Ever stopped to think how useful our thumbs are? These often overlooked little appendages let us show approval, hold the bottom of sandwiches, and move one way while shooting in another. What more could you want?

Back in 1997 I remember pumping quarter after quarter into the then retro Smash TV (released 1990). There was something so simple, yet horribly addictive, about the game play. The second my fingers touched the controls I could feel the adrenaline flowing. It was all about having the odds stacked against me as I faced incessant waves of enemies. It wasn’t a question of would I die, but how long could I last? How long could I look death in the eye before finally making a mistake, forcing me to dig through my pocket in hopes of finding one last quarter?

If you had told me a couple years ago that the two-stick shooter would be making a revival, I wouldn’t have believed you. With developers touting sophisticated enemy AI and hyper-realistic graphics, who would have thought that the most rudimentary style of game play would achieve such popularity? Now, before you yell out “Hey, welcome to 2005, we all know it’s back” (Or since you’re in internetland, it’ll be more like “I p0wn3d n00bs FTW”), I assure you I have a point. In 2005/06 it may have been considered a fad, but now that we’re approaching end-2007 and the genre is still going strong, it’s save to say that it’s here to stay.

Why the sudden revival of a game style that not only has been dormant for nearly a decade, but has little room for innovation? (Innovation, or the lack of, was discussed in this excellent article.) I’ll tell you why it’s back, and so much fun to play:

1) Arcades are dead. They’ve been replaced by 50+ inch HDTVs, surround sound, plush home theater seating, and stocked mini-bars. Our need for twitch game play is still there, and in need of a substitute.

2) Online leaderboards. Now you can legitimately see how you stack up against the rest of the world, and more importantly your ‘friends’. Gone are the days of questionable superiority, now you can assert your dominance as you crush everyone’s score – or pathetically try to match the leader.

3) Friends list. Now that you can see who else is playing, what they’re playing, and if you can join them, sometimes you’ll want to wait for someone to get on before you can start a “real” game together. Call it gaming’s appetizer.

4) Life gets in the way of fun. Gamers have gotten older, and have to budget time. We’ve got jobs, kids, and husbands/wives – all which get in the way of our fun time. We can’t spend hours straight engaged in a game, and have to be ready to quit at a moment’s notice. What better way to scratch the gaming itch than 15 or so minutes or intense action, possibly breaking our, or better yet a friend’s, high score?

5) Consumer price increases. Games are now going to run you 60 bucks, assuming you want the bare bones edition. If you want the collector’s edition then you’ll have to dig out at least 10 more. Would you like DLC with that? That’ll run you anywhere from 5-15 more. Suddenly a game that costs 5-10 bucks, available from the comfort of your couch, seems like a good deal. It might even be an impulse buy. Even renting games (via non-mail) has gotten expensive. Do I want to spend 8 bucks to rent a game, or 5 to keep it? If you want a next-gen game then you’ll have to pay next-gen prices…sometimes old gen is just as fun, and kinder on your wallet.

One part Lumines, one part shooter. Available soon on the PSN.

6) Developer price increases. Games can cost millions of dollars to create and distribute, with no guarantee that revenue will ever be recouped. This gamble leaves very little room for innovation and creativity, as developers are urged to be safe and stick to a bankable formula. Creating a game, available via download, with little to no distribution costs, and with the target price of 5-10 dollars gives creators room to flex their imagination and experiment, as development costs are generally in the sub-300k range – pennies in the videogame industry. Plus, the two-stick shooter is extremely simple in design, giving independent developers a chance in this competitive industry.

So what shooter are you playing? Still playing Geometry Wars (will you play it on the Wii or DS?), Crystal Quest, Assault Heroes, Super Stardust HD, or Blast Factor? Despite how repetitive the genre is, there truly is something for everyone. All you need is a stockpile of caffeine, the ability to not blink, and two thumbs.

This artical was published on Wednesday, August 1st, 2007 at 12:00 pm and catagorized in Thrillhouse17. You can follow the comments to this entry through this XML (RSS 2.0) feed. You can continue the discussion, or trackback from your own site.