Strike Witches for the 360 is a shmup adaptation of the anime by the same name. You control three girls who fly around the screen in formation, shooting everything in your path, collecting point items, and avoiding enemy bullets. This game is region locked for Japan only; I use a Japanese 360 to play it.
There's a story mode and arcade mode (play story mode to unlock those characters in arcade mode). The story mode has cutscenes that interrupt the game every minute or so, with character still images and voice acting. It's annoying since they constantly take you in and out of the action, but they are skippable thankfully.
Shooting and dodging bullets is accomplished using dual-stick control. One stick is used for movement, and the other for shooting direction. It's simple and effective controls, no complains here.
One of the more interesting aspects is how you control three characters at the same time. You have the main character which you control, with the others following you in formation. You can change your formation style and the leader on the fly, giving a lot of flexibility to moving them around the screen. All three characters shoot at the same time, and some combinations have added effects.
You also get regenerating magic meters for all three characters, which provides extra firepower and defensive shields. I find it more useful in short bursts, to grab point items too dangerous to grab otherwise.
Scoring well is primarily affected by how many point items you grab. These change color and increase in value as you collect more.
Level and enemy designs are pretty boring, which brings the game down as a whole. I wish it had more action and less breaks; it's very obvious the game was based around cutscenes, even when you skip them. Larger enemies are made up of simple geometric shapes, and while I know this is true to the anime it's based on, it makes the game rather uninteresting to look at. Difficulty is on the easier side. Experienced shmup fans may need to up the difficulty settings for a better fight.
If you're a fan of the anime and want a game that's easy to understand and play, this may be up your alley. Shmup fans, however, may want to look elsewhere to get their fix.
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