First looks at the game should assure every old-school arcade fan that XSIV Games is on the right track. Instead of upgrading the original's graphics to modern-day 3D pizzazz, the designers chose to use the same 2D VGA graphics that the fans are familiar with. The game offers lots of game modes including several hidden ones. It has ten (or more) ships and over 100 weapons to blow away enemies and rake in points with.

The difference between One Player Full mode and the other modes is the option to buy new parts for your ship before every level. Your itinenary takes you through a set of campaign missions, and credits are built up by scavenging coins and such from destroyed enemies. Gradually you upgrade your rear, side, and front guns, making your ship a force to be reckoned with. The high difficulty level of Tyrian is back, but even more difficult this time around. You have shields that are constantly getting drained, and there's no way to prevent yourself from getting hit unless you have godlike reflexes, so you need to be careful.

The sound design is very nice, with tons of original synthesized music tracks. These tracks come in a CD Audio format, so you can also play them in an ordinary CD player. With 65 levels that span over five episodes, multiplayer modes, and the same furious gameplay that Tyrian fans miss, Tyrian 2000 deserves to go down in history as one of the best shooter sequels ever made. Billed as an affordable alternative arcade game, Tyrian 2000 serves to remind everyone that it doesn't always take a high budget gaming machine to satisfy. A modern classic in its own right.