Providing further evidence of a localization for the US-trademarked DariusBurst, the ESRB has rated the PSP shmup. It was released in Japan on both UMD and as a download on Christmas Eve of last year. For those of us who have never played any shooter before (ever), the ESRB describes the gameplay: "From a side-scrolling perspective, players navigate through outer space while shooting at the numerous enemy units. Ships, objects, and enemies explode when hit, sometimes with realistic or slow-motion effects. "

We love this new world in which developers are selling shmups again. They were ridiculously popular in the 8- and 16-bit eras, but North American releases were few and far between for most of the last three generations. And now we're seeing this and RayStorm HD from Taito, DeathSmiles from Cave, and even an iPhone version of EspGaluda 2 in the the same year -- oh, and Cho Aniki.