Ikaruga

here are so many shooters on the Xbox 360 that you'd think it was originally designed to be a training device for the military. Name the type of shooter you want and it can be found but if gamers aren't careful they end up with something a little too hardcore. The recently released Ikaruga falls into this category. Unless you're a diehard shooter fan it'll give you a beating worse than the one Shane Falco took in the '96 Sugar Bowl, but if you have the skills and are up to the challenge this is a must own.

Ikaruga is a vertical strolling shooter with a simplistic button scheme but difficult to master game play. Blasting enemies and avoiding fire is what you'd expect but the twist here is mastering your ships polarity. Bad guys shoot in two different colors, white and black. The polarity button allows you to switch your ship's shields and absorb one wave of fire or the other. Its a simple move but when both colors of bullets are flying, strategy becomes more important than trading shots.

This think first, shoot second approach can be frustrating but if you can work past it you'll find a game so fun, so pretty to look at, and with such an "I'm so close to beating this game I just need one more try, oops look at the time, I've been playing for 2 hours and my girlfriend has gone to bed, guess I'll sleep on the couch tonight" feel to it you won't want to put it down.

Pros: Addicting gameplay, beautiful graphics, easy to pick up and play
Cons: Requires patience and a degree in Videogame Shooting Theory

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miles1979

I owned this game on the Gamecube, and it possibly the hardest shooter i have ever played.

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