The 2D shoot ‘em up was once the staple genre for console gamers, but the latest generation of machines has somewhat overlooked the possibilities for such a straightforward game concept. Although there are the occasional retro-styled remixes, such as Gradius V and R-Type Final, traditional shooters seemed to have reached close to the end of the line.

However, news on several fresh Taito projects has reminded us that there’s plenty of room left for some more twitchy, visually insane, button-thrashing blast-o-ramas. For starters, next week will see the Japanese arcade release of Giga Wing Generation: the third outing in the well thought of 2D shooting series. Running on Taito’s Type X arcade board, this should take the manic, high-octane action up to the next level.

There’s also a plethora of PS2 based Taito shoot ‘em ups planned for the coming months. With three separate Psikyo Shooting double-packs readying for release in Japan, there will finally be an adequate selection for the 2D hardcore. First up, on 5th August, there’ll be the Strikers 1945 1 and 2 collection: revisiting the classic WW2 top-down favourite.

Later in the year, the Sengoku Ace and Sengoku Blade games will also be arriving in the form of a double-whammy release. Finally, volume 3 of the Psikyo Shooting Series will deliver Sol Divide and Dragon Blaze, as born in the arcades and popularised on the Saturn, to the living rooms of the most insatiable devotees of the genre.

It will be interesting to see if today’s gamers respond to the relatively simple fare on offer, and if traditional fans react in the way that Taito hope. As soon as there’s any news on possible PAL releases for these titles, read it here.