G-Darius magnifies its robotic nemeses into larger-than-life figures.

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For a series that had already gone well beyond the standard content for a shoot-em-up, and the most recent entry, Darius Gaiden, featuring 28 elaborate stages, they were probably fearing the worst.

It reduces the total number of stages to fifteen but splits each of them down the middle, allowing you to pursue two totally different routes after a few minutes play.

Demonstrated flawlessly in the opener as you race across the sea, you can either climb skyward to witness a warship destroyed by an off-screen laser, or descend beneath the surface of the ocean, where underwater trains travel through glass tunnels embedded in the coral.

For G-Darius, this feature is greatly expanded upon, fitting your craft with a limited stock of Capture Balls that can command and control almost every standard enemy in the game.

Each captured enemy comes with varying properties, bolstering your shot power and range, and can be positioned as shields to protect you from bullets and missiles.

Mid-boss captures achieved by first destroying sections of gold armour are by far the most powerful allies in the game, making it imperative you learn how to snag them.

Captured enemies can be detonated as smart bombs at any time, the range and strength of the explosion dependent on their size.

It can be useful in a pinch, but generally speaking, if youre going to repurpose your captures you want to do it with the new laser cannon.

Triggered with the A button, holding a capture allows you to charge and then release a powerful laser stream for a prolonged period.

This laser can easily cut through larger popcorn enemies and save your skin, but its key function is in beam duelling, a feature that first appeared in Taitos own 1991 Metal Black.

With the lasers locked, you tap the fire button to overwhelm and cut through.

This is the fastest method for ending a boss fight prematurely, and as adrenaline tense and thrilling as it is, its a skill that takes practice to pull off in the heat of the moment.

These features make Capture Balls indispensable, and thankfully replenishments are regularly dropped by purple enemies.

Dubbed G-Darius HD, youre presented with two modes: the original resolution arcade game and a shiny high definition makeover.

The original is really only useful for either directly comparing to the HD remake (and the difference is huge) or running on a standard resolution CRT with native scanlines to create an authentic old-school arcade experience.

Its new sheen is spectacular when played on a large display, and Taito has added a range of screen adjustment options that allow you to play it in its original aspect ratio with a range of wallpapers and info panels, or stretched full-screen (which actually adapts the image fairly well).

As such the team have gone in all lasers-blazing, creating one of the most impressive-looking space operas of them all.

Graphically superb and cinematically epic, each stage and each alternate route through that stage serves up a dynamic range of otherworldly landscapes crammed with set-pieces.

Sometimes theres so much going on in the background, from giant, soaring pterodactyls to the heated chambers of star-destroying vessels that you shouldnt feel guilty for being distracted.

G-Darius is probably the series cinematic pique, exceeding even the more recent Dariusburst in terms of visual creativity.

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