Technabob » shmup

Xcm PS3 Light Gun is the Mutant Child of a Controller and a Gun

Lambert Varias — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 13:57:14 +0000

Maxconsole got a couple of videos from console-modders XCM showing the latter’s prototype light gun for the PS3. It’s basically half of a PS3 controller stuck to a light gun. I think XCM is shooting for a controller that’s compatible with all shooters, hence the need to come up with something with a sizable amount of buttons. Killzone ain’t exactly as simple as Duck Hunt.

On the other hand, arcade shmups like the Time Crisis and House of the Dead series have managed to incorporate multiple weapons, reload and a cover system using only a light gun and a pedal, so maybe XCM can still find a way to sexify this ugly mutant.

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Although the video above demonstrated the light gun’s sensor’s capabilities, in the gameplay video below the demonstrator uses the controller in the exact same way as you would a normal PS3 controller, i.e. using the two analog sticks, which kinda makes the point of a light gun moot.

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I’m not a fan of FPS games so I’m not too excited about this accessory, and I don’t think that its current form is comfortable enough to use for long periods of time. What do you guys think?

[via Maxconsole]

Decimation X: Like Space Invaders on Crank on Your Xbox 360

Technabob — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 15:28:04 +0000

Got an itchy joystick trigger finger? Like to blow stuff up? Then you might want to check out this new game that just hit the shelves over on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Xona Games’ Decimation X is best described as Space Invaders on steroids meth. The game consists of round after round of descending pixelated aliens and other retro-fantastic characters attacking you in what seems like an endless hail of bullets. Thankfully, your spaceship can be powered-up with plenty of defense and weapons upgrades, including an insane multi-fire attack, capable of annihilating dozens of enemies at once. The game even features a four-player mode where you and your friends can attack the aliens at the same time – sort of like a co-op mode, but you’re competing against each other for the high score.

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If you’re into retro gaming, you owe it to yourself to check out Decimation X. It’s available now over on the Xbox Live Marketplace for just 80 Microsoft points (or for those of you who pay with actual money, just one buck).

Half Minute Hero for the Psp: the Twitter of Video Games

Lambert Varias — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:04:57 +0000

RPGs are traditionally long and epic in scale for lots of good reasons, but a lot of RPGs have elements that add unnecessary length to the gameplay, like unskippable walls of text, unnecessarily slow-ass modes of transport and/or huge maps, quests with insane requirements, and of course the grinding. Oh the grinding. Marvelous Entertainment and XSEED games make fun of a lot of the genre’s conventions in their upcoming game Half-Minute Hero, so named because the quests in the game have a default time limit of 30 seconds. Yep, 30 seconds per quest. Destructoid ‘s Ben PerLee wrote a detailed preview of the game, and it seems to be a must-buy for jaded gamers.

The game uses our expectations and past experience with RPGs and throws all of that – the 8-bit graphics, character portraits in dialogues, conventional plots, grinding, item buying, dialogue etc – in fast forward, which makes sense because if you’re not going to see anything new anyway, might as well zip through to the end right? And PerLee mentions repeatedly in his preview that the game is consistently funny and self-aware, and that’s a huge plus for me. Here’s a video of the gameplay from the Japanese release of the game. The video has spoilers (especially if you can read Japanese) towards the end but it also shows the 30 second system at work pretty well so… watch at least the first 3 minutes, then stop if you want.

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As you saw in the video the 30-second time limit can be extended in exchange for money, but the whole thing was still freakin frantic. Half-Minute Hero isn’t just an RPG; The RPG part is just one of the 4 gameplay modes in the game. There’s also a shmup, a survival/king of the hill mode and even an RTS (!) mode, with each mode assigned to a stereotypical character. The hero gets the RPG mode, a princess is in the shoot ‘em up, a knight defends a mage in the king of the hill mode, and an evil boss is the character in the RTS mode. Here’s a shaky and quite awkward interview by Unit of True Game Headz with Jimmy Soga of XSEED.

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This and Persona may just be the ones that will make me use my PSP again. Hopefully the humor is really present throughout the game. You can pre-order Half-Minute Hero at Amazon for $28 (USD). Check out Destructoid for the full article for more info.

Shmups Come to Dsiware Japan, Rest of World Sheds Bitter Tears

Alisha K. — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:23:33 +0000

If you were smart fortunate enough to have picked up a Japanese DSi, you’re going to want to check this out: Aa Mujou Setsuna, a bullet-hell style vertical shmup available on the serious cheap: 500 Nintendo points. That’s five bucks, less than most gutbuster combo meals, and they’re lacking two things this game has: serious quality and an even more serious developer.

So who’s behind it? Arika, makers of a wide variety of popular games–games often known for innovation and killer music. The other name on the label? Nintendo. That means those of us who don’t have a convenient Japanese DSi to get around those pesky region locks may be able to take heart and hope for a localization.

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The shmup is available this week and, I hope, will herald a new age of killer DSiWare games for people who like to die brutally and often in games.

[via NeoGAF]

That’S No Shooter: Kissma, the Kissing Game

Alisha K. — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 13:28:54 +0000

So the vast gaming frontier is pretty well packed with shmups of all kinds. Scroll, bounce, dodge, a little running, a little gunning–whatever your preferred action, you can get it in a shooter… and now, that even includes kissing. Which is to say not shooting at all, but that’s how you gotta roll in Kissma. Kissma, a browser-based lip-smacking indie romp, even inspired one writer to call it a “ksmup,” or a “kiss ‘em up.”

In Kissma, crazy pixelated heads fly toward your own disembodied noggin, and your massive protruding lips are your own defense. Sessions last sixty seconds, and in that time, you’ve got to plant your lips with abandon if you want to work your way up the scoring charts. Twice each game, a kisskey bottle floats in amongst the heads, and if you drink up, you get a special ability.

If you’re still not quite sure how this horizontal scrolling kisser really works, there’s a handy video with some footage, or you could simply go give it a try.

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[Kissma via IndieGames and Mouse No!]