I think that had Guild 01 been released as it was in Japan (as a retail game containing this game as well as the fantastic Crimson Shroud), it might have been my game of the year. As it stands, both these games come very, very close to the top of the 26-or-so 2012 releases I've played on Nintendo hardware!

I didn't really have expectations for this game, to be honest. The idea of a 3D shooter made by Grasshopper Manufacture starring a 17 year old President of Japan using a mech to destroy invaders and liberate her people intrigued me less than perhaps it should have. I think I've come to expect crazy scenarios from Suda 51, just as much as I've come to expect a janky game.

It really isn't. It played superbly and anyone who was fine with the controls in Kid Icarus Uprising will probably like these controls even more, since there is no platforming in this game. You float above the ground and move about with the circle pad, while using the stylus to aim independently. You "paint" targets like you would in Rez, or Panzer Dragoon, or Sin & Punishment 2, and then lift the stylus to unleash tons of laser beams towards the targets you've painted. It feels powerful and it looks very cool.

The game is super short, but it packs a lot of variety. The five stages are all unique and it's not just the scenery that changes, but the types of enemies and the building structures as well. The first stage pits you against battleships over water; the foggy second stage has you dodge radars and searchlights while you destroy fuel silos; in a snow stage, you follow rails and destroy trains, etc.

I think I have a thing for games in which you "purify" areas by blowing up lots of enemies from a near-overhead perspective. There is something deeply satisfying about turning a previously hazardous area into a safe place, and pushing ahead into even more protected areas. The game reminds me of Space Invaders Get Even in that way. Perhaps also the old EA "Strike" series, though I never even completed one level in those games.

Anyway: great, great, short game. But great. Though it's really short. But fun! Check it out!