Shoot’em-ups (better known as Shmups) have seeming always existed in one incarnation or another and will no doubt continue to do so until people stop playing video games for the next best thing. Not because gamers enjoy a challenge or are secretly masochists yearning for a game to continuously beat them down until they curl up on their couch in the fetal position, a psychologically broken mess. But because at our most very basic instincts – we want to just destroy every single damn thing on the screen with any conceivable weapon we can. Thanks to the difficult learning curve in some titles as well as the preposterous time investment required by some, shmups will forever be more of a cult-genre. But, whether or not you love shmups or just looking to broaden your horizons to the inclusion of some heavy firepower – you should go ahead and give these titles a glance.
5. Raiden Fighter Aces: Essentially a compilation of several three previous titles in the Raiden Fighters series, it should go without saying that once you push past the ‘Normal’ difficulty settings, you’re begging to have the hurt put on you. Carrying over a lot of the gameplay from the original Raiden series, there isn’t much here that wasn’t improved on prior to arriving on the Xbox 360. Elements such as shooting and bombing the entire screen into oblivion won’t seem foreign to anyone who is familiar with the genre, but what will is that the game continues adjusting constantly to your rank. Essentially, the game keeps track of how often you fire, how many bombs you’re holding on to and of course, how long you survive between lives – and then regulates a response. Enemies will fire more bullets, travel faster and become more aggressive, completely and utterly preoccupied with destroying you and everything you hold dear. On the other hand however, it should be noted that green recruits, fresh to shoot’em-ups shouldn’t fear. The game will utilize the same data and if it determines that your losing way too many lives, using bombs as fast as you can and aren’t really all that much up to par – enemies and bosses will tone down their aggressiveness – but your rank will congruently drop. For anyone interested in getting their hands on a good game to get their foot in the door with the shmup genre, Aces is no doubt the route as it comes complete with Raiden Fighters Jet, Raiden Fighters, and Raiden Fighters 2: Operation Hell Dive. And rest assured, all three will keep you busy.
4. TriggerHeart Exelica: Warashi, the same people who developed Shienryu for the Sega Saturn returned to shmups in 2006 when they decided it would be a bright idea to release TriggerHeart Exelica. Not only did it have a stint in Japanese arcades, but it even appeared on the Dreamcast before coming to Xbox Live almost two years ago. And what did gamers get when they finally played it? A sound beating would be the first response, but a great game wouldn’t be too far off either. While the plot is a bit contrived, revolving around a pair of female humanoid-supersoldiers sucked into a singularity that takes them to Earth. The two are followed by a ravenous alien race and must quickly lay the smack down as hard as they can. Like I said, it’s a bit contrived. But where the narrative fails a bit, the gameplay is immaculate. The high-definition graphics will keep your eyes firmly locked on the screen while the soundtrack only serves to keep you gripping that controller as hard as you can. Online leaderboards and achievements only contribute to the insult and injury that has seen many a gamer left a drooling wreck after sitting up all night playing through TriggerHeart all night. While the story mode and arrange modes from the DC version were suspiciously absent, that doesn’t make the game any less of an experience. If you’re no doubt looking for a shmup to get lost in, this should fit the bill.
3. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2: Not exactly a shmup by technicality, but this is without a doubt one of the most addictive games that require you to have quick, twitchy reflexes and eyes that can seemingly pay attention in detail to slews of actions at once. So, why is this included in the list then? Because this game will make you better at shmups – obviously there is more to this game than just shooting as any of the various game modes will certainly give away. But, each and every one of the modes, be they Deadline, King, Evolved, Waves or Pacifism will serve to make you better at moving your fingers where they need to be, when they need to be so that when you get to the final two games on this list, you just might stand a chance of surviving. While I can’t say enough great games about Bizarre Creations and their work on either Geometry Wars 2 or its predecessor, they had to have taken a few hints from the shmup genre. Then again, if it looks like a shmup and feels like one too – then it can’t be too far off the mark.
2. Ikaruga: I don’t care what system you think this game is best one - Dreamcast, Gamecube or Xbox Live Arcade – because no matter what system you boot this game up on, you are treating yourself to one of the masterpieces of not just shmups, but of gaming itself. Developed by the perennial Treasure, it saw some action in Japanese arcades before making its way to consoles. I can only imagine how many broken control sticks there still are sagging and destroyed from repeated plays through Ikaruga. Consisting of shooting enemies of two varying polarities – black or white – the player has an obscene amount of power being able to change between these at a moments notice. Despite Treasure attempting the same mechanic in Ikaruga’s spiritual predecessor, Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga seemed to get it down addictively right since only bullets of an opposite polarity can kill a player. Thus, as time went on players developed devastating strategies on polar ends of the gaming spectrum, some revolving around garnering chains of destroyed enemies to cause maximum damage and others who simply absorbed bullets of similar polarities until enemies, bosses included, would retreat. Bar none, Ikaruga is one of those games that must be played if one wishes to understand where a relatively large cult of the gaming community is coming from, because underneath all that frustration is a truly engrossing gaming experience.
1. Deathsmiles: A horizontal side scrolling shmup developed Cave, it was released to Japan in 2007 and wouldn’t even arrive stateside in a competently full release until as recently as the end of last month, Deathsmiles is for all intents and purposes one of the greatest games I never knew existed. After Topher Cantler of Rockmelon Soda recommended it, I couldn’t pass up getting my hands on the limited edition version. I haven’t looked back since. Defying convention by allowing players to shoot at almost any vector on the screen, the primary directions enemies will be coming from on the lower difficulties will be from the left and right. Taking the role of one of 4 characters, each with their own specialties (wind, phantom, fire and fairy) there is nothing weak sauce about this game despite there only being girls on the cover. Taking several aesthetically gothic choices and implementing them with subtle visual cues that will seem familiar to Castlevania fans, the game isn’t half-bad to look at. However, if you’re expecting something that will blow you away visually on par with Crysis 2, don’t waste your time – this game is too awesome for you anyway. Arriving complete with not just the Arcade and Xbox 360 versions, but the Mega Black Label version as well, which included Level 999 as a selectable difficulty – there’s little doubt about how great Deathsmiles is as a shmup. Despite the difficulty, the game liberally offers continues that will keep even the most uninitiated players going on when other games would have stomped you into the curb and made you cry for mercy. This doesn’t mean the game isn’t a challenge; it’ll beat the ever-living crap out of you, but will still open its arms and welcome you for another go. As with any game, it is doubtlessly more fun with a friend, but is more than capable of standing up on its own and shouldn’t really be missed. At all.
While all the games on this list are very well done and amazing in their own right, if you happen to get a chance to play just one this year, I can’t help but recommend my number one selection most. Shmups by their very nature are designed to challenge gamers – even more so that other genres at times. But they keep a small niche alive for people who not only want a reason to throw their controller through the nearest wall or television screen – but for those who want to be able to dish it out to a game as well as know that deep down they can take it and come back for more. If you have a favorite shoot’em up that we missed or want to recommend something to us, go ahead and check out our forums (click here). Otherwise, go ahead and keep your eyes firmly locked on PlanetXbox360 for the best news, features and reviews from everyone’s favorite Microsoft created console.
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