#shoot-em-up
#shoot-em-up
by Omar (@siegarettes)
A copy of Deathsmiles occupied a shelf at my local game store for a long while when it originally came out for the Xbox 360. I’d take a look at it once in awhile, drawn by the oversized special edition box. Eventually, after glancing at it in a games magazine and playing some short sessions of CAVE’s DoDonpachi, I decided to give it a try. The sales associate was understandably surprised, given obtuse shooters featuring gothic lolitas aren’t exactly a frequent purchase. Thinking back on it, that’s probably the moment I began my descent into bullet hell.
by Omar (@siegarettes)
Dariusburst Chronicle Saviors is a game so wrapped up in the history of the series, that it’s impossible to start comprehending what it even is before taking in some of that history. The finale to the long running Darius shoot-em-up series, Chronicle Saviors is the fourth revision of the PSP entry Dariusburst. Dariusburst returns with it’s series trademarks of giant robot fish and an absolutely MASSIVE soundtrack by Taito house band ZUNTATA. Although coming off the dramatic changes introduced in Darius Gaiden and G-Darius, I was underwhelmed. Particularly missed were the opportunities to turn mid level bosses to your side, or capture enemies to use as weapons.
With that in mind, Chronicle Saviors operates as a dramatic remix of the original Dariusburst. Or rather, if the first revision was a remix, this one is a multi-disc set of remixes that has you reevaluating the original Dariusburst and puts it in line with the history of the series.
By: Omar (@siegarettes)
There’s always room for improvement. That’s the philosophy behind Pentavera’s shoot-em-up, Hangeki. Eschewing the typical complex scoring systems of the genre, Hangeki grades you on only one thing: how fast you complete the stage. To get through each of the ten stages you’ll be given a host of weapons, with more unlocking as you gain experience and level up. It’s a curious mix of a traditionally Japanese dominated genre and the Western progression sensibilities that have become popularized by the Modern Warfare series. It’s an approach that’s apparently intended to create more of a sandbox approach to completing stages and remove the high knowledge requirements of scoring systems, multipliers and secrets that are involved in modern shoot-em-ups.
By: Omar (@siegarettes)
Second Opinion by RJ (@suppadoopa)
There’s a certain sense of a remix culture taking place in the games space. AAA titles have become a parade of sub-systems and mini-games in polished containers. A simple look at the last generation of games will see a whole lot of derivative titles that can be described as “game X meets game Y” as popular games become continually borrowed from. In another space are the independent developers, remixing genres and styles from titles past to create new takes on them. Velocity 2X would be one of these. The first Velocity mixed the genre up by introducing a short range teleport, changing the focus from shooting to navigation and puzzles. 2X builds on that, introducing sidescrolling sections and story segments.
