Playstation 2

 when I had my original PAL ps2 I got very bored of it and swapped it for an xbox, writing the console off completely. what a fool i was. if you have a PAL ps2, by all means get rid of it and buy a Japanese one, then you will, like me, realise just how many good shooters there are available for it. it's by no means the best system for shooters but there are some particularly good examples if you're prepared to search (and pay) for them. plus you can play the entire japanese ps1 back catalogue and there are a LOT of shooters for that :)

 

 
DODONPACHI DAI OU JOU/. a psuedo sequel to/remix of previous donpachi games. looks brilliant and throws ridiculous amounts of bullets at you. worth buying just for the replay dvd you get with it - prepare yourself for a display of zen shooting skills.

 

 ESPGALUDA/. well Cave have done it again. yet another beautifully crafted bullet-fest. if you've played either of the last 2 Donpachi games then you'll know what to expect here. ridiculous weapons, bucket loads of enemies and mesmerising bullet patterns. the huge bonus with this game is that it's easier than many other Cave games and has a simple, logical scoring system. so if you're rubbish at hard games like me, you'll love this.

 
FANTASY ZONE/. the Sega Ages remake of the classic SEGA shooter. if you don't like cutesy shooters, avoid this like the plague. however if you do like cutesy shooters and defender then this will be right up your street.

 

 GIGAWING GENERATIONS/. 3rd in the series and unfortunately not as great as shooter fans had hoped. this is a port of the Taito Type-X arcade original and it lost one very important thing in the translation process - a tate mode. the game is squashed into a horrible little window making everything on screen very hard to see. this, however, may not be a bad thing as the visuals are pretty ropey - awful 3d textures make for a very rough looking game, which isn't what you need when faced with screens absolutely chock full of bullets. it's a real shame as the core game is pretty good, much along the lines of the previous 2 games (see the Dreamcast section), although a less visceral experience. if you can find it cheap then definitely pick it up as there is some fun to be had here, however make sure you have played versions 1 and 2 to death first.

 
GRADIUS III AND IV/. faithful conversions of the arcade games. you know the score by now, great shooting and rock hard. these versions benefit from some lovely CGI intros too. well worth tracking down.

 

 GRADIUS V/. there's only one word to describe this game......Incredible. it's a Gradius game so you'd expect it to be great, it's also developed by Treasure so expectations for this game prior to release were high. the final release has surpassed all expectations I had. the graphics are fantastic, the music is great and the gameplay expertly balanced. Easily the best shooter of 2004 and definitely a contender for Best Shooter Ever. it really is that good.

 
 
IBARA/. when I heard about the upcoming release of this game I nearly wet my pants. a game joint coded by Cave and ex-Raizing staff. how could this possibly be anything other than completely brilliant???? well unfortunately i'd have to say it is. don't get me wrong, it is a very good game, however, mixing Cave and Raizing styles seems to have made a game that is jack of all trades and master of none. the 2 styles don't seem to gel together that well and the game feels less intuitive than any of Cave's or Raizing's previous individual offerings. for me the main 2 problems with this game is that there is simply too much going on on-screen and the game is almost impossibly hard. a harsh rank system is in place that more or less encourages you to die at strategic points throughout the game in order to keep things from getting unfair. not my idea of fun. however, as you'd expect from Cave the game exudes quality and for those looking for a real challenge this game is ideal. it also has the best game artwork of any game, EVER.

 

   METAL SLUG 3/. jesus, this series just keeps going and going! looks absolutely fantastic and has the best smart bomb ever. as long as you don't mind a stupidly high difficulty level and infinite continues, you'll have a blast.

 
 
MUSHIHIMESAMA/. well what can I say? yet another amazing Cave vertical shooter. this time you play a purple haired girl riding on the back of a flying bug killing all kinds of weird insecty enemies. 3 different types of weapons (wide shot which is well spread but not too powerful/ middle sized shot which is slightly more powerful but has a narrower spread/ narrow shot which is fairly concentrated but very powerful) and up to 4 pods/options which can be set to various configurations by picking up occasional floating icons. the scoring system this time is based on keeping your multiplier up by constantly killing sets of enemies, kinda like the chaining in other Cave games but not. absolutely beautiful visuals and great soundtrack round of a near perfect package. undoubtedly one of Cave's greatest.

 

   PSIKYO SHOOTING COLLECTION VOL. 2/. contains Sengoku and Sengoku Blade. both fantastic games and this has really nice conversions of the 2. definitely buy this if you don't have the Saturn version of Sengoku Blade as it is significantly cheaper!
PSIKYO SHOOTING COLLECTION VOL. 3/. contains Dragon Blaze and Sol Divide. basically, ignore Sol Divide as it's pap (it's a horizontally scrolling shooting/fighting affair with a fantasy theme, which on paper sounds brilliant but plays like an absolute dog), but buy this collection for Dragon Blaze which is absolutely superb. this is the first time the game has received a conversion to a home console and it is arcade perfect. Dragon Blaze is an absolutely beautiful vertical shooter which lets you choose from a variety of dragon and rider combinations (my fave is the skeleton dragon with the evil dude riding on its back). graphics are superb, sound track is great and gameplay is typically Psikyo i.e. bloody brilliant and stupendously hard.

 

 PSYVARIAR/. conversion of the arcade game including a completely re-worked ps2 special version. graphics are awful but the gameplay is very compelling, luring you closer to bullets to get higher scores and massive power ups.
 
RAIDEN III/. a long awaited and well received 3rd installment in the fantastic Raiden series. updated with fairly nice 3d visuals but still in a 2d vertical plane this game delivers pretty much what you'd expect - it's still Raiden but updated to look a bit more modern. great gameplay and still tough as old boots, this is a really fun shooter to play. the bright green 'Toothpaste Laser' has to be seen to be beleived. there's also a mode which allows you to play as both player 1 and 2 with one joypad. strange....but true.

 

 R-TYPE FINAL/. every serious shooter fan the world over was slavering at the very thought of this, the final game in the most famous shooter series ever. slightly disappointing for the last one, but still great fun.

 

   
SHIENRYU - THE SHOOTING DOUBLE/. ps2 remake of the saturn original. pretty boring to be honest, but worth getting if you don't have the original Shienryu as that's included too.  

 

  SHIKIGAMI NO SHIRO/. great bullet dodging/scratching shooter converted from the arcade original. graphics are a bit pants but the gameplay is there in spades. if you have a gamecube or a dreamcast then buy the sequel - it's virtually identical but looks much nicer.

   
SHIN CONTRA/. Konami's attempt to bring their classic series up-to-date with the latest hardware. looks quite nice but spoiled by insane difficulty level and really crappy 'metal' soundtrack.

 

   SILPHEED - THE LOST PLANET/. allegedly developed by Treasure this is a fairly average shooter. the visuals are nice and crisp and the weapons look quite nice but they are fairly uninspiring and make your ship look strange at times. pick it up if you're a Treasure fanboy or it only costs a fiver (like my copy did-yay).

 
   
XII STAG/. i really want to like this game more than i do. it looks nice enough, seems to have all the hallmarks of a decent enough vert shooter but it ends up being just about good. get it cheap and play it in between classier games.

 

    
home