games, and the only thing that EVERYONE who I have personally known to play them ALL, ranks Tempest-X3 as the worst of the lot. I personally didn't think it was that bad, it's just that the other versions played better (in our opinions anyway). The clear winner was Tempest 2000 on the Atari Jaguar, but then again, that's the only version that can be played with a rotary controller - how Tempest was intended to be played. So in the end, everyone has their own preference. I personally prefer T2k, Space Giraffe, T3k, and then T-X3. At the moment tho, it's all Space Giraffe!

 

Btw, that 'mispelling' has nothing to do with his 'literacy skills'. Try checking out the 'secrets' thread in this Forum to see what that's all about.

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 Barquartz wrote:

I find a few things actually irritating, like the child reciting gibberish at the title and end screens,

It's not gibberish, it's a Welsh number station.

 Barquartz wrote:

or the horrible grammer and spelling: CONGRATURATION! YOU SUCCESS! A WINNER IS YOU! You Would Have Got ACHIEVEMENT. Nobody is this illiterate, so this must be really lame humor.

Lame to you, to an old git like me it's an amusing in-joke. You need to have been playing games translated from Japanese in the 80s. Personally I'm glad there's people like Minter out there who share this humour.

Personally I think this game's miles better than Tempest.  It has more depth, and more intelligence.  It's less about pure reaction times, and to be honest Geometry Wars already owns that territory.

This isn't a prettier Tempest, it's more like it's crazy-but-more-fun brother.

Paragraphs please

space giraffe is wank get over it everyone you only like it because it seems to be similar to tempest, if it wasnt for tempest you would have played it in the first place.
Jaguar tempest 2000 was a stunning superbly playable update to the original however tempest x on the psone blew this away, apart from the odd occasion where things did really become too mad, and the odd dodgey web this is the definitive version and deserves to be brought back to the masses.

 METALI0N wrote:

space giraffe is wank get over it everyone you only like it because it seems to be similar to tempest, if it wasnt for tempest you would have played it in the first place.
Jaguar tempest 2000 was a stunning superbly playable update to the original however tempest x on the psone blew this away, apart from the odd occasion where things did really become too mad, and the odd dodgey web this is the definitive version and deserves to be brought back to the masses.

We now have Tempest on XBLA, and it's not a patch on SG. I enjoyed SG a great deal.

well i've never played tempest but i love space giraffe

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i'd join the foreign legion but i don't like the french or the outdoors

The only experience I had with the Tempest series was with the very first one, and that was many many years ago. SG is way more fun.

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 METALI0N wrote:

space giraffe is wank get over it everyone you only like it because it seems to be similar to tempest, if it wasnt for tempest you would have played it in the first place.

i never played tempest but i love space giraffe so you don't know what your talking about

ive played both and space giraffe stinks

 METALI0N wrote:

ive played both and space giraffe stinks

Well, I guess that's it, I kinda liked Space Giraffe, but appraently it sucks. Darn...

Joking aside, I don't think it's close to Tempest 2000, a game which I bought a Jaguar for (new at close to 500$), but it is a fun game. I actually like the bad 80s translation humour.

 Barquartz wrote:

I find a few things actually irritating, like the child reciting gibberish at the title and end screens, or the horrible grammer and spelling: CONGRATURATION! YOU SUCCESS! A WINNER IS YOU! You Would Have Got ACHIEVEMENT.

 

It's "grammar" you misspelling jackass.  If you are going to criticize a game for said reason, albeit erroneously, please refrain from making such a mistake.

The game rocks, you just suck.

it's not gibberish it's welsh

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 KayAitch wrote:

 Barquartz wrote:

I find a few things actually irritating, like the child reciting gibberish at the title and end screens,

It's not gibberish, it's a Welsh number station.

Actually, it's a young Welsh girl reciting numbers as if she was a numbers station, rather than it actually being a real one. 

 

 

I think the reference thread on the third page needs a bump.

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 wipeout rjc wrote:

well that sucks, im gonna buy this on pc instead. I really give up with ea

 II Zeriam II wrote:

 Barquartz wrote:

I find a few things actually irritating, like the child reciting gibberish at the title and end screens, or the horrible grammer and spelling: CONGRATURATION! YOU SUCCESS! A WINNER IS YOU! You Would Have Got ACHIEVEMENT.

 

It's "grammar" you misspelling jackass.  If you are going to criticize a game for said reason, albeit erroneously, please refrain from making such a mistake.

The game rocks, you just suck.

Do you kiss your 360 with that mouth? Your lack of civility precludes your getting any points for spotting my spelling error. The game irritated me, which has never happened before, but no big deal. I have kept all my consoles back to the Atari 2600, and can always play Tempest X3 on my Playstation. 

Notes to others:

Although I have always had one and sometimes two of the consoles in each generation, I have never owned Nintendo, so this may contribute to the references being lost on me. My comparisons were between the demo of Space Giraffe, Tempest X3 on the Playstation, and Tempest 2000 as provided on the Tempest X3 disk. The Jaguar version of Tempest 2000 had differences as detailed in Jeff Minters review. Also the standard Jaguar controller did not have a wheel you could spin. Research on the Internet reveals that there was a spin controller in development, but not readily available. I am not sure if you had to make your own spinner, but yes, the Jaguar version of Tempest 2000 did accommodate it in the software.

I occasionally go back to the SG demo to give it another chance, but I still absolutely hate it, which is a shame. However, before everyone goes nuts again, keep in mind that the reviews all say the same thing. You either love Space Giraffe or you hate it, there is no middle ground.

I loved Tempest 2000 on Sega Saturn and loved X3 just as much on the PS1. Fantastic games.

Space Giraffe gives me a headache.