I have been a lifelong fan of SHUMPS ever since I played 1943 in the arcade when it was released. I bought a TurboDuo for Gates/Lords of Thunder, hunted for a Saturn for Radient Silvergun and even bought a monitor the could swivel vertically when the Dreamcast version of Ikaruga supported that format. Needless to say I have seen my share of SHUMPS, I still think of them as shooters when the rest of the world think of shooters as COD and Halo.
Crisis Wing (reviewed on Xbox but also available for PS and Switch) is a game that brings back a long of fond feelings when playing it. It is not a bullet hell shooter but the screen still will be satisfyingly full of enemies, their bullets and powers along with a detailed scrolling background. It is challenging for sure, but not to the point of being abusive. When I died it was because I made a mistake and I was eager to see if I could do better by starting again.
The game has seven levels in the one or two-player co-op main game and I had a blast playing through the levels, although I did not get a chance to try the local co-op. The enemy ships are interesting, hit boxes easy to see and adjust to and when you get your ship powered up it is a great feeling of unleashing hell upon the enemy. You will also have a limited “super weapon” which shoot a satisfying green skull at the enemy ships causing great damage to anything on the screen.
There are a few extra modes as well; a boss challenge mode that reminds me that my reflexes are not close to what they used to be as well as a timed score mode. These are nice additions but the main game is well worth the price of admission if you have any interest in the genre, it is the best SHUMP I have played this year and one that I find myself jumping into repeatedly since I started playing.
Crisis Core
XBox, PS, Switch – $7.99
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