When did you last play a space shooter? Better yet, if you're under the age of 20, have you ever played a space shooter? Back when it was a popular genre, we used to run to the local 7-11 with a fistful of mom's laundry money, eager to plow through a hectic sea of deadly asteroids and insect-shaped enemy craft.
Since those days when high scores meant something, it seems every other genre that existed at the time has grown and evolved into something amazing. Rally-x paved the way for Gran Turismo and Forza Motorsport. Pitfall became Tomb Raider. Even other classes of shooters like Contra have led to great games like Gears of War.
Why, then, have space shooters hit a darwinian roadblock? If Metroid can move through generations and still be fun, why can't Galaga? Hit the jump for a closer look at this possible extinction and a chance to tell us what you think.
It's no surprise that some games have a longer shelf life than others. Looking back at your library of Atari 2600 and NES titles, it's a good chance there aren't more than a handful of cartridges you'd consider dusting off and spending more than 5 minutes with. Shuffle through them long enough, though, and you're bound to find a gem or two that might be worth a bit of your precious gaming time.
For me, it doesn't matter how old I get or how much I enjoy the shimmering splendor of this current console generation, I can always run through a few worlds of Super Mario Brothers or try to beat my old Galaga score when I'm in the mood to kick it old school. One is a platformer, one is a space shooter. The bigger difference, however, is that I can turn on any other console or handheld in my collection and play any number of platformers.
So if everything from the racing game to the block puzzle has grown and held its place in the industry, what the hell happened to this old favorite? Sure, there was Star Wars: Rogue Squadron and a few crummy follow-ups, but most of what we've been handed lately is nothing more than prettier versions of the same old tired crap. Is there some unwritten law that confines space shooters to up-scrolling 2-D? Is that horrid Gummi Ship minigame from the Kingdom Hearts series really all we get?
Don't get me wrong here. I'll be the first to stand up alongside Dtoid's finest like Aaron and Colette to applaud new and original ideas like ICO, Shadow of the Colossus and Katamari. Give me something fresh that I haven't played before and you'll find me in a state of gaming nirvana. By the same token, though, I still enjoy "More of the same, only better" just like many of you might. If developers can get away with releasing Mega Man 5000 G and pile after steaming pile of Sonic the Hedgehog, why don't we have a new Axelay? Imagine what might be possible on today's hardware, which is fully capable of rendering colorful galaxies where you could blow up entire planets or dogfight with hundreds of enemies at once.
What do you think, robot friends? Would you jump at the chance to play a 3-D spaceship game built for the 360, or do you think this genre is no longer viable and should be forgotten about?
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What about Star Fox or Warhawk and all of the Space sims on the PC.
Actually I remember how there were way too many space shooters back in the 16-bit days. In fact they were called shooters then so I'd say they evolved into all of the shooters we play now.
I'd also argue that Contra was more of a platformer anyway.
Wouldn't games like Tie fighter and whatnot be the grandchildren of this genre? They're aren't new, granted, but they're newer than arcade games.
Also I seem to remember rumours of another new Battlestar Galactica game...
ikaruga
gears seems more like from doom if anything.
@ mattattaxx:
YES! A new BSG game would be teh win!
Shooters arent dead like people think, they just havent done anything new since SNK or Neo Geo did. I mean the top down or 2d views are cool, but kids now adays are so spoiled and want something new and interesting.
Maybe a way to build your own ship, or just so much bullshit on the screen blowing up and everything at once, who knows. I just hope there IS going to be some more shooters; me being 24, I miss those games of yesteryear.
Bring Raiden to XBLV and Ill be a happy man
give me a good starfox game and im downn.
I don't mean to say that they're dead exactly, just that they haven't changed much at all over the past several generations the way other kinds of games have. They could be dead soon if they don't start changing. For example, Ikaruga isn't much different from its predecessors the way Psychonauts is so much different from Mario or other early platformers.
Also, there's supposedly a new R-Type in the works, but even still, that's only one game. Why do we have such an abundance of first-person shooters and racing games but so few space shooters? They used to be all over the place.
Starfox is the closest evolution
"Bring Raiden to XBLV and Ill be a happy man"
AMEN Spencers. Hell, go 1 step further and make a Raiden HD with updated graphics.
I just played the new Star Treck Legacy demo on the 360, and that demo is a good enough reason why space ship shooters have died off
i.e. they suck
I wish someone would start making games like Ninja Commando, Shock Troopers, or Total Carnage again.
i dont know if you guys can read minds, but... I was talking about athis with a friend of mine last night. Brought up Tie fighter/x-wing and wing commander.... wtf happened to these games, they were great (for their time)... too bad they no longer exist
The reason for the lack of space shooters is that Galaga kicks ass, and if Namco or any other company decides to improve the space shooter formula heads would explode. It's a scientific fact.
For some reason I could never really get into most space shooters. With the exception of starfox, spaceships and lasers (PEW PEW!!) for the most part are not for me. I think back when galaga was around, mainstream america was more into space travel and whatnot. Now that space travel is not such a big topic, people want more of the badass running around wtfpwning evil aliens and monsters. America likes to be the badass not drive the badasses space ship.
This is strange because I was also thinking about this recently. I miss games like Tie Fighter and Starfox 64. The Rogue Squadron games were fun in their first few iterations. It seems like the only space shooters I've seen lately are bullet hell, 2-d Japanese games. I love me some 2-d bullet hell shooters but to be honest I'm really, really horrible at them. I feel they're too hardcore and too punishing. I don't really know what could be done to bring back the space shooter but I think that maybe it should be focused on that fake game thing here.
Spencers and DeusPayne,
Raiden IV is coming to 360:
http://www.teamfremont.com/news/check%20this/Raiden_IV_Coming_to_the_U..shtml
@ fuege: They died out with X-Wing Alliance back in 1999. I would love for another Larry Holland developed Star Wars game.
All the new top down shooters are here in Japan. Just go to an arcade and you should be able to find them.
I was going to say something about Star Fox... but then I read that about four other people already did.
It's true though, space shooters are few and far between these days, especially compared to juggernauts like shooters or racing games.
Raiden III is coming to PS2 this month, and Raiden IV to 360 in the near future...... I love shmups... they will never die!!!! I love them all!(except the bullet hell games, never got into that. minute hit boxes and waves of bullets with little to no power ups is not my cup of tea sorry).
It was always my opinion that the traditional shooter was meant to be vertical-scrolling. Those side-scrolling shmups just feel weird to me. And what kind of revolution do you expect? You navigate a ship on a 2D plane, avoid getting shot, and shoot everything that moves. About the best you can do to differentiate 2D shooters at this point is add more bullets (like bullet hell shmups) or change interactions between bullets/enemies/your ship (such as Ikaruga).
3D is a little different, there's a LOT that could be done there, and I'm disappointed with the lack of space shooters. Imagine the detail that would be possible on the current gen hardware. I like to daydream about something akin to Colony Wars, except SO MUCH MORE AND BETTER.
And it's not a space shooter, per se, but while we're talking about PSX games, I really want another goddamn Jumping Flash! title. The world needs more Robbit. I wonder who owns the rights now. Doesn't matter much, I guess; I'll go where the Robbit goes.
They are all minigames, now. Ratchet and Clank, anyone?
X3 was pretty recent and had nice shiny graphics, and EVE on-line is a pretty good space shooter overall. I think someone just needs to streamline the immense sim-style excess of buttons and menus they both have. Also more shooting and less trading would be good.
i say less shooting and more trading.
played galaga yest, and the day before, and the day before...
i play a shooter for a little while almost every day.
Every Extend Extra for the psp, xyanide for the xbox, there have been a few, but not many in recent years. more get released overseas. the genre is hard by nature, and unfortunately, western gamers are lazy, and sometimes dislike a game just b/c its challenging.
@GRIM - if shock troopers doesn't hit the VC i'll be PISSED!!!
I always enjoyed Tachyon: The Fringe...it was the last good space shooter i played.
What about Geometry Wars?
Is Blast Factor a contender?
Blast Factor looks badass. Geometry wars is fun as hell, too, but my point is that these are just sparkly versions of the same shit we've been playing for 25 years. These games look like they could be running on a decades-old engine. Where's the hi-def, full 3-D shmup? I want something built for 360 or PS3 hardware, with black holes and supernovas exploding all around my ship. Something akin to warhawk or blazing angels, but in space, where I can do barrel rolls and blast through swarms of enemies going in every conceivable direction. If Forza 2 isn't a top-down view scrolling racer like indy 500 or Rally-X, then why are we content to fly around in 2-D shooting dots at things?
2-D space shooters are just about dead. There's only so much innovation you can put on that genre.
I think you're all missing the point. And that point is that shmups are a no brain pick up when you cant be arsed with Zelda. They dont need to go 3D just freshened up a little. Theres nothing else that gives you a quick burst of accomplishment.
In this light, I would say that a proper derivative of Radiant Silvergun is long overdue.
Ikaruga IS a derivative of radiant silvergun...
FREE.
FUCKING.
SPACE.
All you need to know. I'm out.
MUSHIHIMESAMA. This is what shmups have evolved to.