Shoot ‘em ups (or shmups, the more intimate term) are very rare in this day and age of the console-dominated game industry. It was almost inevitable with the decline of arcades and the rise of shooters in the more first person sense. And so, with this generation in full swing, it seems as though shmups are quickly fading away, desperate to find a haven where they can stay and thrive once more. With the release of games such as Geometry Wars, Super Stardust HD, and Metal Slug (not quite shmups but very close) on the online downloadable services for the current-gen consoles, that haven may have been found. At least, Hudson thinks so; strongly enough to release the Natsume-developed shmup Omega Five on the Xbox Live Arcade.

Omega Five is in many ways your typical horizontal side-scrolling shoot ‘em up. You make your way across levels shooting through hordes of enemies until you reach a boss. Beat the boss, and you move on to the next stage. But it also does many things unique to the genre. The game features four characters (two of which need to be unlocked) who each have three weapons and one special ability. One of the characters, Ruby, has your typical bullet and laser weapons, but also has a unique lightning weapon. All of Tempest’s weapons seem to differ from the usual shmup fare, as they include a flamethrower, a gun that shoots some sort of blue-green acid, and a gun that shoots out what appears to be liquid chrome. The most unique character however is Sensei, who doesn’t really “shoot” anything at all but instead uses this sword. Other than the fact that he makes the game a paradox in relation to its genre, I can safely say he is an amazing and powerful character and worth every bit of trouble to unlock, not to mention that his special ability is a dog that can target enemies. All characters also have the ability to escape from attacks in exchange for loss of health. And of course it wouldn’t be a shmup if smart bombs capable of doing damage to every enemy on the screen were not available (hint: they are). The traditional gameplay combined with these unique factors provide both variety and strategy, making the game both fun and challenging.

But what makes the game so good? Well, let’s start with the level design. The game is one of the best looking available on the Xbox Live Arcade without a doubt. It features 2-D gameplay on gorgeous 3-D backgrounds. Oftentimes, enemies will enter the screen from the three dimensional background, and the effect is quite stunning. There are only four levels, but they’re all so rich and different from each other that it’s not much of a setback. Also, many of the events are scripted. By this I mean that enemies will always jump out from a certain location and attack you a certain way. This is significant enough to make a large part of being successful in this game dependent on memorization. Reflexes will not win all the battles. This is definitely a flaw, albeit one that doesn’t have much justification beyond that fact that some of the scripted events are just plain cool looking.

Throughout the levels, there are power-ups that can level up your weapons or restore health. The downside to this is that your weapon can only be changed by picking up these power ups. For example, if you’re currently equipped with the character’s Weapon A at Level 3 (the max level) and pick up a power up for Weapon C, you will then be equipped with Weapon C at Level 3. If you’re at Level 2 for a certain weapon and pick up its respective power up, you’ll then be upgraded to Level 3. The lack of on-the-fly weapon switching gives you less control but the same power ups always appear in the same places in every level so strategies can still be planned out. The game also features local co-op play but sadly there is no online co-op. I believe this is due to Natsume wanting the optimal shooter experience without any sacrifices for lag, which I think is a completely unfortunate but understandable reason.

As you can see, I would be lying to you if I told you that these features are what make the game so great. Honestly, the greatest asset of this game comes from its roots as a shmup. The task of facing insurmountable odds and wave after wave of ridiculous enemies is what makes the game so incredibly satisfying. A large part of the satisfaction comes from the unique weapons you’re given. Shredding through enemies with Ruby’s traditional laser and bullet weapons is an absolute blast, but so is covering half the screen in green shit with Tempest’s acid gun. Unlike a lot of shmups that are accurately described by the term “bullet hell,” Omega Five manages to strike just the right amount of difficulty, similar in many ways to Portal. It’s more intimidating than it is challenging. The game can be difficult at first, but multiple play-throughs will make it easy on even the greenest shmup players. If you are really struggling, the game awards you with more lives just for playing a certain amount of time. For example, I haven’t played many shmups, and was doing badly enough that I played for three hours without beating the game. However, playing for three hours gave me eight lives instead of the original three. On my first play-through with eight lives, I managed to beat the game without dying once. This just shows how the game can be overwhelming at first, but in disguise is not unfairly difficult. If you still can’t beat it, playing for five hours will unlock infinite lives. But of course there is some real challenge for pros, as beating the game will unlock the ++ (plus plus) modes, where the objective is to beat the game without getting hit once.

This review may seem a little bit long-winded, especially for an Arcade title, but it’s just something I have to stress. Omega Five is only the second arcade game I’ve played that I would give an A (TMNT gets an A for humor alone, despite what Mr. Letourneau says). Does it get this A for combining traditional shmup gameplay with a few unique and interesting features? Of course it does. Does it get docked a little bit for relying too much on memorization and not including online co-op? That would be a yes as well. But the most important thing here is that it is your duty to buy this game, not only because it’s fantastic, but because it’s a dying breed. We need to show that shmups can prosper on these types of arcade services before the genre becomes extinct. With Omega Five and the announcement of Ikaruga for the Xbox Live Arcade, the dreams of a safe haven can finally be realized, but it is our job to make it so.