If you are at all compelled by what Space Giraffe has to offer, give it a shot.
FROM THE TOP
It was a summer of selfishly gluttonous gaming when I discovered Jeff Minter's Tempest 2000 amongst all the rubble. The thing that made this game remarkable wasn't just the finely tuned gameplay, it was the way that as I got better at the game, the enemies began to explode into a beautiful fireworks display that was unmistakably reminiscent of hypnotic music visualizers. That the beautiful busy-ness of the visuals not only didn't hamper the gameplay, but made it remarkably more enjoyable was to me, a revelation.
It was no doubt this same revelation that led Minter to create Space Giraffe.
A GIRAFFE WITH NO HEAD…
Space Giraffe is an incredibly creative game, an oddity that emphasizes its creator's stubbornness for full creative expression.
In Space Giraffe you waggle an abstract yellow-ish limby thing (A Giraffe!?) clock-wis, and counter clockwise, or left and right around the inside edge of numerous varied playfields reminiscent of tunnels, planes, half pipes, and whatever Minter's odd brain could think of. All the while you blast equally odd looking shape-y things (enemies!?), while an insane plethora of acid-drenched music visualizer backgrounds pulse to an often dark, and a sometimes trippy and ambient soundtrack.
A SLIGHTLY IMPROVED LEARNING CURVE
Ok, here is where space Giraffe fumbled in its original iteration on Xbox 360. While a simple arcade style high score game at heart, in my opinion, enjoyment of the game hinges on the user's ability to learn a single mechanic that seems obtuse with its visual information.
For example, in the game Temptest the entire goal is to shoot and avoid things, that's it. Space Giraffe looks just like Tempest (albiet much more insane). Not only that, bullets constantly fire out of your ship. Naturally, one would assume that simply shooting things is sufficient, but its not. Not only is simply shooting enemies unsatisfying, your resulting score will be paltry.
To truly play Space Giraffe you must learn the Bulling technique. The trick is to let weak enemies fly down and land on the ridge of the level web, parallel to your ship, but to shoot strong enemies away from the ridge. Shooting enemies fills your power zone, when your power zone is full, and enemies are sitting on the ridge, you can move horizontally and run over all the weak enemies. The is the only way to increase your score multiplyer, and doing so allows you to rack up an astronomical score, earning praise from the funny and odd in-game scoring feedback, istead of the insults it flings when you aren't doing so hot.
Luckily, unlike the 360 version, all this is sufficiently explained in a helpful tutorial at the beginning of the game in the PC version, so any newbies shouldn't have much trouble getting adjusted.
PERCEIVING THE UNLIKELY
One other boon on PC, is the inclusion of the Nuxx mix. Now, as well as the original, absolutely bonkers 100 space giraffe levels (included here as the Acid Mix), you get 100 drastically toned down but still damn cool levels as well. A smart move as Space Giraffe's visual craziness was one of the biggest barriers to enjoyment for some. Luckily, along with updates to the game engine, including advanced shader support, as well as greater optimization, and support for a plethora of resulutions, and high-res in-game objects, the game looks stunning, in a crazy sometimes gaudy hippy kaleidoscope on acid sort of way.
Sound in Space Giraffe is also a crazy, oddly creative and lovable mix of everything from Monty Python sound bytes, Commodore 64 sound rips, animal noises, dissonant trippy chimes, and who knows what. What else, listening to these effects is essential to gameplay. Within the often chaotic game field, sound cues are often just as necessary to decipher the action as visual cues. Enemies, such as the attribute modifying "Flower" give off sounds of an increasingly higher pitch as they are shot to indicate to the user how much life it has left in its span, others simply clink just enough to let you know that you are hitting your target. Its often surreal how well one can decipher the Space Giraffe field once they learn this trick.
A REMARKABLE FLIGHT FOR A GIRAFFE
Space Giraffe is by all means, a modernization of the old-school game design rule-book. Along with the trippy visual elements, the gameplay necessary sound fusion, and the numerous gameplay twists it houses, it also tosses the notion that old-school at heart, means short, quick, and often unsatisfying play sessions.
Space Giraffe play sessions often demand that the user sits and enjoys the experience for a while at a time. The game includes 100 standard levels (plus one of the greatest gameplay additive bonuses I've ever seen in a game, once you complete it), that gradually ramp up in difficulty. Smartly, Minter allows the user to restart at any of the levels that the user has completed with at least three lives left at any time, reminiscent of an everlasting save point.
Fortunately, this doesn't make the game a cakewalk. Since the game is often so intense, it is usually best to start a game at an early level, in order to get in the groove by the time the later levels come to play. Space Giraffe play sessions can often last hours at a time. I'd suggest that one full play-through of the game could easily last around 3 and a half to four hours long, and because of the repayable nature of the game, a user will likely spend many times that before the game begins to lose luster.
THE VERDICT
I love Space Giraffe, in my opinion, in sight of much of the varied, and often passionate contradicting opinions and views I have read about it, as well as noting my own play experience, I find it to be one of the most remarkable and honestly enjoyable games I have played in a long time.
Space Giraffe has its flaws. Even to this day, I still get nailed by enemy bullets that I did not, and perhaps could not have seen. Its visuals are chaotic (not so much on Nuxx mix, but definitely on Acid Mix), fusing often gaudy color palettes, and its visuals give every indication that Minter has no basis in traditional visual design.
But what Space Giraffe is, is an anomaly. The fact that every one of the noted issues is eventually conquered, the gameplay itself is fundamentally and thoroughly engaging once bulling is learned, and perhaps even more so, the fact that every single time I boot it up I am sucked into playing for hours unless I can force myself away, is enough indication for myself that Space Giraffe is by all means an excellent game.
Unlike many games that hide flaws in a bid to genericize its product in order to not alienate any possible customers, Llamasoft's Space Giraffe lovingly wears its flaws on its sleeve, the first sign that, unlike many what may initially realize, Space Giraffe is unmistakably a work of art. The result of a borderline mad scientist designer with only himself to answer to, an unfiltered creative expression, that also knows how to be crazy, dark, but also lovable and fun.
If you are at all compelled by what Space Giraffe has to offer, give it a shot, because if it captures you, its one of those experiences that you'll possibly remember for years to come, if not the rest of your life. But also give it a shot because it's brilliant, and quite possibly one of the best and most exciting gaming creations out there.
Final score 10/10