It Starts with 4...

After perusing the App Store on my iPad like a madman last night, I ended up with inducting four games into my Game Library. Of course the titles that I was most interested in are the bullet heaven shoot-'em-ups by Cave. I am a bit disappointed though that the newer releases are not custom made for the iPad because they are not bumped up to high resolution (unlike the recent iOS re-release of ESPGaluda II HD that easily rivals the X-Box 360 version of the game that I own) but it's still a steal to be able to get a hold of these games for the low prices you have to pay to play them. I used up the $10 credit that had been sitting in my Apple account for ages now - it was a gift from work - to acquire the following titles: the real time action strategy Battleheart, the original Mushihimesama translated for the North American release as Bug Princess, a bullet grazing shooter Danmaku: Unlimited, and Mushihimesama Bug Panic, a shooter spin-off based on the Mushihimesama games.

This screen will be filled up rather quickly...

I just cannot stop playing Bug Princess and even last night, I kept playing it in bed while waiting for the spouse to join me. I had my doubts at first when it comes to the thought of playing a Cave shooter properly using touch-based controls but thank the galaxy for the free demo downloads because as soon as I tried them, the genius visual buttons and the smooth precision of movement accomplished via finger sliding is utterly unbelievable. After using up all the avaialable cedits I had last night, I stopped myself from pursuing the other game apps out there. I do have to snatch up Dodonpachi Resurrection before January 10th though because it is on sale at the moment. I could always just get the import region-free PAL copy of that game for the X-Box 360 - which does come with HD graphics and extra game modes - but that will cost me $70. With merely $6, I can experience the core game on my iPad... The latter seems to make a lot more sense to me. Even when they eventually release the iPad exclusive HD version with Black Label, it would still cost a lot less than getting the same game on the console. Having access to choices is true gaming freedom.