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DeathSmiles

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GF Rating
5.9

962 ratings

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GF Rating
8

Very Good

Great Game, Excellent Rent

posted by Markers (ONTARIO, CA) Jul 3, 2010

Member since Jul 2010

51 out of 53 gamers (96%) found this review helpful

Straight up, I'm going to say this is a fantastic renting game. I indulged in this game for a good straight 8-hour session upon getting this in the mail. Yeah, it's that awesomely addicting. And you know what? I never played any of these Japanese shmups games. Still enjoyed it.

The game can be either accommodatingly easy for beginners (like myself) at Level 1 at default settings, or it can be tornado-of-bullets-hard for experts at Level 3 or -gasp- Level 999 (which I aspire to do in the game). I can almost guarantee you're going to have fun if you're any sort of real gamer. It is, at it's roots, a side-scrolling shooter, which many people can relate to.

Graphics are lovely, despite what others will say. This release for the Xbox 360 (as I found out) is a port of the arcade version(s) of the original Deathsmiles. When you play (especially in Arcade mode), you get that arcade vibe with the nicely detailed sprites. Haters gonna hate, but I enjoy the graphic detail of this game.

The soundtrack for the game blends right in with the gothic theme going on in the game. Oh, and voices in this game are in Japanese with English subtitles for speech and so forth. Not a big deal.

All in all, I had a wonderful time with Deathsmiles, but alas, it is merely a rental game. The campaigns can be cleared in less than 30 minutes, but you'll want to replay with all five of the characters for each of their 2 different endings (Netting 10). You can pick this game up in a day (like I did) and plow through it and enjoy every second of it. Not much beyond that, unfortunately.

Sidenotes: If you're an achievement-hunter, you'll get some nice quick ones from here. Multiplayer is co-op offline and online. Rosa is beyond awesome. The Four Daughters achievement requires you to pass with all characters in arcade and 360 modes. Beware suicide bullets. Achievements don't unlock in multiplayer.

Thanks for reading, and I definitely recommend this game for a good day or two of enjoyment.

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GF Rating
10

Perfect

Shmup Fan Dream

posted by vVKiwiVv (JAMESTOWN, TN) Mar 19, 2012

Member since Mar 2012

1 out of 1 gamers (100%) found this review helpful

This game is absolutely amazing to anyone that's a fan of this genre. I loved it, although I'm rather terrible at it. It's definitely one of the easier Cave games. If you're new to Shmup games and want to try one out, I would highly recommend Deathsmiles.

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GF Rating
9

Excellent

Fast and easy

posted by horrorbob1 (RIVERSIDE, CA) Jan 8, 2012

Member since Jan 2012

1 out of 1 gamers (100%) found this review helpful

The game is pretty easy to beat,its fun and soon as you no it,its over.The overall replay value is pretty high but not the type of game you could play all day,it get abit repetitive hence all the different modes they have that you can play in very arcade feeling game here.Also you get to play has each character which was pretty cool too,The Hard setting for the game is impossible to beat but I will leave that for the player at hand to discover,overall fun game high replay value,one to check out.

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GF Rating
7

Good

A "Don't Miss" For Rail Shooter Fans

posted by RealHuley (VANCOUVER, WA) Aug 2, 2010

Member since Jun 2010

8 out of 12 gamers (67%) found this review helpful

I can already hear someone somewhere telling you that this game is too short, and while true that one playthrough takes about 20-25 minutes, there is a whole lot of meat to the game that will take you far beyond that first playthrough. With four characters to play as, and two endings for each character, you'll have a couple good hours of play time, but that's just one mode. Aksys went to great effort to cram as much fan service into the package as they could and the end result is a giant "thank you" for fans of the classic rail shooter genre.

Above all else, the bottom line is that this game is amazingly fun! It took me back to the days of Forgotten Worlds and Trouble Shooter from the 16-bit era. The new X360 enhanced mode cleans up the sprites and makes the game dazzle your tv screen. Its so detailed that even the mass amounts of "bullet heck" (sorry, the filter won't let me say the real word) you'll be put through seem possible because the graphics are so tight and crisp.

You have nothing to fear here with a rental. It's a fantastic little game that showcases exactly why we used to love these games in the first place. Check it out and be pleasantly surprised!

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GF Rating
8

Very Good

Okay i liked it

posted by GAmEWiZ070 (HAMPTONVILLE, NC) Feb 14, 2011

Member since Jun 2009

1 out of 2 gamers (50%) found this review helpful

It was fun but i want more of the Japanese games in English. I recommend it to people who like old arcade games. It was funny with the stereotypic countries in all. So for people that enjoy japan and arcade games.

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GF Rating
10

Perfect

A 10 Minute Arcade Style Amusement

posted by endlessboy (SAN DIEGO, CA) Sep 14, 2010

Member since Aug 2010

2 out of 8 gamers (25%) found this review helpful

This game is really quick - it took me ten minutes, or so playing to reach the end of the game. It's like an arcade style game, scrolling to the side. Worth the rent, though.

The easy part about is it continues offering game continues after life runs out.

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GF Rating
3

Bad

Old Arcade Style

posted by JayMyzt (MOUNT VERNON, IN) Jul 17, 2010

Member since Jul 2010

7 out of 31 gamers (23%) found this review helpful

The game is a port from an arcade game. It was interesting, but was lacking in the controls department. If arcade is what you like, than this is the game for you. If not than this game will just be boring or frustrating.

I would rate DeathSmiles a 2 or 3 comparing it to other games currently out.

note: Do NOT buy. That's my recommendation.

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GF Rating
10

Perfect

LOVE THIS GAME

posted by Mahelyurle (RALEIGH, NC) Jul 22, 2010

Member since May 2010

3 out of 13 gamers (23%) found this review helpful

WORTH THE MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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GF Rating
5

Fair

Mooo

posted by luke723 (SALEM, NH) Aug 23, 2010

Member since Feb 2008

2 out of 10 gamers (20%) found this review helpful

While the cow head boss may be one of my favorite bosses ever, am I really supossed to pay AROUND $50-$40 that you can beat beat in 15 minutes with very little replay value considering the 10 "endings" are about as exciting as a cracka-jack prize. If you extened this game by 100X it could have been one of my favorite 360 games ever, as it stands now it's just kinda like what the heck, that's it, is this really serious?

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GF Rating
2

Really Bad

Sega game and graphics - Not what I expected.

posted by EvilGir (STILLWATER, OK) Jan 10, 2011

Member since Jan 2011

1 out of 7 gamers (14%) found this review helpful

WHY is this game available for xbox 360? It was the exact opposite of what I was expecting. It wasn't at all like the usual 360 game but rather had the same graphics (old and pixelated) and style (2D side scrolling) of a SEGA game. I was completely disappointed.

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GF Rating
2

Really Bad

Old type of feel and not satisfying - READ FIRST

posted by AlphaPron (LIVERPOOL, NY) Sep 14, 2010

Member since Sep 2010

2 out of 15 gamers (13%) found this review helpful

this game literally feels like your playing an xbox arcade game combined with.... no it is 'Stinger' from like the early 90's on NES glazed over with hot pictures of anime drawings which in no way accurately depict the actual gameplay for those characters. The game is confusing and it feels like your (under the influence of something) even on the opening levels. once you get into the game and get a feel for the controls you have nothing to look forward to besides easy achievements for beating the 7-8 boards provided. each board takes roughly 5 mins tops to beat but you don't get to level up or gain anything from beating the levels... and there really is no incentive to keep playing this game after you wiz though the levels grabbing up easy achievements. In addition if you are playing over xbox live with a friend; you can look forward to not only no achievements but a whole lot of lag and poor frame rates because the game simply has too much random sheet going on it in for the system to comprehend you AND a friend playing through a single level.

Amount of playtime you will receive: 1 hour
Amount of time you will think you have wasted after that: 55mins
Amount of enjoyment: none... absolutely none

Overall 1/5 stars for literally being just a poor concept and not interesting.

Rent this game if you love to play repetitive old games or if you enjoyed "Stinger" or if you enjoy trying to beat your old score on frogger over and over again.

Dont rent this game if you have common sense or have read though this whole review.

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GF Rating
5

Fair

Back to 80s

posted by fluorine (REDWOOD CITY, CA) Oct 5, 2010

Member since Oct 2010

1 out of 8 gamers (12%) found this review helpful

The very first impression I had about this game is a sense of "back in time". It's completely surreal as if I'm suddenly back to the 80s. Everything about this game is dated and cheap, dated game play, dated character design, dated interface... It almost as if some game design go back to the studio storage room and dig up something from way back and reskin it for 360. Even most xbox arcade games are better than this game in every way.

Maybe there's a tradition, maybe people play this for sentimental reason... Either way, it's such a waste of time and money for me. I could rent something else.

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GF Rating
1

Horrible

my fiance beat it for a minute

posted by Shihai (WHEELING, WV) Nov 20, 2010

Member since Sep 2010

1 out of 9 gamers (11%) found this review helpful

Watching the monster killing game made me think of a old video game castlevania

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GF Rating
3

Bad

Played better games

posted by gamebox4 (PANORAMA CITY, CA) Jan 4, 2013

Member since Apr 2010

This game was lame. There is a lot of flashy stuff which gets in the way of the game play. You think that it's enemy fire when in actuality, it's just flashy stuff there to distract you. Playable action wise, it's the repetitive shoot em up over and over again. Oh, and it's got a cheesy plot line too. And premise.

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GF Rating
10

Perfect

Awesome

posted by zipmach (REDLANDS, CA) Oct 28, 2012

Member since Oct 2012

This massive arcade style shooter is amazing. I runs fine on the xbox 360 and its extremly fun,

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GF Rating
10

Perfect

One of the Best Games Ever!

posted by Einsiferium (SCRANTON, PA) May 28, 2012

Member since May 2012

Deathsmiles is a game within the genre of the shooter(Shmup) and it created by the Gods of shooter design, Cave. The game offers a excellent challenge and multiple modes, those who state this is easy are obviously terrible players and continue alot. The game does offer infinite continues, yet why use them when all it proves is that you hit the continue button more than the fire button, the game is about being able to clear the game with limited continues.
You have a selection of characters with different fire power and strengths and weaknesses. The game offers beautiful 2D graphics, stellar animation, and solid collision. Easily one of the best shooters ever and worth the rental(and purchase).

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GF Rating
1

Horrible

dissapointing

posted by tser (NANTICOKE, PA) Mar 12, 2012

Member since Feb 2012

overall setup for this game was rather confusing and complicated. i went through what i think was the story line in like less than 4 hours honestly i am glad i just rented it because if i had actually bought the game i would be pretty angry about it.

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GF Rating
7

Good

Great rental, but skip buying it.

posted by LushLush (HUNTINGTON, WV) Oct 4, 2011

Member since Sep 2011

This is a pretty cool little game if you like sidescrollers. It's also a good source for some pretty easy achievement points as long as you have some patience.

I really wish there was more variation in the characters, though. They all have the exact same movement, same attacks, etc. the only real difference is their looks. So replays tend to get kind of boring.
And a word of advice: don't press restart or change any options or it'll lock achievements.

All in all, it's great in short bursts or if you have a buddy to play with. but definitely only rent this one. It's just not worth it in the long run.

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GF Rating
1

Horrible

Don't Waste Your Time

posted by GAPeach (ATLANTA, GA) Jun 3, 2011

Member since Nov 2010

I honestly didn't play this game for more than a couple minutes. It did not meet my expectations. It was very "Wizards and Warriors" -- the gameplay looks like a very old Nintendo interface. The user controls are VERY limited...overall it was just a huge disappointment.

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GF Rating
5

Fair

could have been better

posted by speakeasy2009 (PORT CHESTER, NY) May 4, 2011

Member since Apr 2011

The X360 is in need of a good side scroller, like a revamped Life Force or Aero Blasters. Deathsmiles had potential in its design, but i beat it in 23 minutes and i couldnt stand the small screen.

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GF Rating
6

Above Average

Fun For a Couple of Hours

posted by BruceF (BENTONVILLE, AR) Mar 17, 2011

Top Reviewer

Member since Nov 2007

The achievement to time ratio is sweet with this game, but by the time you get to about 650 points or so, you will be sick of replaying it to get the rest of the points. A great 1 day rental.

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GF Rating
5

Fair

Rental ONLY

posted by Painamatio (LORAIN, OH) Jan 18, 2011

Member since Mar 2009

Thank you gamefly !!! This is a straight shooter like ageis wing but your ship are little anime characters.

Easy Game VERY SHORT!! Replay is a laugh.

There is 7 lvls and 2 bonus lvls wich takes 10 or 15 mins depends if you start nodding off.

10 ending that make street fight II ending seem elaborate.

Lets not metion having to adjust the screen size to fit my 42"

This game should of been released on Xbox Arcade for 400 ms point because anything else would be to expensive.

RENTAL ONLY!!!! You been warned

For those of you that rated this a 10 were you drinking???

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GF Rating
4

Weak

Death to my Smiles

posted by izakteaz (MINNEAPOLIS, MN) Sep 27, 2010

Member since Sep 2010

I really enjoyed LONG at this game online and on youtube it seemed like a really great shooter adventure game..however it was repetitive, extremely short (shorter than even a Ninteno Game length) and definitley not worth a purchase unless downloaded for $3.99 on the XBox store.

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