First screens of Nanostray 2

Given the retro atmosphere in the games industry at the moment – what with all those arcade classic collections on PSP and Xbox Live Arcade games – it's a surprise there have been so few shoot 'em ups on DS.

In fact, the only example we can think of is Nanostray. So the first screens from sequel Nanostray 2 effectively doubles the size of the genre.

Maybe the problem is the DS' screen isn't really set up for shoot 'em ups, in the way the PSP's widescreen is. Equally, DS features such as touchscreen, microphone and wi-fi don't help much either, as what matters for shoot 'em ups is frantic pixel-perfect dodging and blasting.

With its sequel, German gamemaker Shin'en will be looking to improve on the solid foundations of Nanostray, and is promising to 'include innovative touchscreen features as well as exciting wi-fi functions over the internet'"

Good thing we at Pocket Gamer don't make games, then.

As you can see from the first batch of screenshots of the game, there will be plenty of colourful space-based enemies – including an interesting array of bosses – to wipe out, whether you're flying vertically up the screen or horizontally along it.

Hanging somewhere in deep space, Nanostray 2 is due to make first contact sometime in 2007.