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Deathsmiles

Deathsmiles

Surprises inbound as a little-known arcade shooter swoops in for release this week. For gamers of a certain taste, this is the best excuse for not being able to afford that round of drinks come Friday.

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That's right people. That a big happy '8' emblazoned on the score board over there, for a game that looks like it was shat out during the 90s (when actually its circa 2007 in Japanese arcades) and will be about as appealing to COD veterans as a plate of Lego washed down with a pint of chunky rank milk. I know, the score surprised me as well.

Actually, that's a lie. I was surprised at opening my mail the other morning and finding a copy of Death Smiles within. The title had slipped well under my radar before this. I soon realised however this was a title that had rigged an atomic canon to fire it through the time barrier and into my face in order to awaken me from a game realism coma. Last game to do that to me? Sega's Bayonetta.

Death Smiles isn't of the same calibre as Platinum's dynamic adventure, but it is a persuasive little beast. Sure, its sprite-based 2D shoot'em up stylings will finish off those who weren't already revolted by the Gothic anime art slapped on the box cover, and to some the name of the developer, Cave, won't mean a god damn thing. But I've got a funny feeling there's a fair few of you reading this who just got that tingle up your neck. For you, here are the liner notes:

Cave shooter that is actually accessible. Strategic gunslinging, screen-filled bullet dodging, pumping soundtrack. Six different game modes, original arcade or HD coated visuals, all packaged in a lovingly rendered special edition. Oh, and it's under twenty quid.

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Deathsmiles
You have the option to stretch the screen to fit your television's dimensions.

Alright, if you're still drawing a blank in all this, but are intrigued as to why your fellow gamers have fallen quivering to the floor whilst murmuring what better-not-be orgasmic rumblings, here's a fuller break down.

Cave is one of those developers, much like Treasure, who stick close to what its good at. What it does, well, where some would say archaic, others would state the developer has taken the genre to its logical concluding point. That genre is the shoot'em up: the classic 2D variety, where imaginatively crafted monsters swarm the screen, bullets rain on the screen like a cocaine addict sneezing on blow, and epic-sized bosses finish each level (or you).

The developer's infamous because its shooters are next to impossible to play for all but the pro players; normal enemies will spew brightly-coloured bullets numbering double-digits at a time, while bosses will completely fill the screen with theirs. The room to bypass these shots is usually only a few pixels big, requiring precise control and soft nudges of your control stick. Nearest most people get to seeing these scenes in action is watching youtube clips of established players.

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Death Smiles kindly drops that difficulty down a huge number of notches to begin with, but offers two selectable levels of difficulty to let you slowly work your way up to how it's meant to be played. You can select which stages you go through, and there's even an optional ultra-tough bonus stage for those that are feeling brave. After a relatively easy ride , this castle assault will grind your fingers and confidence on a razor-bladed grindstone within the first ten seconds.

Deathsmiles
Characters come with their own familiars which play into scoring chains.

One mode on offer even unlocks Level 999, which ironically is a big ol'pink spray of death to 99.9% of the population, with a no continue walkthrough being the stuff of legend.

It's something we know we'll never manage, but we love it's inclusion all the same, because it, and the game as a whole, celebrates a game type that is both hardcore and as old as us. It speaks to gamers of a certain age and disposition. For those coming into gaming post-2000, its worth playing just to see the unbridled bizarreness used to fuel the industry. And that's even before we mention the screen-sized cow called Mary.

Character design is one of the reasons why Death Smiles is instantly memorable. Cave has sponged some twisted fairytale books dry for inspiration, then tossed in a few cracking boss fights, including this rampaging cow, a rather pissed off tree, and an elderly man's head which angrily tries to break free of its bonds in a cemetery.

Even if the art style doesn't appeal - personally I think it adds to the charm of the title - the hardcore shooter within might.

Side-scrolling shooter, normal and charged shots, power-up modes, ducking and weaving enemy waves. Traditional fare, but rock hard. The game racks up multiple continues to ease you in. Yes, you can see the game's ending sequence within hours, but its about not utilising those life lines. It's about nailing huge scoring combos and working your way up the Leaderboards.

Another point to be made for newcomers: if the witch to bullet ratio looks sadistically cheap, you should know that like previous Cave titles, you only have to worry about the hit box on their heart-shaped shields in the middle of their torso. Its a few pixels high and wide. Survival is all about tap tap tapping your way through the throng.

Deathsmiles
Bullet heaven - and it gets a lot, lot worse than this.

Game modes are selectable from the start, giving you original arcade, Xbox 360 version, Mega Black Label (and extra character and a few other changes) and a handful of other variants, and you can take the experience online for cooperative (though there's local play on offer as well).

Packaging and extras would normally not factor into the equation when it comes to weighing up your purchase, but the three disc special edition (though checking retail sites, this is the only version available come this Friday) includes a twenty-three track soundtrack and a collection of artwork and widgets for your desktop (PC only it seems - sorry Mac users). The soundtrack, a strange fusion of dance, japanese pop and scottish bagpipes is a keeper for gamers' who like their collection eclectic.

The package simply something we don't normally get over in the UK, especially for smaller cult titles like this, and definitely not for under twenty quid. It's a bizarre little combo, and any collectors out there should take note.

If you have even a passing interest in the shoot'em up genre, then Death Smiles is worth not only a gander, but also your time and your money. It's a diamond nugget wedging time's door between the now and that era when imaginative, rock-hard shooters were a joy to behold and play.

And at the price of a couple of digital downloads, isn't it an era worth revisiting?

08 Gamereactor UK
8 / 10
+
A range of game modes to get your teeth into, wonderful enemy design
-
Level 999 might skirt the line of stupidly insane rather than just insane.
overall score
is our network score. What's yours? The network score is the average of every country's score

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Deathsmiles

REVIEW. Written by Gillen McAllister

"This is a title that is rigged atop an atomic cannon to fire itself through the time barrier and into your face heel first, all in order to awaken you from a realism-enduced gaming coma."



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