Posts tagged Shooting at DS Fanboy

Posts with tag shooting

Big Bang Mini lights up the sky with new screens

Posted Jul 1st 2008 11:00PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: Screens

With a colorful, exciting shoot-em-up like Space Invaders now on the market, would-be shmup developers really need to step their game up to catch our attention. Arkedo Studios (Nervous Brickdown) seems to have done just that with Big Bang Mini!

Due this fall, this touchscreen shooter features a fireworks mechanic that is just as vibrant as it is unique -- instead of firing bullets at incoming waves, players draw in fireworks, detonating and chaining the scrawled explosives to clear as many enemies as possible.

The enemy designs are just as creative -- marionette skeletons, walruses riding on flying carpets, and monkeys floating above a city skyline. See them all in our gallery of new Big Bang Mini images below!

Gallery: Big Bang Mini

Space Invaders Encased

Posted Jun 10th 2008 8:45AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Fan stuff

If there's one thing we love, it's DS games. Obviously.

If there are several things we love, Space Invaders swag is somewhere on a list of those things, especially with Space Invaders Extreme so close, feeding our Invader mania. These keychains feature pink, blue, and yellow Invaders embedded in acrylic cubes like prehistoric flies in amber. Each order comes with three of them for $8.50.

It's up to you whether the awesomeness of the Invaders is worth cramming a big plastic cube into your pocket. That's a personal decision. Alternately, you could get a bunch of them and stack them in the classic Space Invaders configuration. Inside the clear cubes, they'd look vaguely like they were suspended in midair!

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Metal Slug 7 boxart will soon wrap copies of Metal Slug 7

Posted Jun 9th 2008 8:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Imports

The appearance of a boxart image for Metal Slug 7 means that SNK is one step closer to putting the game in boxes and shipping it out to stores in Japan (which happens on July 17!). Then, some time in the future, it'll get shipped out to the U.S. Then, shooting stuff time!

Even without the portent of Metal Slug on the way, we'd be happy with this boxart, which can only be described as classic SNK -- detailed, colorful hand-painted art that would be right at home adorning the box for a $300 game. Hopefully SNK realizes it would be cheaper to keep the same awesome art for the American box, rather than replacing it with something boring.

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Nine-minute Custom Tank video is eight minutes too long

Posted Mar 31st 2008 12:45PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: Video, Imports

With Play Asia's fantastic sale still in progress, we thought it a good time to highlight one of the discounted imports that we haven't talked much about since it was first announced, Simple DS Series Vol. 31: The Chou-Dangan!! Custom Sensha (The Super Bullet!! Custom Tank).

We appreciated that someone bothered to recorded a video preview of Custom Tank with a steady camera, and we hoped that the game would live up to our expectations as a Metal Slug-esque experience, what with its run-'n-gun mechanics and chunky sprites, but publisher D3 wasn't kidding when it threw this title onto its "Simple" budget line. The music track is on an annoyingly short loop while this first stage is excruciatingly long, likely dragged out to disguise the game's limited content and length. Judging by the slow pacing, it's definitely not a suitable Metal Slug substitute.

But if you like its cheerful approach to war -- tanks hopping over bottomless pits and zeppelins casually floating into view -- or if you're just looking for a game with customizable tanks, you might as well pick up The Super Bullet!! Custom Tank while it's cheap. Play Asia will have the game listed at $23.12 until midnight tonight (or while stocks last).

See also: Eight frantic minutes of Ketsui DS

[Via Nicovideo]

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Bangai-O Spirits' free play is really free

Posted Mar 25th 2008 10:30AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News

During my GDC appointment with D3 Publisher, I was told that any Bangai-O Spirits stage could be edited "in free play mode." I asked how to unlock stages for that mode, but the information was unknown to anyone outside of Treasure. Jeremy Parish's preview of the game gives us an idea of the answer, and it's awesome.

"You're free to play any of the game's 160 stages from the outset," Parish said, "and when you lose you can quickly jump back in to have another go at things." Sounds like the "free play" mode is the main game, doesn't it? And even if that doesn't exactly turn out to be the case -- if you can play any stage, but you still have to complete it or otherwise achieve a goal in order to access it in the editor -- that's okay too. We're just shocked that they opened all of the stages. It's a wonderful way to ensure that players can experience the whole game even though it's really hard.

Gallery: Bangai-O Spirits

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Hear Bangai-O's downloadable stages for yourself

Posted Mar 21st 2008 4:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Imports

Bangai-O Spirits is out in Japan as of this week, and Treasure and ESP have already made some bonus content available on the game's website (click "special"). Not only can stages be transmitted through sound, but replay videos can as well! The MP3 files come in at 500 kilobytes at most and run from about 7 seconds long up until 29. As expected, they sound pretty much like modem connection noises -- in case you were wondering!

We're saving these for ourselves, just in case they're only available for a limited time. There are currently three stages and three associated replays online -- one of which was created as a TGS demo with V-Jump Magazine branding, another the work of a PR person (we think?) named George who set out to make a challenging stage, and the last a maze created by someone at ESP.

Gallery: Bangai-O Spirits

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New shmup from Nervous Brickdown creators: Big Bang Mini

Posted Mar 19th 2008 6:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Screens

SouthPeak Interactive has announced that they'll be publishing Studio Arkedo's next game, an unconventional shooter called Big Bang Mini this fall. Big Bang Mini is designed around a fireworks theme -- rather than just shooting bullets at enemies, you "create" fireworks with the stylus and detonate them in order to destroy as many as possible, and attempt to chain the explosions together. It's somewhere between a normal shooter and Every Extend.

Just by looking at the screens, it seems that there will be multiple visual styles across the game's "over 90 levels." No word on how the game manages to be both "big" and "mini."

Gallery: Big Bang Mini

[Via GamesPress]

Commando to Slug it out in Europe this May

Posted Mar 14th 2008 12:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Screens, Imports

It's been quite some time since we've heard from 07 Commando, the surprisingly nice-looking total ripoff of Metal Slug. Since then, the name has changed to Commando: Steel Disaster -- maybe because it's "08" now? Today, publisher Lexicon Entertainment announced a European release date for the derivative run & gun: May 9th.

They'll probably beat Metal Slug 7 into stores (SNK's game was fairly early at GDC), which is probably an important component of the business model. We wouldn't mind an extra seven levels of Slug-esque shooting, ourselves, before the main course comes out.

Gallery: Commando: Steel Disaster

[Via GamesPress]

2008's Biggest Blips: Bangai-O Spirits

Posted Feb 4th 2008 12:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Features

Developer: Treasure/ESP
Publisher: D3
Release: Q2

Hello!! It is me, the super sexy M. In the year 2001 we had a Bangai-O shooting game on the Sega Dreamcast. Children Riki and Mami had a very big robot to go fight SF Kozmo Gang! I was in Infostation and sold them many infos to survive. They needed secret help information so they know how to use robot shooting power! We had many great talks together, and our game has a very deep storyline because of it! You should play our game and send money if you like it afterward!

Now the Treasure company is making a new Bangai-O shooting excitement game for the Nintendo DS! Can all of the 2D big explosions fit on such a small thing? Only time can tell!! Also it is yet to know if the delightful Mrs. M herself will be returning. If Infostation does not have me, how will players learn the shooting? Failure is very possible. But without knowing if I have a job, I will be nice and offer my very special information for free! You can thank me later!! It is because of the greatness of Bangai-O that I continue.

In my Bangai-O big robot had the ability to make extreme explosions based on number of the bullets on screen! It was out of control for sure! New Bangai-O Spirits has gone back to the way of N64, so the player (who is you) now has to charge up! What an exciting change of pace!

Back in 2001, Riki and Mami only had two weapons on the Bangai-O robot -- homing shot and bound shot (which bounced). Now so many new weapons are available! You can choose from start and have multiple weapons, including a bat that repels enemies and a sword that absorbs bullets! Then add on EX abilities that you unleash by charging up power and you are an explosion firing machine! Make 50000 credits please! I know I said it was free but this information is too good!

I wish I knew about when this game was coming out! It would be super premium information! I have been told that it is Q2, but not exactly known! I will just have to start planning my own levels for when it is out -- oh yes, did I not tell you? Bangai-O Spirits lets the beautiful Mrs. M and even normal kids like you make a level! Do you think you can make a level good enough for our 2D shooting action?

[Read the full Dreamcast Bangai-O script here]


The Suda pair	Back	Born free

Simple but effective substitute for Metal Slug 7

Posted Jan 22nd 2008 8:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: Screens, Imports

Here's the deal: we're still waiting for SNK to pull its finger out and give us a release date for Metal Slug 7. Yes, the game might look the part in motion, but with a release date for Japan not yet announced, it feels some way off.

In other words, we could do with a replacement, something to tide us over until SNK's run-'n-gun arrives. We've discussed Simple DS Vol. 31 THE Super Bullet!! Custom Tank previously, and also touched on the similarities it shares with Metal Slug 7 -- the lovably chunky sprites, the relentless blasting, screens packed with explosions.

Plus, as much as it might feel a bit "supermarket own-brand" compared to the more renowned SNK game, it holds one vital advantage over its illustrious rival: it's out in Japan in just over a week, on January 31st. It also looks pretty approachable, as Japanese customizable tank games go.

If you're still teetering over a purchase -- something that your local friendly importer can help you out with -- roll past the break for another set of new screens.

Continue reading Simple but effective substitute for Metal Slug 7

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Grab a single kernel of popcorn: time for a short zombie movie

Posted Jan 22nd 2008 12:45PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Video, Imports

We can't be too sure of the quality of D3's Simple DS Vol. 32 THE Zombie Crisis. Neither the Simple series nor the stylus-based first-person zombie-shooting genre are hallmarks of high quality. In fact, we'll take that back. We're pretty sure that THE Zombie Crisis isn't very good.

Despite the low budget, the limitations of the genre (on DS) and the fact that the zombie crisis happens to coincide with a thick fog that is so pervasive as to have gotten indoors, we actually like what we see here. It's fast-paced and there are a lot of weapons. Not to mention the excellent title screen, which is almost worth the price of purchase by itself. Who cares if the zombies aren't that great graphically? They're not going to be on screen long, if you're playing the game right.

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Custom Tank looks incredibly non-budget

Posted Dec 12th 2007 9:45AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Screens, Imports

Much like D3's other recent Simple series announcement, THE Zombie Panic, we question whether THE Custom Tank actually began its life as a Simple game. It looks like a lavishly-drawn, fully 2D action game -- which, these days, is actually more expensive than 3D. The thing's even got wireless (but not online) multiplayer! That doesn't sound like a super-low-budget game to us.

Custom Tank features (duh) customizable tanks, to which you can add parts found in battle. There are 20 varieties of main weapon, 40 subweapons, and 16 different kinds of armor.

With that Metal Slug-esque cutesy/gritty visual style, and the customizable weapons, we hope to see more of this game soon. We can start with the gallery of screenshots available at GAME Watch.

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Five gifts that are Contra 4

Posted Dec 11th 2007 12:45PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Features

Gaming sites are inundated with holiday gift guides at the end of the year, listing the best and most popular games that everyone pretty much already has (or knows about). Well, we're not going in for that this year. Our gift guide will help you find the best gifts in categories the other sites won't cover -- because we just made them up.

All year, we held out vain hope that the American-developed DS Contra sequel wouldn't be terrible. We tried to put our memories of Appaloosa Interactive's two PlayStation failures out of our minds and have faith in WayForward. We did our best to believe that a new 2D Contra had the potential not to be a crushing disappointment.

We were rewarded with one of the best games on the DS, and possibly the best game in the Contra series. It's hard to think of a better DS game than Konami's mind-blowingly manly Contra 4. So we didn't try. We've put together this guide to five of the best gifts you can give this holiday season, all of which are Contra 4. While it would most certainly be enough to list Contra 4 five times, we thought we would break it up by listing five different ways to package the gift of Contra.

Continue reading Five gifts that are Contra 4

Bangai-O charges up, launches massive screenshot attack

Posted Dec 6th 2007 3:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Screens, Imports

Bangai-O's seeming rebirth as a puzzle-shooter is fascinating to us. There was always an element of knowing what to shoot first and which weapon to use when, but Treasure and ESP seem to be putting more emphasis on smaller scenarios that require thought, rather than just spamming the 'shoot' button.

We never thought that we'd want the most frenetic, insane shooter ever to be a puzzle game, but we trust Treasure and we appreciate the fact that Bangai-O Spirits is not a simple remake. And anyway, look at those screenshots (some new, some old, all wow). It's still insane. And if you don't like the new level designs, the game's got an editor, so you can just make your own game.

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TGS07: Explosive Bangai-O Spirits trailer

Posted Sep 21st 2007 9:50AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Video

We love the Tokyo Game Show, if only because it gives us a valid excuse to talk about Bangai-O Spirits every single day. And actual video of the game is an especially good excuse.

The video features the normal huge, massive super attacks that are the game's trademark, but you'll also notice that new weapons, including a sword, are now available. How will super attacks work with the sword? No idea!

Another video features a strangely non-action-packed level that involves a Sokoban-style box-pushing puzzle. It's a weird change of pace from the frenetic shooting-- so weird, in fact, that the player continues to fill the screen with missiles for no reason.

Even though Bangai-O was originally an N64 game, we're still amazed at how well Bangai-O Spirits makes the transition to the DS. Thanks so much for making another sequel, Treasure. We know you don't really like doing that.

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Quick Yoga Training	Aug. 5
Bangai-O Spirits	Aug. 12
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