First impressions are mixed. With its slick and seamless leaderboard structure, compelling Achievements overlay and perfectly pitched graphical chutzpah, all of the artistic and structural wants are firmly in place.
But, while early screenshots called to mind R-Type or Borderdown, in play it's not quite like either. In fact this is much closer to Capcom's ancient Forgotten Worlds, players tasked with piloting one of four flying characters through four sprawling horizontal scrolling stages, battling off all manner of alien swarm.
Andriasang: The release list in this week's Famitsu has some mega carnage for Hudson fans. It looks like many of the publisher's upcoming titles have been cancelled, presumably due to the recent Konami acquisition.
It's okay if you don't remember Omega Five. The Natsume-developed side-scrolling shump hit XBLA in early 2008 and has since shot into obscurity. According to Famitsu, the game is set to appear on Nintendo 3DS in Japan during Spring 2011 -- where it'll probably make a more memorable bow among a launch lineup otherwise devoid of "traditional" shoot-em-ups.
Having worked at Natsume for nearly 20 years, veteran composer Hiroyuki Iwatsuki discusses his memorable video game soundtracks, from classic scores on the Famicom to the soundtrack for XBLA title shoot'em-up Omega Five -- also sharing the challenges of producing 8-bit songs.
