I want to play something unique, but I need suggestions

[Doc]

Now, don't get me wrong, I love shoot em ups (actually Ikaruga is one of my favorite games ever), but the shoot em up genre has always struck me as the genre with the least innovation. Every single game seems to be exactly the same as the other but with different sprites and bullet patterns. I want to play something different.

What are some shoot em ups with neat gimmicks that have a strong effect on the gameplay? For example Ikaruga and the polarity mechanic, or Zero Gunner 2 and the ability to shoot in all directions, or Radiant Silvergun's massive focus on weapons.

[Bootaaay]

Have you played ESPgaluda? If not, i'd highly reccomend it as it's a great game with a pretty unique scoring system;

Basically, you have normal shot, guard-barrier (bomb) & kakusei mode - killing enemies using the normal shot gives you green gems which can then be used to instigate kakusei mode. Once this is activated your shots become more powerfull and all the enemies & bullets slow down, however the green gems are expended fairly quickly and if you run out while in kakusei mode you enter kakusei overmode whereby the bullets all turn red and increase in speed until you leave kakusei mode - overmode has 4 levels of increasing difficulty and your score can be exponentially multiplied by staying in this mode, however it can become very, very difficult. The advantadge of kakusei mode (other than the beneficial slowdown) is that whenever you destroy an enemy in kakusei mode, all the bullets on screen fired by that enemy are converted into gold ingots that significantly improve your score multiplier. Effectively, this gives you two options for increasing your score - a) 'milk' enemies until they've spewed loads of bullets, whittle down their health & as they're about to die, switch to kakusei mode & collect the gold ingots, or b) remain in kakusei overmode as long as possible.

[corn619]

Mars Matrix, R-type and Progear are all really good and different. The best part is all of them can be emulated on M.A.M.E. Border Down for DC is great and Summer 92 Recca for the NES is a shooter that pushes the NES to its limits. Theres the Dezaemon series for NES and SNES is the first game (at least on consoles) to feature a create-your-own shooter engine. This lets you create your own vertically scrolling shooters. You can edit enemy flight patterns, levels, graphics, even the music.

[thejamessea]

Soldner- X is pretty awesome. It uses a really unique combo/weapon leveling system.

Check it out if you can.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Soldner- X is pretty awesome. It uses a really unique combo/weapon leveling system.

Check it out if you can.

i can second this, it completely confused me at first but its deep and gives you motivation to not get shot. Plus :zomg: you have a HEALTH BAR!!!

[corn619]

Also this game looks cool and very different http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/01/02 ... s-gravity/

[elvis]

Now, don't get me wrong, I love shoot em ups (actually Ikaruga is one of my favorite games ever)

I've been playing shmups for 25 years. They're my favourite genre, and I *hate* Ikaruga.

genre with the least innovation. Every single game seems to be exactly the same

Learn what "playing for score" means (as opposed to "playing for survival"), and how that differs wildly from game to game. Some games deal with complex rank, some with chaining (and not blatantly obvious chaining like Ikaruga/Radian Silvergun), some with all sorts of strange systems. Get on the shmups.com forums and hit up the high score threads. You'll quickly find your best scores aren't even 1/10th of what some of the guys there can achieve, even if you can 1cc games. The games suddenly fall under a whole new light, and become a whole lot more challenging than just plain survival.

Playing for score is something that seems foreign to western gamers who missed the pre-1983 arcade scene. Once you get that, you'll get what makes each shooter totally unique. There are far deeper mechanics at play than just the ship sprite and weapon powerups. You're only scratching the surface if that's all you see.

Soldner- X is pretty awesome. It uses a really unique combo/weapon leveling system.

i can second this, it completely confused me at first but its deep and gives you motivation to not get shot. Plus :zomg: you have a HEALTH BAR!!!

Health bars are the worst thing to happen to shmups. It's an awful leftover of the Amiga/C64 euroshmup days.

IMHO Soldner-X is average at best. It's been slapped together in a very amateurish way, and there's little depth to the game.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Soldner- X is pretty awesome. It uses a really unique combo/weapon leveling system.

i can second this, it completely confused me at first but its deep and gives you motivation to not get shot. Plus :zomg: you have a HEALTH BAR!!!

Health bars are the worst thing to happen to shmups. It's an awful leftover of the Amiga/C64 euroshmup days.

IMHO Soldner-X is average at best. It's been slapped together in a very amateurish way, and there's little depth to the game.

Hey health bars arent all that bad, I mean sure shmup 'purists' probably say nay too like yourself but those of us that suck like me but still want to enjoy a good game, they are a godsend. I mean, I like Ikaruga as much as the next guy, but I suck at shmups. So I tend to drift toward games like Silpheed and Soldner X. I still have trouble w/ world2 on Soldner though. Also elvis we all have opinions so while you may not like something dont bash it like its pure evil, health bars are great for us that suck and i think all shmups should have the ability to turn them on (or at least have 4-5 continues)

[thejamessea]

Now, don't get me wrong, I love shoot em ups (actually Ikaruga is one of my favorite games ever)

I've been playing shmups for 25 years. They're my favourite genre, and I *hate* Ikaruga.

genre with the least innovation. Every single game seems to be exactly the same

Learn what "playing for score" means (as opposed to "playing for survival"), and how that differs wildly from game to game. Some games deal with complex rank, some with chaining (and not blatantly obvious chaining like Ikaruga/Radian Silvergun), some with all sorts of strange systems. Get on the shmups.com forums and hit up the high score threads. You'll quickly find your best scores aren't even 1/10th of what some of the guys there can achieve, even if you can 1cc games. The games suddenly fall under a whole new light, and become a whole lot more challenging than just plain survival.

Playing for score is something that seems foreign to western gamers who missed the pre-1983 arcade scene. Once you get that, you'll get what makes each shooter totally unique. There are far deeper mechanics at play than just the ship sprite and weapon powerups. You're only scratching the surface if that's all you see.

Soldner- X is pretty awesome. It uses a really unique combo/weapon leveling system.

i can second this, it completely confused me at first but its deep and gives you motivation to not get shot. Plus :zomg: you have a HEALTH BAR!!!

Health bars are the worst thing to happen to shmups. It's an awful leftover of the Amiga/C64 euroshmup days.

IMHO Soldner-X is average at best. It's been slapped together in a very amateurish way, and there's little depth to the game.

Ewwww, I found a new type of Elitist to hate.

Seriously though, that post was nauseatingly elitist. You're like an arrogant wine-judge in a room full of beer drinkers.

Also, "Shmups" is a stupid word and I hate that it's suddenly in style.

[marurun]

I've been playing shooters (shmups had to be adopted because FPS games were suddenly shooters, and light gun games were always confused with them) for about 15 years and I don't play for score. I play for fun. If playing for score is what you find fun, more power to you. But I get frustrated that modern shooters seem aimed almost solely at score players, what with their byzantine scoring tricks and hidden doo-dads. I WANT to play for survival, and I want to enjoy the trip, visually and aurally, along the way. The problem, I guess, is that shooter-players like me are a dying breed and are not willing to spend what the game makers wants us to spend. I guess the score-players are the only ones dedicated enough to even keep the genre alive. But it's sad, it is.

Learn what "playing for score" means (as opposed to "playing for survival"), and how that differs wildly from game to game. Some games deal with complex rank, some with chaining (and not blatantly obvious chaining like Ikaruga/Radian Silvergun), some with all sorts of strange systems. Get on the shmups.com forums and hit up the high score threads. You'll quickly find your best scores aren't even 1/10th of what some of the guys there can achieve, even if you can 1cc games. The games suddenly fall under a whole new light, and become a whole lot more challenging than just plain survival.

Playing for score is something that seems foreign to western gamers who missed the pre-1983 arcade scene. Once you get that, you'll get what makes each shooter totally unique. There are far deeper mechanics at play than just the ship sprite and weapon powerups. You're only scratching the surface if that's all you see.