Shooters generally don't come loaded with secrets. Sure, there’s frequently a bonus character to unlock by beating the game or meeting certain conditions, and sometimes bombing a secret spot opens up a few bonus points. However, in general, the genre is more about memorization and system mastery. Learning when the thin spots in the chain show up allows players to save an enemy to act as a bridge or to use a bomb effectively to maximize bonus pickups. In this context, DeltaZeal takes that idea and builds the entire game around it. Players can miss well over half the game if they don't learn to find the secrets it hides for experienced players to discover. There's far more game buried under its shooter-standard surface than is readily apparent, and discovering how to find it all while working its weapons and scoring systems makes for a shooter with a huge amount of replayability.
DeltaZeal is the story of a heavily-armed fighter plane shooting various enemies like aircraft, tanks, ships, and trains. Perhaps the enemy is an evil empire, or maybe they just stole the pilot's cookie—who knows? The point is that the cookie thieves have it coming, and players fly up the screen laying waste to all in their path. The shooting mechanics are straightforward, with some technique involved in choosing the right power-up and maximizing bonus point drops. DeltaZeal is a classic pre-bullet-hell early 2000s-style shooter, originally named G-Stream G2020, and it came out in 2002. However, it has some unique twists that set it apart from others in the genre.
The first and most obvious difference between DeltaZeal and standard shooters is its power-up system, allowing players to use all three of its weapons simultaneously. Enemies drop typical power-up orbs that change color from red to blue to green, indicating which weapon they affect. The game starts with three pips filled in red, providing a nice spread-shot, but after that, the power-up path is up to the player. There are ten spots on the power-up bar, and each orb fills in one, with the color collected increasing the effectiveness of its weapon. Want a huge and powerful spread-shot at the expense of anything else? Get all red orbs! Blue powers the laser, and green powers the missiles. Players can find a balance or specialize in a favorite weapon as long as they’re careful about timing orb collection.
The ship also comes armed with two powerful sub-weapons. The first is the all-purpose bomb, just like in many other shooters. Though limited in number, it serves as a handy get-out-of-jail-free card when needed. On the other hand, the special weapon requires care and precision for optimal use, which can significantly boost scores. The black hole is charged by destroyed enemies, with more kills resulting in longer durations. This singularity acts as a shield against enemy firepower, turning any bullets into point bonuses. Timing the drop for maximum payoff requires experience and careful management of point drops.
Almost every enemy destroyed drops a pink gem, with the first one being worth 10 points and each subsequent gem increasing in value until the eighth one is worth 1,000 points. The trick is to not miss any gems; if a gem falls off the bottom of the screen, scoring resets to 10 points. This forces players to weigh their need to clear enemies against the urgency of grabbing gems before they disappear. While survival may be worth more than points, careful mining of gems can yield up to a 500,000 point difference between runs by the end of level 2, primarily through the use of the black hole weapon, as nothing says scoring heaven like a massive stream of bullets converting into 1,000 points each!
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