Why are fighter pilots battling bombers and flying supervillains in the skies over Japan? Who knows: we don't speak Japanese, and only Akai Katana 's ending videos offer subtitles. But that doesn't diminish the excitement of dodging bullets in this wild side-scrolling shooter.

+ Unusual resource-gathering mechanics add an absorbing layer of shape-changing strategy; + Completely insane local co-op sessions

? Why so few English subtitles to go with all the Japanese speech

Superb: A hallmark of excellence. There may be flaws, but they are negligible and won't cause massive damage to what is a supreme title.

There's nothing quite like a good old-fashioned shoot-'em-up to get your pulse racing and your thumbs twitching. And if there's one company that knows a thing or two about hurling a barrage of beautifully crafted bullets at you, it's Cave.

Intricate and clever stage design; Multiple modes offer lots of depth; Over-the-top retro visuals; Plenty of challenge for seasoned players

Main campaign is very short

Ever since reviewing Sine Mora , I've been on a bit of a prolonged shooter binge. Granted, I'm rubbish at these kinds of games, but there are few genres that can send me into such a trance-like state as a good shooter-even more so if they are of the bullet hell variety.

Some innovation comes from combination, "mashups" as they are fondly known in the Tech start-up world. In the gaming world, we see this with trends like Action/RPG games, where developers try to bring out the best in both genres.

There are still plenty of fans out there who appreciate a good "shmup" - shoot ‘em up, for short - especially the "bullet hell" variety.  These are shooters where ammunition comes flying at you from every single angle, and you need split-second timing or a hell of a lot of power-ups just to stay in...

Cave returns with another of its trademark bullet-hell shooters, but is this the best shooter on Xbox 360? Find out in our review.

Cave lets loose another barrage of bullets that may not fly *quite* as far as before.

A classic good old fashioned shooter game that brings a little feeling of nostalgia when I play it and remember bygone games from the Sega Genesis and nintendo 8-bit days. The game is definitely not meant to be played by those who have a risk of seizures as the multitude of flashing lights and other...

The game play mechanics are a bit complicated to grasp, but are a lot of fun once they click. In a nutshell, it involves flying your aircraft and shooting enemies to release collectible items, summoning a powerful ninja phantom, & cashing in items for massive scoring gains.