Insert-Disk.com

Xbox 360: Deathsmiles

2012-01-21T06:59:00.000-08:00

Year: 2007
Genre: Shooter
Players: 1
Our Rating: 8/10

Mini Review

Deathsmiles is one of those games you come across fairly much by recommendation only. The game is what’s commonly known as a frantic shooter. In Japan these games have a reasonably well established lineage and are found in numerous arcades. Unfortunately here in the UK you are unlikely to find this one in an arcade due to the decline of the industry. Fortunately though developer Cave have spotted the opportunity that there is a gaming sub-culture that really does enjoy this type of game and have made several releases of this genre on the modern home consoles. Today I will be taking a look at the UK Deluxe edition for Xbox 360. It comes packed on 3 discs which include audio and art discs.

Without going in to needless detail of the storyline it is fair to say that you play the role of a teenage girl that must lay waste to the enemies of an alternate world. To be honest the story segments of the game are very thin but this really isn’t what the audience came for. As you enter stage one you will be given a good introduction of what is to come for the rest of the game, colourful enemies, great animation and many, many bullets to dodge.

The options of the game are surprisingly detailed for what is essentially a very simple game. The Xbox version is packaged with an Xbox edition, 1.1 Arcade Edition and what is known as the Mega Black Label 1.1 Edition. To be honest you will not notice too much difference between them other than the Mega Black Label 1.1 edition, in my opinion it adds the most depth to the game. The control system has a new arrangement allowing you to control your familiar along with the rest of the buttons just moved around a bit. In addition though there is an additional Crystal Caves stage and the ability to play as Sakura. Most impressive though is the addition of the “Level 999” setting. Level 3 will be a great challenge for most, however, level 999 is just insane. There’s bullets everywhere on screen, so much so that the game has intentional lag built in to allow the player a slim chance of survival. This difficulty setting is really just a novelty for most gamers though.

What really impresses me about the game are the touches of finesse that set it apart from traditional shooters. For example, hitting certain enemies with a quick shot will produce a different amount of bonus item drops when compared to the standard shot (and vica versa). This means when attempting to build a large combo chain you have to really think about your shot selection to get the best from the game. Having built up a combo pot of 1000 points you can hit the power-up button. This allows even greater power and subsequently larger item drops. Getting these large combos is the key to massive high scores.

At the end of each challenging stage you must fight the boss. These are one of the games stand out points. You will fight Pumpkin Reapers, a dead baron, a tree and even a crazy cow. These set pieces all require phenomenal concentration and skill. Depending on the difficulty level that you selected the boss fights will also change. For example, the Pumpkin Reaper will add an additional barrage of scythes if you select difficulty level 3. As you would expect from a crazy Japanese shooter the boss fights get more and more elaborate, the final fight in particular will have you sweating with tension. I find myself always needing an extra bomb to get me out of trouble.

Verdict

Overall this is a great game for those that are familiar with the genre. It’s a world away from its ancestors such as R-Type but just as fun. Although this is perhaps a game suited to existing fans I’m sure that it is accessible enough to gain new followers.

Pros: Colourful, great sound and graphics, different to the average shooter, fun, affordable.

Cons: The most difficult settings are just a novelty, game can be completed quickly.

Commodore Amiga Video Lounge: Commodore Amiga: Silkworm

2012-01-17T12:57:00.001-08:00

Commodore Amiga: Commodore Amiga: Silkworm

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents "Silkworm" for the Commodore Amiga 500/1200.

First level played for fun.

One of the all time great shooters. Simple graphics and simple gameplay but this game has stood the test of time as a hugely playable game on multiple formats. I liked this one so much I bought an original board for my arcade machine, hours of fun!

Commodore Amiga: Commodore Amiga Video Lounge: Clown O Mania

2012-01-17T12:56:00.000-08:00

Commodore Amiga: Commodore Amiga: Clown O Mania

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents "Clown O Mania" for the Commodore Amiga 500/1200.

First 7 levels played for fun.

Clown-O-Mania is one of those games I played at a young age and have always thought well of. The aim is to collect every gem/ball (what ever they are) on the level. There are various bad guys running around as well as razor blades to pick up and use as weapons. The game is simple and fun with catchy music. Having not played this for about 20 years it came back to me quite quickly. If I have a criticism of the game it would be the controls. Since it is an isometric grid I get easily confused about which button to press, I have exactly the same issue with Q*Bert though :-) It's more use error than bad game design. On level 5 the map turns upside-down, now this really hurts my brain as to how to control the clowns direction.

Still, this is a fantastic gem of a retro game and well worth 10 minutes of your time to investigate.

Nintendo NES Video Lounge: 1943 Battle of Midway

2012-01-17T12:54:00.001-08:00

Nintendo NES: 1943 Battle of Midway

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents "1943 Battle of Midway" for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

Level 1 played for fun.

Great retro title on the NES. Lots of enemies and basic power ups. The game is a little easy by todays standards but still a classic. There were multiple releases in this series including several editions of 1944.

Nintendo NES Video Lounge: Punch-Out!

2012-01-17T12:53:00.001-08:00

Nintendo NES: Punch-Out!

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents "Punch-Out!" for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

Fight 1 played for fun.

Nintendos classic boxing game with plenty of knock outs. The controls are fairly limited to simple dodging and punching. Most of the game play involves learning the pattern of your opponent. For the time I can imagine that this game was quite a good option for all age groups. I like it but Super Punch out! clearly adds a lot more in terms of graphics and game play.

Sega Mega Drive Video Lounge: Gauntlet 4

2012-01-17T12:51:00.001-08:00

Sega Mega Drive: Gauntlet 4

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents "Gauntlet 4" for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.

Levels 1-3 played for fun. Arcade mode.

Classic dungeon crawling hack 'n slash adventure in Gauntlet 4. Fight your way through dungeon after dungeon packed with wave after wave of enemies. Along the way collect keys and potions to aid you in your quest.

Sega Mega Drive Video Lounge: Fire Shark

2012-01-17T12:49:00.003-08:00

Sega Mega Drive: Fire Shark

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents "Fire Shark" for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.

Opening title sequence and a complete stage 1.

A great vertical shooter. This one can get quite tricky and is very unforgiving should you find yourself moving towards the top of the screen. Nice powerups and great level design. If you like this one I would strongly reccomend Truxton which is essentially the same game with revised space themes sprites and levels.

Sega Mega Drive Video Lounge: Battle Squadron

2012-01-17T12:49:00.001-08:00

Sega Mega Drive: Battle Squadron

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents "Battle Squadron" for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.

Opening title sequence and a complete stage 1.

A very classy classic vertical shooter. Fight against the empire at incredible odds. Great graphics and a long lasting challenge. I tend to prefer the Commodore Amiga version because of the superior audio but the Sega version manages to retain the great gameplay from the original. I tend to find this game quite difficult after the first level. Since most enemies will take more than one hit this is certainly a game that is unforgiving on your trigger fingers.

Sega Mega Drive Video Lounge: Kid Chameleon

2012-01-17T12:48:00.001-08:00

Sega Mega Drive: Kid Chameleon

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents "Kid Chameleon" for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.

Opening title sequence and a complete stages 1, 2 and 3.

One of the more memorable Sega classics from the early 90's. The game setup is that you are Kid Chameleon, the coolest kid around. You must play a new "real" video game down at the arcade and defeat the evil boss. Throughout the game you will pick up different masks to transform in to a Kid Chameleon with different skills (sort of a Majora's Mask situation going on in a video game arcade). The game looks reasonably dated now but the actual game play is still rather enjoyable. The special mask skills are varied and each are needed to complete the level in which they are found. I particularly like the Jason style hockey mask from Friday 13th, it must be a copyright infringement but it briefly turns the game in to a U Rated Splatterhouse.If I have one criticism of the game it would be that on occasions you have to take leaps of blind faith froma platform only to find yourself in a lava flow or impaled on spikes (this seems to be a common issue with older platform games). Overall though this game is well worth a re-visit if you played this one back in the '90s. If you've have never played it then it may be worth a look out of interest, it certainly has a variety of levels and the skill sets add constant game play change.

Sega Mega Drive Video Lounge: Chase HQ 2

2012-01-17T12:47:00.000-08:00

Sega Mega Drive: Chase HQ 2

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents "Chase HQ 2" for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis.

Opening title sequence and a complete stages 1 and 2.

After being reminded by fellow gamer this afternoon I thought i'd give this one a quick try. Please excuse the poor playing on stage one where I manage to nitro in to other cars :-) Not a bad game at all although i'd like more time to try out the later levels. The idea of the game is that you are a special agent with the chase department. Rather than just arresting suspects you have to chase them and smash their cars up first. Would be much easier just to catch them when they re-fuel (but that possibly wouldn't make the game that exciting). Anyway, enjoy and don't try this sort of driving at home (or on a road).

Commodore Amiga Video Lounge: Commodore Amiga: The Secret of Monkey Island 2 "Le Chucks Revenge" Intro

2011-12-26T06:36:00.001-08:00

Commodore Amiga: Commodore Amiga: The Secret of Monkey Island 2 "Le Chucks Revenge" Intro

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents "The Secret of Monkey Island 2" "Le Chucks Revenge" for the Commodore Amiga 500/1200.

Opening title sequence.

Commodore Amiga Video Lounge: Centurion

2011-12-26T06:35:00.001-08:00

Commodore Amiga: Centurion

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents Centurion for the Commodore Amiga 500/1200.

Short gameplay demonstration. The game focusses on building the Roman Empire through invasion, taxation, gladiator matches and chariot races. Overall it's a fairly comprehensive strategy game.

Commodore Amiga Video Lounge: The Secret of Monkey Island Intro

2011-12-26T06:34:00.001-08:00

Commodore Amiga: The Secret of Monkey Island Intro

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents The Secret of Monkey Island Intro for the Commodore Amiga 500/1200.

Opening title sequence.

Commodore Amiga Video Lounge: Sim City

2011-12-26T06:33:00.002-08:00

Commodore Amiga: Sim City

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents Sim City for the Commodore Amiga 500/1200.

5 minutes of nostalgic game play. Just setting up a basic profitable city for fun. Sim City is still a great game even after all these years. It doesn't have too many features and there's no real goal but in a way that doesn't really matter, it really is the taking part for fun that counts. A great game for those that reember having to fish out the fluff and gunge from the ball of your mouse each hour, those were the days...

Commodore Amiga Video Lounge: Sorcerors Apprentice

2011-12-26T06:33:00.000-08:00

Commodore Amiga: Sorcerors Apprentice

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents Sorcerors Apprentice for the Commodore Amiga 500/1200.

Title screen and first level.

Played for fun.

Commodore Amiga Video Lounge: "Another World" ("Out of the World")

2011-12-26T06:32:00.000-08:00

Commodore Amiga: "Another World" ("Out of the World")

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents "Another World" ("Out of the World") for the Commodore Amiga 500/1200.

Opening sequence and first level.

Played just for fun. This games makes it in to my list of favourite games of all time, at the time it looked and felt so different to other games it was the closest to playing a movie. So much care has gone in to the animation and despite the use of any speech (other than simple grunts) it's easy to follow and get involved in this gripping rescue attempt/escape story. The concept is great and the execution is outstanding. Delphine did sucha great job here it was no wonder their next outing "Flashback" became such a hit. The same can't quite be said about the third installment of "Fade to Black", the processing power of polygons hadn't quite got up to standard. However, "Another World" is a game that has stood the test of time and i'm still playing this one two decades later.

Commodore Amiga Video Lounge: Lemmings

2011-12-26T06:31:00.001-08:00

Commodore Amiga: Lemmings

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents Lemmings for the Commodore Amiga 500/1200.

Opening sequence and levels,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9.

Played for fun.

Commodore Amiga Video Lounge: Jumping Jack'son (Jumping Jackson)

2011-12-26T06:30:00.001-08:00

Commodore Amiga: Jumping Jack'son (Jumping Jackson)

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents Jumping Jack'son (Jumping Jackson) for the Commodore Amiga 500/1200.

Opening sequence and first 2 levels.

Commodore Amiga Video Lounge: Disc

2011-12-26T06:29:00.003-08:00

Commodore Amiga: Disc

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents Altered Beast for the Commodore Amiga 500/1200.

Opening sequence and first 2 matches.

Commodore Amiga Video Lounge: Double Dragon 2

2011-12-26T06:29:00.001-08:00

Commodore Amiga: Double Dragon 2

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents Double Dragon 2t for the Commodore Amiga 500/1200.

Stage 1.

Commodore Amiga Video Lounge: Shadow of the Beast Intro

2011-12-26T06:28:00.001-08:00

Commodore Amiga: Shadow of the Beast Intro

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents Shadow of the Beast Intro for the Commodore Amiga 500/1200.

Opening sequence.

Commodore Amiga Video Lounge: Altered Beast

2011-12-26T06:27:00.001-08:00

Commodore Amiga: Altered Beast

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents Altered Beast for the Commodore Amiga 500/1200.

Stage 1.

Commodore Amiga Video Lounge: Gauntlet II (2)

2011-12-26T06:26:00.000-08:00

Commodore Amiga: Gauntlet II (2)

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents Gauntlet II (2) for the Commodore Amiga 500/1200.

Stages 1-4

Commodore Amiga Video Lounge: Wonderboy in Monsterland

2011-12-26T06:25:00.000-08:00

Commodore Amiga: Wonderboy in Monsterland

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents Wonderboy in Monsterland for the Commodore Amiga 500/1200.

Stage 1 and a half.

Commodore Amiga Video Lounge: The Great Giana Sisters

2011-12-26T06:24:00.000-08:00

Commodore Amiga: The Great Giana Sisters

http://www.Insert-Disk.com proudly presents The Great Giana Sisters for the Commodore Amiga 500/1200.

Stage 1 and 2.