I was asked recently to define the term "euroshmup", here's what ~I came up with:
Broadly euroshmup is a derogatory term for a shooter (normally but not exclusively a horizontal scroller), that looks really slick and polished but has some facet of gameplay that is broken.
By far the main problems are usually asosciated with the balance of the game:
Enemies being too tough and weapons too week
A vast amount of different weapons to choose from but fundamentally they all have the same affect
Punishing reset points
Loss of weapons at death makes continuing the game almost impossible.
Classic examples: Blood Money, X2, Soldner-X
Broadly euroshmup is a derogatory term for a shooter (normally but not exclusively a horizontal scroller), that looks really slick and polished but has some facet of gameplay that is broken.
By far the main problems are usually asosciated with the balance of the game:
Enemies being too tough and weapons too week
A vast amount of different weapons to choose from but fundamentally they all have the same affect
Punishing reset points
Loss of weapons at death makes continuing the game almost impossible.
Classic examples: Blood Money, X2, Soldner-X
What do you think? Is there anything you would add?
