SHMUP Collection (REVIEW)

I think it's safe to say that at this point the Nintendo Switch is the new home of the SHMUP, or shoot 'em up genre. With the debut of PixelHeart's SHMUP Collection this is made ever more evident. With the 'SHMUP collection' PixelHeart, and Astro Port not only bring back to life a trio of classics, but also offer revamped versions for a couple of them. Included in the collection are two versions of 'Armed 7', two versions 'Satazius', and a single version of 'Wolflame'. All of which are brilliant examples of just how impressive games from the genre can be. Each with similar yet unique approaches to gameplay mechanics. A little side-scrolling here, and a little top-down vertical climbing to boot

Ion Fury (REVIEW)

Enriched with excessive amounts of estrogen, and booming with badass bitchery "Ion Fury" answers that age old question scratching at the back of everyone's brain noodle ... What if there were a female equivalent to Duke Nukem?

Based on the goings on within the fictional world of Neo D.C., a distant future locale where augmented cyber criminals disobey a mandated martial law ordinance, Cpt. Shelly "Bombshell" Harrison steps in to be the judge, jury, and executioner. Wielding a revolver, and a stun baton she ventures forth into the city to dispatch local scumbags with extreme prejudice. All while offering one liners that would make the Duke himself shed a proud tear.

Slayin' 2 (Nintendo Switch)

Indie games these days seem to follow the inspiration of the more well known, and well liked genres. The safe bets. Things like shmups, platformers, or metroidvanias. When a developer strays completely from this expected norm, and hits the mark with something new, unexpected, and well executed though it is the most welcome of surprises. Such is the case with "Slayin' 2". This sequel to an iOS original release comes to the Switch offering the gamer not only two modes of play, but gameplay that is both fun, and frantic. As a hero or heroine of your choice you will be battling in plane based combat an army of darkness that has destroyed a kingdom. Going from location to location besting waves of creatures in combo fashion as you loot them the best you can. Ultimately spending said looted treasure on helping rebuild a destroyed civilization, gaining perks from said rebuilding, and in doing so unlocking the tools and heroes for hire that will aid you in said grind going forward. Against minions, and bosses alike you must learn how to most efficiently gain fame and fortune utilizing a sword, meter based attacks, and plane/lane changing capabilities. That, and limited health. All within two modes of play that offer a slightly different experience each in regards to the game's core mechanics.

Task Force Kampas (PS4)

I have decided to do this review differently, and include my Youtube video review. I took to Twitch to stream some hands-on impressions, and go over the features and mechanics which I then exported to Youtube, and have in turn included here. As it turns out I found a shmup with potential lost to artificial difficulty. Through a narrow playing field, oppressive bullet hell/enemy population, and recovery options that reduce the long lived potential of a playthrough things are made much harder than they should be. It left me unable to make it past the first boss on Easy difficulty despite choosing different pilots with different perks that each offered a different advantage in regards to shot type and health. Visually the game is very appealing, and the soundtrack quite impressive. Sadly I found out that it was a game experience not worth buying into. Hopefully the developer can heed my advice, and improve upon this game or the next.