When game designer Hiroshi Iuchi sets to work, gamers tend to pay attention. The master of crafting 2D shooters, he is behind cult titles such as Ikaruga, Radiant Silvergun and, now, Kokuga. This simple top-down tank game is a basic creature and, unusually, opens at a pace bordering on the sluggish.

You are tasked with piloting a futuristic vehicle though maze-like battlefields. Kokuga's new world is a place of frantic shooting as you guide the nimble war machine through clouds of bullets. The objective is consistently simple: destroy everything, survive and push your score up. The game's highlights – along with its deft use of 3D and lavish aural backdrop – are the dramatic, varied boss battles. Equally pleasingly, after that slow start, the rest of the experience soon comes up to pace and while Kokuga is nothing like Iuchi's best, it remains a distinctive gem.