More bullets, more buff dudes, more ... butts?

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Let's Play: 'Which Box Art is Better?' (Sugar Shooter 2 edition)

Just so you know, I'm going to change things up a bit for this round of "Which Box Art is Better?" Rather than discuss the merits of the pieces of cover art produced for a single game released in various regions, today I want to discuss the merits of cover art produced for a pair of games released in a single region.

The pair of games we'll be dissecting today: Dudedle Studio's Sugar Shooter, which hit the streets in late 2010, and its sequel, Sugar Shooter 2, which is expected to make its way into gamers' hands (in Japan) any day now. (Awesome aside: Folks who buy the limited edition get this ass-tacular face towel.)

With that said, here's the art that graces the cover of the Japanese version of the first Sugar Shooter:

And here's the art that will greet folks who buy the Japanese version of Sugar Shooter 2:

Although I'm pretty fond of the former game's box art, I much prefer the imagery created for the soon-to-be-released (in Japan, at least) sequel. Sure, it's composition is a bit typical, but it's so colorful that it's not at all difficult for me to overlook it.

What do all of you think? Do you prefer one piece of Sugar Shooter cover art to the other?

See also: Previous 'Which Box Art is Better?' posts

Are you ready to blast the underwear off of another set of buff baddies?

You bet I am--especially if the bosses who appear in Sugar Shooter 2 are as cute (and, yes, as hot) as those who were featured in the first Sugar Shooter.

Unfortunately, I won't know if that's the case or not for a while, as this Mac/PC-based bullet-hell shmup, although finished, has only been sent to those who pre-ordered it thus far.

A note on the Dudedle Studio blog promises it will be made available to the rest of us shortly after the Japanese version drops on (or around) Feb. 19, though, so at least there's that.

In the meantime, why not busy yourself (as I am) by playing through the Sugar Shooter 2 demo that can be downloaded here?

Get yer pipin' hot Sugar Shooter 2 demo here!

And when I say it's piping hot, I mean that literally--as in, it's freshly released--and figuratively--as in, well, it features some smokin' content, just like the first Sugar Shooter.

I've only played the Sugar Shooter 2 demo for a few minutes this far, but already I can tell it's going to be just as fun as--if not more fun than--its fabulously gay predecessor.

One thing that's certain at this point: Sugar Shooter 2 will have a lot more options--such as a bevy of difficulty settings and selectable "partners"--than Dudedle Studio's original effort.

To see what the Japanese version of this boss-rush, bullet-hell shmup for bara lovers looks like in action, check out this trailer:



If you'd rather experience it firsthand, download the one-stage demo of the game from the Dudedle Studio blog.

It appears Sugar Shooter 2 will be playable on both Macs and Windows-based PCs, by the way--something that couldn't be said about the series' initial installment.

Finally, for more information on the first Sugar Shooter, read these previous posts: 'A somewhat gay review of Sugar Shooter (PC)' and 'I think it's about time I played a bullet-hell shmup starring beefy boys in underwear'

A somewhat gay review of Sugar Shooter (PC)

This downloadable (for Windows-enabled PCs) title, developed by the folks at Dudedle Studio, is/was my first run-in with a bullet-hell shoot 'em up, and you know what? I enjoyed it so much that I'm eagerly awaiting my second such experience. Granted, Sugar Shooter isn't a run-of-the-mill bullet-hell shoot 'em up (or shmup, as they're often called)--rather, it's a boss-rush, bullet-hell shmup that's squarely aimed at the bara-loving set.

To those of you scratching your heads at any or all of the aforementioned "b" words (bara, boss-rush and bullet-hell), hopefully the following infor- mation will straighten things out: Sugar Shooter stars a beefy, gay prince named Satan (hmmm), who is tasked with protecting his precious Sugar Kingdom from a quartet of similarly studly baddies. (They're where the bara, or "Men's Love," aspect of the game comes into play, by the way.)



One by one, these baddies--backed by a bombastic, guitar-laden soundtrack and led by a bloke named Lord Sugarless--assault Satan with wave after wave of beautiful bullets. (Hence the genre's name: bullet-hell.) Satan isn't powerless against said bullets thanks to his "Dessert Ring" (hmmm again), which transforms oncoming projectiles into candy and increases the prince's "Sugar Level." Increasing the prince's Sugar Level accomplishes two things: 1) It enhances his base attack and 2) It allows him to perform a "Sugar Burst," which not only destroys everything within a certain distance of the prince but destroys his opponent's armor, too. That's important because you have to destroy an opponent's armor before defeat- ing them in order to see the best (i.e., most X-rated) ending scenes.

All of this is controlled with the left button on your mouse, by the way. Click it once to unleash Satan's auto-firing "Chocolate Gun" (hmmm for a third time) and click it again to stop attacking and start using his "Dessert Ring." You also click, hold and then release your mouse's left button to enter "Sugar Rush" mode, and then click it one last time to use Satan's "Sugar Burst." It feels a little odd at first if you're used to playing shoot 'em ups with a directional pad and buttons, but it quickly becomes second nature.



Don't worry if all of the above sounds annoyingly confusing or convoluted; in action, it's surprisingly simple to understand. It's not so simple to master, though--as evidenced by the fact that it took me a good 20 tries to topple the fourth and final boss (Lord Sugarless) on the game's easiest setting.

I don't share that fairly embarrassing tidbit to scare folks away from giving Sugar Shooter a try. On the contrary, I think gaymers who enjoy shoot 'em ups--bullet-hell or otherwise--and have $14.99 to blow will get a kick out of this Dudedle Studio-developed title.

See also: Other 'somewhat gay' reviews

I think it's about time I played a bullet-hell shmup starring beefy boys in underwear (and, no, I'm not talking about Cho Aniki)

One of the reasons I'm not talking about the infamous Cho Aniki or any of its sequels in the headline above is that none of those Masaya-developed games are bullet-hell shoot 'em ups (or shmups). Another reason: Although Cho Aniki and its ilk feature plenty of beefy boys, none of them, as far as I'm aware (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), feature beefy boys who gradually lose their clothing as they're barraged by enemy bullets.

So, which game am I talking about in the headline above (and in this post)? Why, I'm talking about Sugar Shooter, a shareware PC game developed by the folks at Dudedle Studios.



Just in case "bullet-hell shmup featuring beefy boys in underwear" isn't detailed enough for you, here's the developer's official description of the game: "Sugar Shooter is an erotic shoot’em up game! Taking control of Satan-kun, the prince of the Sweet Kingdom and protect your world from being eaten by the invaders. Beat them and make them pay for they’ve done to your kingdom!"

If none of the above--including that strangely alluring screenshot--makes a lick of sense to you, maybe you should watch the following trailer for the game. (Warning: Neither character winds up naked at the end of the video.)



For more information on Sugar Shooter or any of Dudedle Studio's other games--one of which is a sequel to Sugar Shooter--check out the company's website at dudedlestudio.com.

(Via the completely-not-safe-for-work baragamer.com)

Let's play: 'Which box art is better?' (DeathSmiles edition)

June 29 is a big day for North American fans of bullet-hell shmups (aka manic shooters), as it is the day the Cave-developed DeathSmiles hits store shelves in the States courtesy of Torrance, Calif.-based Aksys Games.

Why is that such a big deal? Well, for starters, the side-scrolling DeathSmiles is the first Cave-developed, console-based shmup to be released in the region.

Anyway, the folks at Aksys Games recently revealed the box art that will be used for the North American version of the game (below, right) and--surprise, surprise--it differs from the art that appeared on the Japanese release (below, left).



Which one do you prefer?

Although I like the loli-lesbianism on display in the North American box art, I (slightly) prefer the drama and movement of the Japanese original.

Buy: DeathSmiles

Watch: DeathSmiles trailer

See also: 'Let's play: 'Which box art is better?' (Heavy Rain edition)' and 'Let's play: 'Which box art is better?' (Sin & Punishment 2 edition)'