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怒首領蜂大復活 ($8.99) by CAVE CO.,LTD. is a classic type of Japanese bullet hell shmup (shoot em’ up) arcade game, now in pint size for your iPhone and iPod Touch.

Dodonpachi is a legendary series, but you don’t have to be already a fan to appreciate the fun and challenging gameplay that it brings in Resurrection.

How does ‘you never stop shooting but you must also dodge all incoming bullets and lasers at you’ sound? That’s pretty much the premise of DDPR, and all ‘bullet hell’ games, for those unfamiliar.

There are 3 different types of ships (A, B, and C), each with a unique attack style and look. Overall difficulty can be set (before you start a new game) between Easy, Normal, and Hard.

DDPR has 2 modes: iPhone and Arcade.

iPhone mode is a new mode with controls optimized just for the device. There are several buttons on the side (customizable in Options) for bombs and the Hyper Cannon. Bombs will deal massive damage to opponents in a single blast. Hyper Cannon powers up your shots to do more damage, as well as disintegrating bullets that get in the way. With iPhone mode, there’s a twist – you have to power it up more by spinning it around with your finger until it maces out and unleashes a huge blast. BOOM! Wipe out all opponents, but make sure to do it before the hyper cannon wears off. There are about five levels of increasing difficulty to go through.

Arcade mode is more of the traditional arcade game that you usually end up putting tons of quarters into. There are three play styles: Bomb, Power, and Strong. Bomb is the basic, rudimentary style where you collect the power-up orbs in the traditional style and are allowed use of bombs. Power let’s you power up as you please (maxed out) but you aren’t allowed use of bombs. Strong combines both styles, so you get powerful shots and use of bombs. If you do well enough then the shots get turned into hyper-mode for a short time.

Pro tip: Know when and how to use the unique ‘Laser’ weapon. Hint: See laser beams from enemies? Use your laser and see what happens!

It’s up to you which style to use, but there are OpenFeint achievements for clearing Arcade with each mode and ship, so it’s good to try each one out.

You get three lives to start out with, and can get occasional lives through play. But don’t fret if you die – you can just continue, though your points will be reset.

Keep in mind you do all of this while dodging insane amounts of bullets and also collecting the gold stars that add to your points. And get ready for some tough boss battles – they’ll literally litter thw screen with bullets – and you’ll have to fit through the smallest crevices between bullets to avoid them. Oh, there’s some kind of story too, but I didn’t really pay attention to that as I was hungry for more shoot-em-up action.

It’s fast paced action that is guaranteed to keep you busy for a good while. If you like these types of games, then it should be a no-brainer. The price may seem much at $8.99, but I guarantee it’s worth the money.

If you want to try it out though, there is a free Lite version available. It’s limited to Stage 1 only and has no practice mode, but has the iPhone and Arcade mode. I believe it’s also limited to the Type A (basic) ship.

The only drawback is that the game is not optimized for Retina display graphics. Once it is though, it will be perfect.

The developers also have another bullet hell shmup game, ESPGALUDA II, in the App Store. Stay tuned for my review on that.

Cubed Rally Racer HD ($1.99) The little 8-bit car that could has now made its way to the iPad in Cubed Rally Racer HD. You will need to dodge trees, moles, and cows while traversing ramps, bridges, and sharp curves. As your car goes it uses gas, and you need to pick up red and yellow gas cans to replenish your gas reserve because if you run out your race is over.

The game is set up with an endless number of races that get longer and longer. Every track is randomly generated from over forty different sections so no race is the same. Once you start racing it’s tough to stop as it’s so simple to go one more time to beat the current track your on.

The iPad version features the same set up as the iPhone version with the redline mode, and Easter egg mode. There is a new versus mode which splits the screen in half, and lets you race head to head on the same device. All the visual assets have been upgraded for the iPad, and though it’s 8-bit you can still tell it’s highly polished.

The game is the same fun as the iPhone version just on a larger scale. You need to be precise to collect gas cans and avoid obstacles while maintaining speed for online high scores via OpenFeint. It’s simple fun racing action that has elements of the absurd to help keep the racing lighthearted even after you smash your car and fly off the course over and over.

It’s remarkable that no two tracks play the same, and it’s great playing where you never know what’s coming next. To beat some levels though you’ll need to play the track a few times to know what’s coming next, and deal with it. The game is high on challenge and enjoyment which is relatively rare.

Cubed Rally Racer HD is a should buy for $1.99, and it’s great it made the move to the iPad. Be sure to check out our full review of Cubed Rally Racer for iPhone to find out all about the game.