Gundemonium Collection may be over a year old, but it just released on Steam with a few new features. This package of doujin shmups contains Gundemonium Recollection, its sequel GundeadliGne, and their vastly different prequel Hitogata Happa.

The most obvious changes in the Steam version are the remixed soundtracks. They’re quite a step up from the originals thanks to the talent of DM Ashura and Woofle (Dance Dance Revolution, Beatmania IIDX). You’ll also find a new online co-op mode for GundeadliGne allowing you to play with your Steam friends.

But I’m sure many out there haven’t had a chance to check out these games in the first place since they are a niche within a niche.

Both Gundemonium Recollection and Gundeadline are horizontal shooters with unusually large sprites. This allows for a lot of personality to be put into each character and enemy design. They often approach Cute ‘em Up territory with their goofy pumpkin enemies, Parodius-like women in bunny suits, and other equally wacky things. Of course, it’s all fun and games until somebody gets cut in half. (more…)

As a fan of the genre, I’ve seen my fair share of modern scrolling shooters or “shmups” as they’re often called. Yet, after the magnificent Gradius V back in 2004, I haven’t seen very many that actually look modern. Even some from this year tend to look like something you might’ve seen in the arcade as much as a decade ago.

That’s the first of many ways in which Sine Mora sets itself apart. The game is gorgeous. There’s a real sense of depth to the environments that manage to strike an effective balance of being attractive without being distracting. Colors are often vibrant, environments are varied, and giant bosses are real spectacles to behold thanks to art direction from Grasshopper.

And yet, as great as the visuals were, it was the unique mechanics developer Digital Reality put into the game that kept me coming back for another try. Sine Mora is not about one hit kills or traditional health systems. Sine Mora is about time (in more ways than one). While you’re playing, the clock always counts down. Killing enemies will send the clock backward a bit, while getting hit drastically reduces your time. When the clock strikes “00″, you die.

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Before you ask why you should care about an imported Xbox 360 game, let me get this out of the way: Unlike most things on the system, Eschatos is a region-free game.

Importing games can get pricey, but sometimes it’s just worth it to do it anyway. If you are a fan of SHMUPs, Eschatos is one of those times.

Eschatos‘ mechanics are simple, but effective. You have three tools at your disposal: a straight shot, a wide shot, and a shield. The straight shot is powerful and travels across the entire screen while the wide shot is weaker and has a much shorter range, but allows you to take out multiple weaker enemies at once with ease. Giving you unlimited use of these two guns at all times instead of relegating them to a collectable power up system gives you a great sense of versatility as you play.

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Indie SHMUPs might not be the rarest thing in the world, but indie developer Final Form Games aims to stand out with a few unique twists. Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony features 4-player co-op (instead of the standard 2) and an interesting setting: 17th-century British Colonial Mars.

The team is hoping to tell an interesting story featuring “Famous alt-historical figures! Majestic alien landscapes! Steampunk space tech! Hard-bitten settlers taking their shot at ekeing out a better life in the New World!” and “Redcoats and Martians settling their differences with spear and space-musket!” (more…)

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to combine a fighting game with a SHMUP? Thanks to Japanese indie game publisher, Rockin’ Android, you can find out for yourself. After bringing us the Gundemonium Collection, Crescent Pale Mist, and Qlione, the doujin publisher returns with Acceleration of SUGURI X-Edition on the PlayStation Network.

The competitive shooter let’s you choose one of seven characters as you battle one-on-one with the computer or a friend through 11 environments and 6 modes of play. Acceleration of SUGURI X-Edition is available now on the PlayStation Network for $5.99. (more…)

If you listen to the Barrel Roll! podcast, then you know I’m the type to knock down a cinematic, goppy, story-driven, fully orchestrated game in favor of a simple, arcade-style, jump-on-in style game. So it might surprise you to learn that, well… I’ve never much cared for Space Invaders! And this is true for the vast majority of shoot-em-ups.

I’ve just never had the interest and patience to develop skill in them, and outside of a handful of very simple shmups like B-Wings and Volley Fire, I’ve hardly given them the time of day. Of course, Space Invaders is the simplest of all shmups, but it’s so primordial. Being born in 1983, I am not a true child of the arcades – I got into gaming at the tail-end of the NES era. To really get into Space Invaders, I would need it to evolve.

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Retro/Grade is out to do something new with not one, but two genres. It tells the tale of Rick Rocket, “Space Pilot Guy” who just blew up the big baddie at the end of the game. However, the massive explosion has caused a rift in space/time and now he is traveling backwards through his previous battles.

On the surface, Retro/Grade looks like a  Shmup (shoot-em-up) in the style of Gradius or R-Type, but it quickly becomes apparent that you are playing a rhythm game with the flavor of a flashy shooter.

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Sin & Punishment: Star Successor is often referred to as a “dream sequel”. The original Sin & Punishment never made it to America in cartridge form, though it was later released on the Wii’s virtual console. It’s been a full decade since the release of the last game. Now in 2010, not only is there a sequel, it’s actually released outside of Japan.

For those not in the know, Sin & Punishment is a third-person rail shooter. In other words, it has more in common with Star Fox than House of the Dead. Quite possibly the best way to describe it is to take a Bullet-Hell SHMUP, combine it with a Run ‘n Gun game such as Contra, then put that in a 3D space.

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"Will blaze lasers be enough?!"

“Friday Old Games” is a series of articles in which we review a game from the older generations of consoles, share why we picked it, and whether or not it holds up with time.

Console ports of arcade SHMUPs are far from a rarity. In times past, the market was flooded with them. But something about that tried and true formula always keeps me coming back, even today.

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Games can grip you for many reasons; good stories and characters, interesting gameplay, or a fun setting to name just a few. With their independent title, Machinarium, Amanita Design has combined a point and click adventure game with traditional puzzles and an entertaining story of lost love and robots.

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