It's Tempest 2000 on LSD. What's not to like?

11 ⅓ / 10

A thoroughly underwhelming Tempest-like. Weird for the sake of being weird, and not in a good way, this just isn't that engaging. The mechanics don't feel great, the visuals are so overdone that it's hard to follow what's going on, sound effects are annoying. Not only are there better games in this genre, but there are better games than this that are freeware. Even if you like Tempest, which I do, there's just no compelling reason to pick this one up, it's a poor variant on the genre with little original on offer (and what is original generally isn't good). Found this to be a sore disappointment when I first bought it and my opinion hasn't changed since.

A novel and innovative sequel of sorts to the legendary Tempest 2000 (T2K) that was a system seller on the Atari Jaguar and returned on the original PSX as Tempest X.

In Space Giraffe players are rewarded for getting into the zone and using not just visual cues but also the rich audio to survive.

Recommended.

After completing 63 levels I would not recommend it. It's very chaotic and serves better as a learning experience for game developers. Main mechanics are explained in the help menu and provide you with the most basic information. Other things you have to figure out by yourself through many deaths. At first you won't even understand what's killing you. Some bullets can be avoided, some bullet-like bursts serve as powerups, some shapes can kill you even when bullying, but other can't - it's not clear at all why. Rules are just rules, you have to figure them out and try to follow them. Complexity curve is not consistent - some levels are hard and take 10-20 tries, while others are first try easy mode. Some level names seem meaningful while others are just for fun. Some angles and geometry introduce interesting behaviour which is never developed into consistent whole.
Never understood why people praise this game. Because it's funny? It gets old very fast. Because it's original? Yeah I've never seen anything quite like it, I've never played Tempest or any other tube-shooter. Is this a good introduction to the genre? No.

Great

Space Giraffe is a game I've spent six years both loving and hating the hell out of.

On one hand, its iterative take on Tempest 2000/3000 is super engaging and satisfying. While it may invoke those older games on the surface, the bulling and Power Zone mechanics really make Space Giraffe feel like more of it's own game than the rehash it's often accused of being. The shooting and dodging are tight and satisfying and the risk vs reward elements make for some crazy intense shooty action. When all that comes together with the visuals and audio in the way that it's supposed to, Space Giraffe is simply astoudning to play and you can almost feel like you're in a trance when you're on a roll.

When it doesn't work however, the game just feels plain unfair and frustrating. Far too often, the emphasis on eye-searing visuals over gameplay can and will cause many unnecessary deaths due to how obscured the playfield can get. A large chunk of stages also to alter the game's rules subtly without telling the player, which just seems like a cheap and sloppy way to prohibit progress.

There will inevitably be frustration with this game, but I highly suggest at least trying the demo. It's something I've stuck with since its release and if you can manage to get over its initial quirks and don't mind some frustration later, Space Giraffe feels about as satisfying as Portal can be once you finally "get it."