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Advance! Protect! Fight! On your PSP! Sideways!

by Andrew Yoon { Mar 5th 2010 at 3:15PM }

The DS has been gifted with games that force players to hold the system in all sorts of weird ways: upside down, to the side, and sometimes even completely closed. PSP is joining the play-your-system-the-wrong-way trend with the newly announced Advance! Protect! Fight!. According to Andriasang, you hold the system vertically. The analog stick is used to move the cursor, with the R button used to click. Essentially, it's meant to simulate a mouse.

Advance! Protect! Fight! should be interesting to play on the PSP Go. In fact, you could probably play the game with just one hand with the Go. Too bad Tecmo couldn't think of this control scheme first, right?

Don't worry, The Flying Hamster still looks crazy

by Andrew Yoon { Mar 3rd 2010 at 1:30PM }

There may be a disappointing lack of beer and laser-shooting owls in this new set of screenshots from The Flying Hamster. But don't worry, the game still looks absolutely insane. The upcoming side-scrolling shooter for the PSP stars -- what else? -- an adorable flying hamster, as he makes his way through levels clearly designed by a Mad Libs book. Seriously, what's going on in this image? We have no idea.

Check out the rest of the images in our gallery below. The Flying Hamster should be available for download via the PlayStation Network later this year.

Gallery: The Flying Hamster

Konami shoots 'Gradius Arc' into core of Japanese trademark database

by JC Fletcher { Mar 3rd 2010 at 1:30AM }

[Hobby Search]

Konami has filed a Japanese trademark for something called "Gradius Arc." The "Gradius" part is easy enough to parse -- Konami's long-running series of horizontal shooters, last seen in the form of WiiWare's Gradius ReBirth -- but the "Arc" leads us to one particularly fanciful hypothesis.

"Arc" happens to be the frontrunner among rumored names for the PlayStation Motion Controller, having been mentioned by several developers and even trademarked by Sony. Could this be the first evidence of a motion-controlled Gradius game?

However, we shouldn't jump to (horrifying) conclusions based on the presence of a common word that happens to coincide with what a controller might be called. "Arc" could just be a subtitle for a Gradius game that you play with a controller like a sensible person.

DSiWare screens and trailers from Nintendo Media Summit

by JC Fletcher { Feb 24th 2010 at 7:15PM }

There wasn't as much DSiWare stuff on display at Nintendo Media Summit as there was WiiWare, but Nintendo did announce three new games. Photo Dojo is Japan's Photo Fighter X, the bizarre two-player fighting game made out of your photographs. Metal Torrent, as you may have heard, is a localized version of Aa! Mujou Setsuna, a vertical shooter from Arika.

X-Scape (above), fascinatingly, is a super-stylish first-person tank game from Q-Games, a sequel to the vintage Game Boy game X. You can see screens and video of all of them after the break.

Gallery: X-Scape (DSiWare)

Continued →

Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype coming this Spring, adds Challenge mode

by Andrew Yoon { Feb 17th 2010 at 5:16PM }

It's no secret that shmup fans love inflicting pain on themselves. That's why they'll undoubtedly love the news that the upcoming PSN-exclusive shooter Soldner-X 2 will feature a new "Challenge" mode -- as if the game wasn't going to be challenging enough! In this new mode, players will have to complete a variety of tasks in order to earn Trophies, bonus items and additional credits. Considering the near-impossible task of earning a 100 percent in the first game, this new mode is sure to further frustrate and delight hardcore gamers.

Soldner-X 2 will be available on the PlayStation Network some time this Spring.

Gallery: S�ldner-X 2: Final Prototype

Reason to live in Japan #2189: There's a festival celebrating the shmup

by Randy Nelson { Feb 17th 2010 at 4:15PM }

If you happen to find yourself in Tokyo on February 27, you're ... really pretty lucky -- and we'll be, oh, so jealous of you. That is, of course, if you ride the Yamanote line to Akihabara and experience Microsoft's celebration of shoot-'em-ups for Xbox 360, known as the Shooting Festa 2010. Excuse us: That's the Xbox 360 SHOOOOOTING FESTA 2010!

Yep, this is an event solely dedicated to shmups. Upcoming and current releases will be showcased, and you can find a full list of what we won't be playing after the break (because, well, our "trip to Japan" quarter jar kinda got emptied the last time we found an arcade filled with retro shooters).

[Via Siliconera]

Continued →

Cave's Deathsmiles bringing bullet hell to North America via Aksys

by JC Fletcher { Jan 18th 2010 at 2:44PM }

click to horizontally scroll through our gallery Japanese developer CAVE is famous for its hardcore "bullet hell" shooters -- at least among importers, because the console versions of those shooters have never been localized. Nobody's been crazy enough to put the time and money into one of the super-hard niche shoot-em-ups, until today, when Aksys Games (the company crazy enough to localize Cho Aniki Zero) announced that it will publish Deathsmiles on the Xbox 360.

While this is going to be incredible news to shmup devotees, Deathsmiles may be a hard sell to general audiences, with its "gothic lolita" aesthetic and punishing difficulty. Those who do check out Deathsmiles for whatever reason will find a horizontal shooter with branching paths, online co-op play, and, in the words of Aksys's Cherie Baker, "little girls flying through a gothic otherworld to destroy the horrific, necrotic Imperator Tyrannosatan."

Aksys has yet to announce a release date for Deathsmiles.

Gallery: Deathsmiles (Xbox 360)

Eclosion shooting 'em up on Wii, PSP, XBLA, and PC

by JC Fletcher { Jan 14th 2010 at 2:00AM }

Pyroblazer development teams Candella Systems Ltd. and Eipix Entertainment have announced another flashy multiplatform downloadable title. Eclosion is a vertical shooter for Wii, PC, PSP, and XBLA with something called "Co-op Single Player," which, we're guessing, means either an AI partner or an Echoshift-style mechanic in which you play with previous instances of yourself.

To us, the most interesting part of this game will be its soundtrack. According to the press release, Eclosion features "a blend of modern and authentic retro music created on analogue retro synthesizers like the original SID chip on the Commodore 64."

Oh, and "eclosion" is the hatching of an insect from its egg or pupa case. We had to look it up.

Gallery: Eclosion (Wii/PSP/XBLA/PC)

Thexder Neo transforming into a PS3 game

by JC Fletcher { Dec 31st 2009 at 2:30PM }

After the ESRB rating for Game Arts' Thexder Neo listed it as a PSP and PS3 game, Square Enix released the downloadable shooter remake on PSP only, leaving PS3 retro fans vexed and un-Thex'd. However, a post on Square Enix's Facebook page reveals that the transforming spaceship/robot will make an appearance on PS3 after all.

"With PS3 graphic THEXDER NEO becomes more THEXDER," Square Enix PR staffer Akira Kokushoh said, suggesting that the new version isn't just a direct port of the PSP title. The game will be out sometime in 2010 -- possibly on the early side, since Kokushoh indicated that the game is almost complete.

[Via Gamerbytes]

Metal Slug arrives on iPhone, sort of

by JC Fletcher { Dec 18th 2009 at 9:25AM }

If you thought the DS was a less-than-ideal platform for an original Metal Slug, you're really going to be surprised with this one. SNK Playmore has released one of its cartoony run-and-guns for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Metal Slug Touch is adapted to the platform in some unexpected ways: for example, instead of putting the player in control of a commando who occasionally happens upon a vehicle, Metal Slug Touch puts you in a vehicle at all times.

Controls are simplified to make use of the iPhone's features: you move with the accelerometer, and dodge enemies with an "avoid" button. Metal Slug Touch sounds like a fairly bold experiment -- and something that, we suspect, works better than simply porting a console action game over with touch controls.

Metal Slug Touch ($4.99) :

[Via FingerGaming]

WiiWare's Phalanx remake is almost a Virtual Console game

by JC Fletcher { Dec 2nd 2009 at 12:30PM }

[GAME Watch]

The trailer for the WiiWare version of Phalanx (after the break) reveals that it looks very much like a 16-bit game, rather than a remake of a 16-bit game. In fact, it looks identical to the Sharp X68000 version upon which it is based (and which is included in its unaltered form in the 500-point download).

Essentially, developer Zoom is using WiiWare to release a Virtual Console game whose platform isn't supported on the Virtual Console -- with some new bonus content, like a new mode with new stages and manual weapon selection. We approve of this tactic. Phalanx will be released on December 22 in Japan.

Continued →

R-Type to shoot 'em up on iPhone

by JC Fletcher { Nov 10th 2009 at 5:00PM }

DotEmu, the developer responsible for the random iPhone port of the Zelda-esque Golvellius, is porting a much more recognizable game to the platform for its next release: IREM's epochal shmup, R-Type. CEO Xavier Liard told Touch Arcade, "We are very pleased to work on R-Type and to start our collaboration with Irem Software Engineering Inc." DotEmu didn't announce which of the many versions of R-Type will be the basis of the port.

Having IREM involved seems like a good sign and, while the touch interface is not ideal for shooting games, Space Invaders Infinity Gene proved that it can work, at least better than it does for platforming or run & gun games. Of course, R-Type is really, really difficult, and the iPhone's controls aren't going to make destroying the Bydo Empire any easier.

Darius Burst trailer is explosive

by JC Fletcher { Oct 10th 2009 at 6:00AM }

The PSP is home to some unexpected shooter revivals. Thexder was just released on PSN, R-Type returned -- as a strategy game! -- and there's even a new Cho Aniki. Compared to those random releases, the announcement of a new Darius isn't too shocking. But it is very welcome.

The trailer for Darius Burst seems to hit the highlights of the Darius experience -- namely, spaceships and giant robot versions of aquatic creatures. And it looks hot. Hot enough to send us back through the series in anticipation of the December 24 Japanese release, and for us to send our sincerest wishes to Taito parent company Square Enix. Sell this to us!

TGS 2009: Hands-on: Thexder Neo

by JC Fletcher { Sep 27th 2009 at 1:30PM }

Thexder originally came out in 1985, and has been ported to several different platforms in its lifetime, mostly computers. However, I can say with some confidence that the PSP remake of Game Arts' classic free-scrolling, transforming shmup, called Thexder Neo, is much more enjoyable to play than the retro versions. And people who didn't go to TGS will get to enjoy it soon: Square Enix announced that Thexder Neo will be available worldwide on October 1.

Gallery: Thexder Neo

Continued →

Two cheapo DSiWare shmups in Japan this week

by JC Fletcher { Sep 14th 2009 at 12:30PM }

The surprise announcement that Nintendo would publish an Arika-developed shooter on DSiWare was weird enough. We didn't expect to see more shmups on the service within a couple of weeks, but Genterprise has revealed exactly that.

Publisher Genterprise has announced two shooters as part of its 200 DSi Point "GG Series," both developed by Wario: Master of Disguise/Boing! Docomodake DS developer Suzak. Z-One is a horizontally scrolling shooter featuring a "Pod," a multidirectional-shooting "Option" kind of device that flies near your ship. And Wonder Land is an Alice in Wonderland-themed vertical shmup.

Being made specifically as super-cheap games, it's doubtful they'll be great. But they will be very cheap when they come out in Japan this Wednesday.

[Via Andriasang]

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Advance! Protect! Fight! On your PSP! Sideways!