A Couple of 360 Imports......

Hello, it's been a while since I posted anything on here due to a new arrival in the house.

I'm finding it tough at the moment to find any spare time to have even a few pints at the moment let alone write a blog or shoot YouTube vids. Rest assured that both my shmup and regular collection are still expending and I'll be back on a slightly irregular basis from here on in.

I'm specifically looking at a couple of recent 360 imports I've purchased recently:

Sneak King - US. One of three games available from Burger King for a limited time in the US at a budget price when bought with a value meal. Not rare and bought just as a curiousity for £3 on ebay, I intend to get all three at some point.

Instant Brain Limited Edition - Japan. Finally picked this up for a non stupid price I'm sure Cave fans will know the reason why I bought this this glorified dating sim, it contains a port of arcade DoDonpachi. A real shame I've got to grind through the main game to unlock the shmup goodness, but I've heard it's quite a painless process

Sturmwind and Caladrius

A huge week in the world of shmups with the release of Sturmwind on the DC and Caldrius on the 360, both copies of the game have been sent out and will hopefully be with me next week. Videos will be forthcoming....

Shooting Love 10th anniversary - XIIZEAL & ΔZEAL

Confirmation today of yet another upcoming 360 shmup: 

http://www.shopncsx.com/images/products/detail/xiiizeal.jpg

Two editions: Regular Edition and Ltd. Edition - It seems the first print of both versions might have a LTD edition soundtrack but it's all a bit sketchy at the moment.

Preorders open on AMI AMI and NCSX

http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail?scode=TVG-X36-1290

http://www.shopncsx.com/shootinglove10thanniversaryxiizealanddeltazeal.aspx

It looks like the legendary shooter G-Stream will be included in the pack which was created by team members that went on to work for Triangle Service. There are also hints that the game will include some bonus shooters like The Shooting Love 200x compilation did - TBC!

New 360 Shmup Pickup!!

Just picked up a Limited Edition that I thought I'd never get due to the fact copies of the game just don't crop up that often - Senko No Ronde Rev. X

I'll post photos when it arrives!

Under Defeat HD - PS3/360?

Rumours have surfaced again that this amazing G.Rev shooter is going to be released, presumably on PSN/XBL:

http://www.siliconera.com/2011/10/25/under-defeat-hd-means-one-more-shooter-for-ps3/
This story first circulated about 4 or 5 months ago but the inclusion of a potential release date and G.Rev's recent slightly cryptic facebook posts makes me think there might be some truth to this.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Grev-Ltd/194052213944305

There's a thread up on System 11 too with a bit more info

List of Shmups that will be at E3

Radient Silvergun for XBL and erm that's it......... :D

Thanks @Gunhead

Thanks to Gunhead aka Amidststorm for pointing me in the direction of this slightly obscure euro PAL release. This compilation disk containing 3 XBL games (and one DLC) as a physical release. For 360 shmup fans this game is of particular interest because it contains the tremendous Geometry Wars 2. I picked this up for the princely sum of £4 brand new from Ebay. Will post some nicer photos next week.

Bullet Soul - 360

A seriously great time for 360 shmup fans, another shooter announced!

Bullet Soul:

http://5pb.jp/games/bulletsoul/

A shooter developed by the company that did the ports Ketsui and Dodonpachi Dai Ou Jou on the 360 - 5pb

It's rumoured to be heavily Cave influenced, more news when I have it!

Available for preorder at Play-Asia:

http://www.play-asia.com/Bullet_Soul/paOS-13-71-br-49-en-70-3y5h.html

360 Shmup Preorders

Over the last few weeks there has been a bumper list of 360 shmups announced, most are actually already available for preorder!

Pink Sweets/Muchi Muchi Pork - Not Available But Listed

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-br-49-en-70-3xkm.html

Dodonpchi Resurrection + Limited Edition - Available for Preorder. Preordered!
http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-br-49-en-70-3xkw.html

Radirgy Noa Massive - Available for Preorder. PrPreordered

http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-br-49-en-70-3x41.html

Senko No Ronde Duo Limited Edition 17/08/10

Turned up today and it did come all the way from Japan really quickly, it's got an amazing art nouveau cover. Can't wait to give it a go.

MORE 360 Shooters!!

Huge announcements from the Cave at the 360 shooting festival this weekend!!

As suspected with the announcement of Dodonpachi Dai Fukkatsu on the iPad a 360 port of the most recent arcade version (v1.5) has been confirmed for 25/11/2010! I've been waiting for this port for ages because the most recent Dodonpachi game looks insane and cranks the bullet hell and an overpowered player ship up to new levels
There will be a limited edition version with an arrange CD and preorder download card

A quite obscure and strange Cave shooter called Dangun Feveron (check it on MAME) is getting a port for release in 2011 probably on XBLA.

And another biggie Muchi Muchi Pork and Pink Sweets Ibara are getting a double pack release in Spring 2011 - the best shmup compilation ever?

Radirgy Noa Massive - Update 12/08/10

Sorry non-Japanese 360 owners I can confirm that Radirgy Noa Massive is not going to be region free from the latest preorder update on NCSX:

http://www.shopncsx.com/rajiruginoamassive.aspx

There's some really interesting info on the conversion and sales figures for the Wii version!!

"NCS Product Synopsis
Update: August 10, 2010
«©NCSX» Sales for the Wii conversion of Radirgy NOAH were tepid. Maybe the elite shmup corps overseas didn't feel like playing a shooter with an input device called a "Nunchuk" or a "Remote." In a couple of months, Radirgy NOAH is getting ported over to the Japanese Xbox 360 which should prove to be more favorable for Milestone's sales. In the confines of NCS' offices, we consider the X360 to be the spiritual successor of the Dreamcast... at least in terms of coin-op to console shooter conversions.

Radirgy NOAH is a vertical shooter where a squat ship displays its versatility by shooting at flitting enemies, shielding itself from danger, and slashing at incoming attackers. By firing away and slashing during the course of the stages in Radirgy, the ship levels up both offensive functions for improved performance. "NOAH" features a simultaneous 2-player option and is viewed in the Yoko (horizontal) aspect which allows enough room for both gamers to maneuver and takes sides. The final boss "Ruki Mishima" from the first Radirgy is an optional player character in NOAH. Bosses in the game include a bald-headed homo sapien in yellow pants who performs a spin attack that launches fireballs and an aerial platform that disappears in a puff of clouds when destroyed.

Milestone is adding the word "Massive" to the Xbox 360 conversion of Radirgy NOAH but that impressive descriptor appears to only encompass new game modes in addition to the default arcade mode, an illustrations gallery which features unlockable artwork, and an online ranking mode. Preorders for the Japanese Xbox 360 import Radirgy NOAH Massive are welcome to ship on October 14, 2010 at JPY6800 or US$75.90 from NCS.

Questions and Answers
Q: What is this Radirgy Noir that I see on some sites?
A: The word "Noir" is a mis-transliteration of NOA or NOAH.

Q: Do ya'll prefer Radirgy or Radirgy NOAH?
A: Asteroids. Scratch that. Asteroids Deluxe.

Q: Is Radirgy NOAH Region-Free?
A: Nope. The earlier shooters that were RF appear to be outliers.

Q: How many copies of Radirgy NOAH did NCS sell on the Wii?
A: Exactly 173. We shipped the rest back to Tokyo at 35% trade.

Preorders for the Xbox 360 import Rajirugi Noah Massive are welcome to ship on October 14, 2010. Alternate spellings include Rajirugi Noa, Radirgy Noa, Radilgy Noa, Radio Allergy, and variations thereof.

Japanese Product Name: ﾗｼﾞﾙｷﾞﾉｱ Massive

Region Lock-out
Please note Japanese Xbox 360 games will not boot on USA or European Xbox 360 consoles due to the inherent region-lockout on Japanese X360 game discs."

Radirgy Massive

Radirgy Massive has been confirmed for a physical 360 release on 28/10/10:

http://books.rakuten.co.jp/rb/%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B8%E3%83%AB%E3%83%8E%E3%82%AE%E3%82%A2-MASSIVE-Xbox360-4988648738355/item/6635403/

Aliens Vs Predator

Been after AVP for a while now but it's always been a little too expensive, so when I saw this for sale in Grainger Games for £9 I had to buy it. I've seen the average reviews but I'm having none of that it's a cool little game. I've played the game through as the Predator and the control system is brilliant, the game really does pay homage to the films. It does go to show that sometimes you need to take games reviews with a pinch of salt - Dark Void, Bionic Commando, and Star Wars Force Unleashed all being examples of games that didn't review brilliantly but I really enjoyed.

Guwange!!

Great, some more news about the XBL conversion of Guwange.

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/07/10/cave-shmup-guwange-to-be-released-worldwide-on-xbla/

FEAR

Hello kids

This week I'm going to make it my mission to finish a game I've had on the back burner for a long time, FEAR for the 360. I picked this up for about £20 including the Orange Box and Condemned 2 from my mate. I've finished both the other games but I'm still grinding my way through this one. I do quite like the game but the levels just merge into one in my mind and it's a bit samey. On level 7 so hopefully I'll get it finished this week, I need space on my shelves!!

Been checking out videos for the game Vanquish by Sega, really exited by this game it looks smart. I'll be preordering this one in the coming weeks.

Bought a couple of replacement games this weekend:

1. Rage Racer PS1 - Had a copy since release but it hasn't got a front cover so I finally got a replacement.
2. Pocket Fighter PS1 - Another Japanese copy, picked this up cheap and this copy has got the spine card!
3. New Zealand Story Evolution DS - Not a replacement but I've always fancied this game.