A bit of a review I wrote some time ago after I was fresh from playing it and was geeking out something fierce, figured it wouldn't hurt to put it here.
ONWARDS
Graphics: 10/10
Music: 10/10
Sound: 9/10
Plot: 10/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Graphics: While compared to some newer games, excluding fancy 3D games, games such as the Zero series or newer platformers might be a little ahead of Tyrian, Tyrian is still frelling awesome for graphics, and isn't near as repetitive as the Zero series are. The level of detail put into the design and drawing of even the smallest enemy [one second before it's blown to bits] is astounding. The graphic designers had a hand-full to make this game look as beautiful as it does, and every bit of effort they made shows in every level of the game.
Music: This is another area where Tyrian truly excels in. Hell, I'm listening to the music via the internal Jukebox via DOSbox right now! I love how each and every piece of music fits the atmosphere of the level it was intended for [Camanis, a water planet, has a very appropriate song for the level, fits it wonderfully] My personal favorite is 'Tyrian, the Level' which is the perfect song for an intro level to a shooter, not to mention a damn catchy tune in all respects.
Sound: This is the only non-perfect stat I decided to give this game, but solely because some weapons you have make a less-than-appealing sound after hearing it for 5 minutes straight. Most weapons however, such as the Vulcan, you feel like making the along with, being a sound of awesome that should be heard by all. The explosions don't sound repetitive [a good thing in vertical shooters, especially longer ones like Tyrian] and the bosses make very awesome explosion sounds.
Plot: Now, THIS is where Tyrian truly excels. Most vertical shooters have little-to-no plot at all. Tyrian, however, breaks this standard with a nice, loooonnnngggg and engaging plot that will keep you hooked for a while. [3 days straight, in my case.] The only problem I can see with the plot is that to follow it, it requires a lot of reading of the data cubes you receive from your employers, friends, salesmen [there is a definite degree of humour in this game] and anyone else who feels like talking to you. If you need more convincing, there's multiple choices to take through the game, ensuring you don't play the same story twice.
Gameplay: Another area that Tyrian surpasses others in. Some/most vertical shooters restrict you to one ship, one gun to fire with, and maybe a few options here and there. Tyrian, well, you have a whole arsenal of over 100 weapons to choose from, and an impossibly large combination to choose from. You start the game with about 10,000 credits, and you can buy and upgrade your weapons as you please, ranging from front guns, rear guns, shields, generators, plus left and right options. Later in the game, you can buy more ship designs as made available, each and every one of them having something good to offer. [some have limited invincibility's, some have auto-repair functions, on-board weapons, etc etc] And if that wasn't enough, you can design your own ships! Shipedit.exe allows you to do just that, design your own ships to use in the game. If that isn't awesome, the how about this: you don''t have to go through a long story to get to the best weapons. In the story mode you do, yes, but there's more to Tyrian than that. You can choose to play the Arcade mode, a timed-level type, and there's a 2-player type as well! There's enough ways to play Tyrian 2000 to wet everyone's whistle!
[hope that's good for here...]
