If there’s any genre in gaming that is considered dead by many, it’s the Shooter. In the 1980’s and 1990’s games like Defender, Gradius and R-Type as well as countless others have provided amazing experiences for gamers. It might have been one of the most popular genres ever at one point, but it just doesn’t get the love it used to. The downfall of the genre can be tied closely to the death of arcades. As technology improved, games became more complex, and in turn people craved games with a deeper level of involvement. Concequently, "arcadey" games began to fall by the wayside. As this happened, people forgot what made shooters special. A shooter typically provides a pick up and play experience, while showcasing the power of a system at the same time through it’s visuals. That’s not to say shooters are easy; most require a level of dedication most gamers would crumble under. Majesco and developer Shin’en, seem to remember that this is what the shooter genre is capable of, and intend to show what the DS is capable of with their upcoming game Nanostray.

Nanostray will do one thing right away, and that’s totally amaze you with it’s silky visuals. The screens below don’t do it justice, and while I know that’s cliche to say, this game really does look superb in motion. It’s definitely the most impressive looking DS title so far. When one considers how much action goes on during a shooter, and that it’s running at 60 FPS it’s that much more impressive. While the audio is predictable (lasers, explosions, and techno music), it still sounds great, and this game already looks to be an audio/visual showpiece for anyone looking to show off what their DS can do.

Of course, Nanostray is a DS title, and people are going to crucify it if it’s unique feature set isn’t used in some form. Luckily Shin’en knows this, and while it’s not the most creative way to use them, it does sound useful. The touch screen will be used in a number of ways, but can be summed up under the header of "menu." The player can switch weapons with this screen, use their "live-radar," and manipulate their hyperspace controls. No clear details have been released about the latter two, but they do sound exciting.

Rack up enough points, and you’ll be able to purchase power-ups and other upgrades to your ship. Score high enough and post them at www.nanostray.com, since Majesco is sponsoring an online ranking system (a move that was probably inspired by Treasure’s Ikaruga). Buying upgrades will obviously make your ship one of the most formidable in the universe, but if someone dares to dispute this you’ll be able to hook up and play them in a head to head VS. mode, or even play a co-op game via the wireless LAN.

Nanostray actually has one of the deepest stories I’ve seen in a shooter. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but here’s the synopsis from Majesco’s official site:

You slowly come back to life in your spacecraft. It feels like you were unconscious only for seconds. Faded impressions of pain and humiliation dominate your thoughts. Instinctively, you look up at your console; it’s still indicating a destination.

With 10+ stages, that vary from "subterranean minefields, arctic mountains and hell-like lava fields" (which sound ironically like a generic 3D platformer), amnesiac shooter fans will definitely have no shortage of places to cause aerial mayhem this summer when Nanostray comes out.