Resogun Shaping Up To Be A Blast On PS4

With the next generation of consoles fast approaching and most of the spotlight pouring across the big AAA titles that will kick off the next big cycle of shooting, racing, fighting and platforming, it can be easy to forget that a fresh new batch of smaller, though possibly equally impressive games are also en route. Take Resogun, for instance. It's launching for the PlayStation 4 and it's already looking like a blast a second.

In the wake of DriveClub being pushed back to 2014 in an announcement yesterday afternoon, we were also reminded that the latest offering from Housemarque, Resogun, will not only be ready to blast off into the stratosphere come Nov. 15, but it'll also be included as one of the first games in the PlayStation Plus PS4 Instant Game Collection.

Sony's Social Media Specialist, Ryan Clements, recently got in some time with the old-school shooter with a handful of new-school twists and, according to his report, the game is shaping up to be a day-one time thief.

According to Clements, Resogun couples the fast and frantic nature of the all-important score chase with lovely graphical tech the developers couldn't have pulled off in this previous generation.

“Picking up the controls only takes a few minutes,” Clements said. “Move with DualShock 4's left analog stick, fire with the right. Your ship has boost attack, bombs and a devastating overdrive attack, all executed with the triggers.”

You would be correct in thinking that all sounds a lot like Mousmarque's first game for the PlayStation 3, Stardust. Take a look at the game in action, or even gander at a screenshot or two, and you'll quickly notice that Stardust's DNA is coursing through Resogun's veins. For anyone who got horribly addicted to Stardust's excellent gameplay on the PS3, though, that will come as very good news for this PS4 outing.

Unlike Stardust's worlds, however, which were built on small spherical planets, Resogun's levels are circular in a side-scrolling sense. The world's elements are also made up of voxels, which means they'll shatter into glorious cubes whenever enemies or pieces get destroyed, further driving home that sense of classic meets modern.

“Although play occupies a 2D plane, the levels loop around onto themselves,” Clements further illustrated. “The player can see straight through to the other side of the stage, opening up a host of strategic possibilities for advanced pilots with an eager trigger finger.”

But while folks only catching a glimpse at Resogun might walk away thinking it looks like a modern bullethell shooter, Clements stressed that the game is built in such a way that “brings order to the chaos.”

“Enemy ships follow patterns and harmful bullets are color coded to give players all the information they need to dodge out of danger,” he said. “Additionally, the ship features a thrilling boost move that roars like a motorcycle [and] makes the ship invulnerable for a time, and ends with a spin attack for clearing out any pesky baddies lying in wait.”

If you're looking for the next evolution of a game like Stardust, it certainly sounds like Resogun is going to do the trick.