Despite only having two full installments to date, the Cave-developed, vertical-scrolling shooter Mushihime-sama (literally meaning “bug princess”) series has captured my heart like few other shmups (shoot-em-ups) have. I’m already a complete sucker for danmaku, or “bullet hell” shooters, but Mushihime-sama Futari Ver 1.5 manages to refine the genre to the peak of excellence. (continue reading…)

Cosmic Smash combines real-life sports squash & racquetball with break-blocking video games Arkanoid & Breakout into a unique solo experience. It was originally released as an arcade game in Japan and Europe, and then it was given a Dreamcast release only in Japan.

The game is super simple in that your job is to (continue reading…)

It doesn’t seem right to mention Cool Cool Toon and not give a shout out to Slap Happy Rhythm Busters, another import-friendly title released on the PlayStation. The wacky name sets the tone for this fighting-meets-rhythm game, a combination that I have yet to see replicated. (continue reading…)

Thanks to officially supported emulation on today’s consoles (via Virtual Console, XBLA, and PSN), we’re seeing more and more games given a second life through digital distribution. Recently, it was announced that two Dreamcast games would be coming this year as downloads for Xbox 360 and PS3.

Considering that the Dreamcast is easily this blogger’s favorite system, now is the perfect time to talk about other DC games that I’d like to see show up in the future. ICG is going to refer to these pleas for re-releases as “revival requests.” (continue reading…)

Just a few weeks ago, Tetris Party Deluxe shipped for the Wii and Nintendo DS, bringing with it an impressive array of modes and ways to play. No single version of Tetris, however, contains every mode included in every game ever made. That’s why it’s worth breaking out some of those older editions occasionally – to get a fix of your favorite modes.

There are so many Tetris games out there that it’s highly unlikely for someone to have played them all, or even know about them all. Among the less well-known versions, two of the best are, strangely enough, both on the Nintendo 64. (continue reading…)