Years ago, back when "The Inferno" was a fledgling indie gaming blog I crossed paths with two of XBLIG's most interesting, and unique shmup (shoot 'em ups) creators. Those creators being Matthew Doucette, and Jason A. Doucette of Xona Games. I was privileged enough to be able to review a couple of their retro inspired shmup titles including that of "Score Rush", and was able to try to best their high scores that were set before the game's launch. Being an old time arcade fanatic, and shmup enthusiast I greatly enjoyed the simplicity, and challenge of said games. They stayed true to what made the genre so attractive, and in doing so made those who could gain the highest scores in the leaderboards more noteworthy. In this day, and age that challenge seeking side of the gaming community is lost to the casual crowd though. Long gone are those multitudes of gamers seeking to achieve the highest scores possible within the shmup genre. Regardless of this loss of interest shmups continue to be created, and continue to thrive within the gaming culture.
As a quote included in "Score Rush Extended" so rightfully says shmups are the one genre that has withstood the tests of time. Players only pick them up for short bursts of fun, but return to them often over spans of years just to be able to make themselves known as top score leaders. Shmups, as they were are all about short lived gaming sessions, and long lasting replay value. They are also a genre of games that are somewhat misunderstood by the modern-day gamer. The casual direction the gamers of today have been steered in is basically negating any admiration of games that offer up a proper challenge. It's sad to see, but like the quote also said the genre has done alright for itself, and continues onward in games like, "Score Rush Extended".
