During a Break Laser encounter in Border Down, two streams of energy meet and the conflicting flow wreaks havoc on the hapless opponent. Although Border Down borrows this concept from Metal Black, G.Rev tones down the overly dramatic visuals found in Metal Black with more sensible displays of firepower and residual lighting. The Break Laser also imparts invincibility while being fired which complements it's offensive capabilities. In addition to the Break Laser, a simple vulcan-style shot may be fired by pushing and holding the "A" button which is suitable for dispatching most flitting enemies. To blast foes scattered about the screen, tapping "A" repeatedly unleashes hunting lasers which scroll, scramble and roll around the screen in search of fodder. Up to eight streams (when you reach Level 5) burst from your ship and track down the closest enemies.

The vulcan cannon also ranges from Level 1 to 5 in terms of intensity. Three levels of ship speed may be toggled by tapping the "C" button.

NCS provides an overview of the first level of Border Down below to give a taste of the game. For simplicity's sake, the overview and game strategy are written in the context of playing at the Green Border Down Level. Yellow and Red levels are progressively more difficult and require new tactics.

Please skip the next portion if spoilers are unwelcome

Border Down makes use of 3-D cut-scenes to provide interludes during levels. As players mount the attack in level one and make their way through a futuristic metropolis lousy with green jets, the camera spins and zooms in on the ship as it travels into a subterranean tunnel where a mechanical dweller rotates and blows out an obnoxious amount of buckshot. The Break Laser may be utilized at this point to rid the screen of near unavoidable pellets of destruction. The shots move fast and criss-cross the screen in a patchwork which pretty much behooves one to unleash the Break Laser.

Once you have the Break Laser flowing, concentrate it on the tunnel dweller, bust it up and marvel at your hit counter which revs up with Break Hits. End-level bosses which are broken down with the Break Laser may give up Break Hits in the hundreds which will serve your final level score well. Each Break Hit counts for 5000 points, which are tallied at the end of each level. As the tunnel continues for a little while, more green jets fly in for the attack but they prove to be no match for an adept player.

The first boss is called The Corona Coronet (More ungainly names await - Boss #2 is called the Soul Squeezer) which is a six-legged metallic monster with a semi-circular wing-thing attached to it's back. As you enter it's lair, the bruiser launches itself and arcs into the heavens with your ship in hot pursuit. This part is shown in a fast-paced cut-scene to dramatic effect. As the two warriors enter open air, face to face, the battle commences with Coronet blasting out heavy waves of fat, round pellets which are easily avoided. It's next move is to spin and throw out a mess of purple shots which may be avoided or shot. We wouldn't recommend firing the Break Laser at this point but it may be used if you're in a jam - though you might ruin your chances later. A steady stream of vulcan-fire will eventually destroy the semi-circular contraption atop Coronet and it'll fall and land onto the pavement of the city as it's six legs extend outwards to catch it's plummet to earth. As it slides across the city, streams of fire ripple upwards in the background to demonstrate the level of destruction being wrought.

Coronet's next act is to power up a laser cannon which it initially points towards the heavens but eventually homes in on your ship. At this point, it would be a good time to activate the Break Laser to counter the flow of energy from Coronet. A sphere of power will eventually build up at the point where the two streams meet. After a good bit of luminous eye candy and ear-splitting ruckus, the two streams flame out with neither player apparently worse off after a dramatic exchange. Coronet will fire off another volley of pellets which are easily avoided as it recharges it's laser cannon. Your own BL meter recovers at a fairly slow pace. After a few seconds, both lasers will be ready to fire again and the strategy here would be to wait until Coronet fires it's blast, count a second or three, and then fire your blast but cut into it's laser to reflect the stream back at Coronet. In this second exchange, you'll damage the boss if your aim was true and it's body will begin to shimmer. As the battle draws to a close, Coronet recovers much faster and prepares to fire off another laser blast but you won't need much to destroy it at this point. After Coronet blows out it's third (and final) laser blast, fire off a few vulcan-shots into it's body and maneuver to avoid the thick stream. Wait until it's laser begins to peter out, fire your laser at close proximity and immediately cut into it's laser in order to destroy Coronet in a massive explosion which smolders for a few seconds. Once CC is dispatched, the Vesta Mining Camp awaits where your next boss victim will be an 8-legged mantis-like creature named Soul Squeezer who battles you upside-down at first but eventually loses it's gravity defying prowess with a few choice cannon blasts.

Update Sept. 28, 2003
G.Rev adds a Remix Mode to the Dreamcast version of Border Down but otherwise, the conversion is Naomi perfect. During gameplay, the game indicators may be toggled to TV1, TV2 or ARCADE modes which move the score, power bars, etc in or out depending on your television. No special VMU animations are present but the SDF (Solar System Defense Force) logo appears on the VMU throughout the length of the game.