Developer CAVE is looking to make it a bullet hell holiday for its fans by getting in on the year end sale bandwagon. CAVE just recently dropped Bug Princess [$4.99/Lite] into the App Store, a game which we liked a whole bunchwhen it released, and thought was quite reasonably priced to boot. Now, you can pick up all of their previous major iOS titles at a discounted rate from now until January 10th. (iPad 2 Only) If you aren't sure about a purchase, each and every one of these games has a lite version you can check out, and there are even versions of Espgaluda II that are split into separate "Arcade" and "iPhone" standalone apps that are available for a cheaper price. Also, make sure you're equipped with at least 3rd generation hardware or above, and in the case of Espgaluda II HD, you'll need an iPad 2 specifically to Read More

For more than a year now, CAVE has had a reputation of releasing high quality shooters on the App Store that featured hefty amounts of action, depth, and replay value. Their bullet hell shooters Espgaluda II [$11.99/Lite] and Dodonpachi Resurrection [$11.99/Lite] are two of the finest shooters around, and they proved they could translate their particular brand of manic gameplay to a more traditional action game with Mushihimesama Bug Panic [$6.99/Lite]. CAVE’s latest title, Deathsmiles [$11.99/Lite], furthers their reputation of offering top quality shmups and us yet another excellent shooter to add to our collection. Like the aforementioned CAVE shooters, Deathsmiles consists of a mode that mimics the arcade version of the game as well as an iPhone-specific mode with exclusive features. The arcade mode features 4 different playable characters and 8 total stages to play. The underlying gameplay mechanics are fairly straightforward. Your character automatically fires, and a button in Read More

Just a couple of weeks ago, CAVE released a new trailer for their upcoming iOS version of manic horizontal shooter Deathsmiles, along with an apology for the game missing its intended Spring release window. It turns out that they didn’t miss it by much though, as CAVE has officially announced that Deathsmiles will be releasing next Thursday July 7th. In addition, just as they’ve done with their previous iOS releases Espgaluda II [$8.99/Lite], Dodonpachi Resurrection [$8.99/Lite], and Mushihimesama Bug Panic [$4.99/Lite], Deathsmiles will launch at a discounted price of $4.99 for the first 4 days before jumping up to its regular $8.99 price tag. Also like those games, the iOS version of Deathsmiles will feature an exclusive iPhone mode in addition to the regular arcade mode that features new gameplay elements and a brand new playable character. If having to wait until July 7th to see Deathsmiles being played on an Read More

Back in February we learned that CAVE was readying a port of Deathsmiles for the App Store, and just a couple of days later they released a teaser trailer for the game. The trailer pegged a Deathsmiles release for Spring 2011, but with Spring all but gone and no sign of the game on the App Store it’s pretty obvious that things are taking a bit longer than expected. CAVE announced on their Twitter that they will have more information regarding a release date soon, and have offered up a brand new trailer of Deathsmiles as a peace offering for the release running late. Like CAVE’s other iOS shmups, Espgaluda II [$8.99/Lite] and Dodonpachi Resurrection [$8.99/Lite], Deathsmiles will come with an iPhone mode in addition to the original arcade mode. The iPhone mode will come with a brand new exclusive playable character named Princess Tiara, and will have its own new Read More

...most talked about #iPhone app in the last 24hrs was: ESPGALUDA II http://bit.ly/fnmSWv... Read More

Seeing as I recommended you check out CAVE’s bullet-hell shooters late last week, it seems appropriate to review their games too; starting out with Espgaluda II.  Originally an arcade game and latterly on the Xbox 360, this vertically scrolling bullet-hell shooter was released for iOS last year; but could this difficult genre really work on such a small screen? Leaving aside the plot – something about youngsters being used as test subjects in Project Espgaluda, where they were fitted with artificial wings, being discovered in hiding – this is straight-up arcade action, where weaving your way through waves of complicated bullet patterns is equally as important as blowing everything up. There are three characters to choose from, each with a different weapon, and six different stages to fight through.  Depending on how involved you want to be, there are several different control systems too; however the movement of your character is Read More

We recently hinted that you should vote for CAVE’s Espgaluda II to be included in OpenFeint’s fire sale, and we’ve received word that the game has reached the minimum threshold; so it’s being reduced in price this weekend. It’s not only Espgaluda either, as CAVE will celebrate their one-year anniversary this coming week and therefore will be dropping the price of Dodonpachi Resurrection and Mushihimesama Bug Panic too. Espgaluda II will be priced at $4.99/£2.99, Dodonpachi at $4.99/£2.99 and Mushihimesama at just $0.99/£0.59.  That’s a good saving on these traditionally expensive apps, and even if you don’t want the more expensive pair, pick up Mushihimesama Bug Panic as CAVE will be donating all earnings from this app to the Red Cross to aid Japan’s recovery from the recent earthquake. You’ll have nine days to pick up these three, as the sale will be on between the 9th April and the 17th Read More

Seeing as it’s natural to hold the iPhone upright, it’s perfectly suited to the vertical shoot ‘em up genre.  We’re big fans of a good shmup and have put together a collection of ten examples available in the App Store.  Many have their own Lite version so you can give them a try first too. If you’ve got a personal favorite that we haven’t mentioned, let us know in the comments! A universal app for the iPhone and the iPad, Icarus-X looks great but is is serious challenge even early on, with a single bullet destroying your ship, and that’s before you get to try and avoid the fast-moving background obstacles at the same time!  It’s not quite bullet hell, but it’s close!  $.1.99/£ A bullet-hell game without the hellish price tag of CAVE’s games.  It’s good too, with responsive controls, a clever random AI, Game Center support and a lot Read More

Famed video game developer CAVE isn’t a stranger to the iPhone gaming market. Their previous title, Espgaluda II is undoubtedly one of the best shoot-em-ups currently available on the App Store. Not only are the graphics top notch, but the game offers an amount of difficulty not seen in most games of a similar genre. Now CAVE has delivered another shmup to the App Store called Dodonpachi Resurrection. Dodonpachi Resurrection is a sequel to “Dodonpachi Daioujou” and has earned critical acclaim from fans for not only staying true to the original title’s scoring system, but also offering new features such as “hyper counters”, which negate enemy attacks and “counter lasers”, which shield your ship from enemy laser attacks. The game offers two full featured modes. iPhone Mode is an exclusive adaptation of the game that was made with the iPhone in mind while Arcade Mode offers a direct port of the Read More

...Apps, iPad apps, iPod touch Apps & App Reviews iPhone App Reviews appSafari Top 25 Categories Store Giveaway Submit Help Espgaluda II Zoom User... Read More

...a Cave shooter (Espgaluda) on the iPhone?? How did I not know about this? http://bit.ly/bLQoKe (iTunes link)... Read More

...crap! Best arcade shooter on the iPhone, yet! :O http://bit.ly/9SeHyk... Read More

May 25th, 2010 Jared Brewer This game can be called many things; addicting, spectacular, beautiful, even retro or classic. But this game is certainly demanding if nothing else. This requires an iPhone 3GS or greater, but does it really need to? Read on to see. Presentation This game comes off in the App Store as… something that is not a 2D vertical shooter. It reminded me with the icon of an RPG. Which is confusing for a mostly typical, if not trippy, shooter. This game is very much a shooter in play however. What this game really excels at is the particle animations though. Every explosion, every shot is shown with gross animation and response. While it isn’t key to this game, it certainly does change how you view this game. Controls The controls here are simple and tried. You swipe and drag to control your ship. It is that simple, Read More

Editor-in-Chief, iLounge Published: Thursday, April 29, 2010 Category: iPod, iPhone, and iPad Gems: Apps, Games + More Welcome to this week’s gaming edition of iPhone and iPad Gems! Due to the continued flood of new app releases we’ve been sifting through, today’s roundup is again a rapid-fire look at eight different titles—each with less detail than we’d normally prefer to include in a full review. Our goal is to let you know about three noteworthy recent iPhone/iPod touch games, and bring you up to speed on a handful of new iPad titles, as well, including several that were previously released as iPhone apps. Our top pick of the week is Gameprom’s Pinball HD, but a number of other titles received our general recommendation. Read on for all the details. Dwindle Currently available only in iPhone and iPod touch form, Dwindle ($2) by Unwind is a cute puzzle game that came out Read More

A couple of interesting releases recently hit the App Store. For various reasons we can't fully recommend them, but may be of interest. A sequel of sorts to Fast & Furious The Game [99¢ / Free], Fast & Furious Adrenaline is another arcade racer that runs at a decent frame rate with tracks filled with jumps and sharp turns. As noted by forum members in the game's thread, the physics in the game feel off and the draw distance is kind of low, but if you love the Fast & Furious movies, here's the latest game spinoff. If you don't have a device capable of running Espgaluda II [$8.99], Icarus-X may be worth checking out. The 3D graphics are cool, but without an extensive weapon upgrade and power-up system (something which seems to be standard in shoot 'em up games) the game can feel a little monotonous. Forum members seem to Read More

Shoot’em up-Fans frohlocken: Das japanische Entwicklerstudio Cave veröffentlicht mit die mobile Portierung ihrer im Jahr 2005 veröffentlichten Spielhallen-Schlacht. Die Pixeljäger sind Kenner der bildschirmfüllenden Gefechtsorgien. Ihr “Maniac Shooter”-Repertoire zählt Perlen wie DonPachi, DeathSmiles oder Mushihime-sama. Das Spielprinzip nennt sich “Überleben”, die Vorraussetzungen sind ein schnelles Auge und ein geschulter Abzugsfinger. Mit eurem kleinen Weltraumgleiter tänzelt ihr durch kunterbunte Silvesterknaller, die von überdimensionalen Roboter-Gegnern auf euch abgefeuert werden. Espgaluda liefert rasantes 2D-Scrolling in atemraubenden Feuergefechten, die an den derzeitigen Hardware-Grenzen der mobilen Apple-Geräte knappert. Der Titel läuft im Moment nur auf den iPod touches (32 und 64GB) der letzten Generation sowie dem iPhone 3GS. Die Framerate bleibt trotz hunderten umherfliegenden Geschossen weitgehend stabil. Ab und zu greift das geschulte Auge ein potenzielles Flackern in den Performance-Werten auf, wenige Hundertstelsekunden später sprüht die Farbenpracht der tödlichen Salven wieder aus allen Ecken. Was Cave hier in ihrer ersten iPhone-Umsetzung auffährt, ist ohne Frage “top-notch”. Read More

...@jake74: If you like shoot em ups and have an iPhone 3GS, you *need* to buy this now. Espgaluda II by Cave - http://bit.ly/aFCPFE... Read More

Any truly diehard arcade shooter fan will have heard of Cave. Founded in 1994, the Japanese gamemaker is responsible for some of the most highly acclaimed scrolling shooters to have ever appeared in an arcade. With their 1995 release of DonPachi, the company created a new, intense genre of shooter known commonly as the "manic shooter" or "bullet hell" shooter, in which the screen is almost entirely filled with enemy fire, and successfully evading said fire requires extreme control precision and skill. It's a prevalent genre in Japan that is far less-represented in the West. (Some such titles readers may be familiar with include (Xbox 360, Gamecube), (Xbox 360, PS2, Dreamcast)  and Noiz2sa [App Store].) In a move that should have iPhone shooter fans standing up and cheering, Cave has just thrown their hat into the iPhone gaming ring with their port of the 2005 Japanese Arcade / Xbox 360 release  [App Read More

Cave's Espgaluda II appeared in the App Store tonight. This vertical shooter falls in the "bullet hell" subgenre where your job includes dodging waves of endless projectiles. Espgaluda II was originally released as an Xbox 360 game earlier this year and is now making its way to the iPhone. Due to the number of projectiles in the game, Espgaluda II requires a 3rd generation device. This includes the iPhone 3GS, 3rd Generation iPod Touch and even the iPad. In fact, the game plays pretty will on the iPad with pixel doubling as the added screen size seems to make navigation a little more precise. That's not to say the iPhone 3GS version is lacking. In our brief time with the game, it seems to deliver on the promise of "bullet hell" with smooth visuals and solid controls. The video shows the manic action involved in the iPhone release: While you can Read More