SHIELDS DOWN

Jake Kazdal talks us through the influences at work in 17-BIT's super exciting looking Galak-Z. It's cool hearing Kazdal talk about how his love for 70s and 80s anime has shaped the game's aesthetic. Years ago, shortly after a (failed) job interview with a video game company, I pitched them the idea of an episodic racing series that evolved like a Shonen Jump manga.

My idea was to have a character-driven race game full of dastardly enemies and mysterious challengers. The main player character would be your typical skilled bumpkin working his way to the top through guts and determination. Other drivers would be a variety of colourful allies and evil aliens out to thwart your ambitions. Play would be snatched moments of pivotal action accompanied by thwart radio chatter - a bit like Star Fox. Looking back it's probably an idea at odds with ideal racing game state - when you're performing well you tend to slide into a zen reflex mode, you don't want, or need, story pop-ups constantly demanding that you be excited.

DEBRIS FIELD

Further proof that the PS4 is shaping up to be the destination of choice for side-scroll shoot fans arrives in the form of Galak-Z: The Dimensional. This closer look at 17-BIT's game reveals a caffeine shot shooter that looks like Asteroids controls in a Salamander setting. There's also a fair bit of Treasure's Bangai-O in the way your craft uses a drifty jet propulsion whilst toggling between lock-on missiles and curvy lasers.

E3 2013: Galak-Z

I can't find an official trailer for this title, so you'll have to make do with microclip snatched out of last night's feed. Galak-Z is a side-scrolling shooter from Skulls of the Shogun developer, 17-BIT. The game immediately brings to mind all the blast processor shooters released early in the Mega Drive's life that aimed to look as close as possible to Japanese science-fiction OAVs.