Deathsmiles II

Deathsmiles II X
File:DeathsmilesII.jpg Japanese Xbox 360 box art
Developer(s)	Cave
Publisher(s)
Composer(s)	Manabu Namiki Noriyuki Kamikura Yoshimi Kudo
Series	Deathsmiles
Platforms	Arcade, Xbox 360
Release date(s)	Arcade Xbox 360
Genre(s)	Manic shooter
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players simultaneously
Arcade system	CAVE PC
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 X2 5050e Brisbane 2.60GHz, 1024KB L2 Cache
Display	Raster, horizontal

Deathsmiles II: Makai no Merry Christmas (デススマイルズII 魔界のメリークリスマス, lit. Netherworld's Merry Christmas) is a horizontal side scrolling shoot 'em up arcade game by Japanese developer Cave, released in 2009. It is the third Cave shoot 'em up to be played using a horizontally-oriented monitor (preceded by Progear and the original Deathsmiles). Deathsmiles II is also the first CAVE arcade game to use polygons instead of their traditional sprites for graphics.

Development and release

DeathSmiles II X was ported to the Xbox 360 with additional modes in a Japan-only release in 2010. This came in both regular edition and a limited edition including a soundtrack CD. A platinum edition was released in 2011. The game was made available on the US "Games on Demand" store in 2011.

Reception

Gamesradar rated the XBLA release a 3.5 out of 5 and commented that "despite everything it has going against it, Deathsmiles 2X stands out as one of the better shooters available in the Western market. It’s action-packed, easy to play, tough to master, and has a certain charm to it that makes you forgive its lackluster presentation."

External links

• Official website (Japanese)