Some say that space shooters are a dying breed, that they ran their course in the arcades and must now fade into the sunset. Well it appears that several companies haven't heard that message, because the classic shooter lives, and hardcore fans gobble them up. Irem's R*Type Final marks the end of one of the longest running series in videogames. It has a few faults, but this white-knuckle edge-of-your-seat blast-fest is a tremendous sendoff to one of the industry's most respected legacies.

R*Type Final is about the battle between humans and the Bydo, an alien race described as "the living embodiment of evil." As with all shooters, you alone have been recruited to thwart the creatures' plans by obliterating them with all sorts of devastating weapons. The Bydo come in all shapes in sizes, sometimes taking on a more industrial tech appearance (Robots and space ships.) or straight up alien freaks. No matter what the form, they all go boom in dramatic fashion. The weapons at your disposal are very impressive and do their job well. You have several forms of the wave cannon at your disposal, in addition to my personal favorite, the force. The force is like a co-pilot of sorts. It's a yellow ball that shoots when you shoot, and basically flies all over the place annihilating enemies and absorbing bullets. When enough bullets have been absorbed you can execute a special weapon attack, whereby everything on screen gets affected. It's especially useful during boss fights, when one attack can significantly shave minutes off the battle. You can also attach the force to your ship, either at the front or the back, and this is a useful tactic when you have enemies behind you. Since the game's done in a 2D style, it's impossible to turn around, but don't worry. If the force is on the other side of the screen, you can always call it back to you.

As with most shooters, R*Type Final comes with a price. You can rest assured that it plays great, but it's probably one of the more difficult games to come out in years. No matter what your skill level, you're going to die... a lot. Even on the easiest difficulty, R*Type tried my patience. There were times when it seemed like it was playing me, rather than the other way around, and many times I wanted to chuck my Retro-Con controller at the wall, but difficulty is the trademark of a good shooter. It tries your patience and bends you to its will, but actually beating one of these suckers is such an exhilarating rush it must be experienced to fully understand. And don't think you're going to see some pomp and circumstance when it's finished. Rarely does a shooter come packaged with tons of slick FMV sequences and dramatic conclusions. The sense of accomplishment comes from within and without materialistic reward.

Just because most shooters don't come packaged with frills doesn't mean I wouldn't welcome them, and thankfully, R*Type Final comes with some nice extras. For starters, you can unlock over 95 ships from the R*Type universe. Most of them look the same, but this awesome selection of crafts made me want to try each one just to see how they reacted in battle. Secondly, the game comes with several galleries, including a Bydo lab, War Chronicles and bonus images. You can also play A.I. Vs. Mode and Battle. A.I. Vs. Mode allows you to preprogram a fighter and watch it blaze through a level, and Battle mode lets you and a friend pit your ships against one another. Lastly, there's a tutorial mode as well as Championship, where you try to eliminate the computer.

R*Type Final's many options and modes are welcome, especially since the game is rather short. It only took me a couple of hours to beat it, though depending on how well you complete one level, the next may be somewhat different. For example, if my performance on level one was average the second level began in a swamp, but when I blazed through it, that same stage took on a desert motif that included some different enemies. It's an incentive that definitely made me play the game more than once.

While R*Type Final's a great shooter, there are still some nagging flaws that knocked some points off its final score. Since the game's not exactly pushing the PS2's visual capabilities, why is it plagued by slowdown? I admit that when there are a million aliens onscreen and you're weaving in and out of the bullets, the slowdown actually enhances the experience from an artistic perspective because everything looks like a sort of anarchist ballet of destruction. However, from a gaming perspective, it just plain stinks. Also, some of the bosses are disappointing. After scratching and clawing my way to the end of a level, fighting a boss that looks unimaginative or one that can be killed in two hits isn't appreciated.

The game's ending also disappointed me. Since it's the last game to a long-running series, I expected a dramatic conclusion, but when it ends, it leaves little impression that the conflict was resolved and the Bydo destroyed. Beating one of these beasts has always been more about achieving personal satisfaction over watching cheesy FMV, but for a game that is the FINAL chapter to a legacy, I expected Irem to tie things up in a much more dramatic fashion. The music's also a little "off." While I respect Blue Man Group, I would've preferred something a lot more dramatic and performed by an orchestra. I mean, come on! It's the end of R*Type!

I didn't enjoy R*Type Final as much as some of the other shooters, (I much prefer the faster Ikaruga for the GameCube) but I don't mean to discredit it. It's a diamond in the rough, a sparkling treasure that's part of a dying genre, soon to be consumed by big licenses and rehashed sequels that choke on their own mediocrity. However, for shooting fans, R*Type Final's a tremendous send-off, a gift from the masters, and proof that developers of these monsters know their fans are legion.