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It's quite possibly not meant to happen this way. A new console arrives accompanied by expensive fireworks and equipped with considerable firepower, and the one game everyone's talking about has its heart set in the corner of an 80s arcade, even if it's been dolled up in sharp voxel threads from an early 90s vision of the future. Resogun's status as the jewel in the PlayStation 4's crown might have been assisted by the less sparkling offerings elsewhere in Sony's first-party line-up, but none of that could detract from the sheer amount of style developer Housemarque had injected into its shooter.That style has become familiar ever since the Finnish studio helped kick off the PS3's own launch party with Super Stardust HD, another 2D shooter delivered with hyper-kinetic visual frills. If you can think back a little further, it's a style that's likely familiar to anyone who's ever had an interest in the energetic body of work compiled by Eugene Jarvis throughout the 80s. They've served as inspiration for much of Housemarque's output - you can draw a fuzzy line between Robotron and Stardust, and a slightly clearer one between Defender and Resogun, while if you squint a little it's also possible to make a link from the likes of Smash TV and Total Carnage to Dead Nation.
So there's likely a mix of nervousness and giddy excitement bubbling up in the Helsinki office about The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' DICE awards this February, where Resogun is going up against the likes of Battlefield and BioShock in the action category, and where Jarvis will be recognised with the pioneer award. Despite its acknowledged debt to the arcade legend, there's hardly ever been any dialogue between Jarvis and Housemarque.
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