Bangai-O Spirits takes the shooter genre to a new hyperactive level featuring tons of missiles and constant explosions.

Visually, the game is all about 2D, sprite-based mechs blowing up other mechs in convoluted levels designed to give the game a bit of a puzzle feel since typically rushing head-long into an area will quickly get you killed. The graphics themselves are fairly simple and typically consists of smaller sprites to allow for more screen real estate to be devoted to the crazy action that will fill up the level.

The game's background music and sound effects also get the job done. The music tends to be high-energy, techno-style beats that really helps to add to the game's high-paced feel, while the sounds of guns going off and swords being swung permeate any silent moments that might be noticed over the music.

Bangai-O Spirits doesn't have a story to speak of; the game's tutorial is a fun interchange between a random anime scientist and his two assistants who pilot the mech. But besides the 17 levels that are designed to teach you how to perform all of the attacks and movement controls, the game simply lets you play any level on the cartridge, in any order.

The list of levels is divided into four categories. First, there is Treasure's Best, which is 27 levels created by the developers at Treasure. The Puzzle Stages are just as you would expect, a series of levels that can't be beaten by simply blasting away. Other Stages consists of the rest of the game's included levels, while the Custom option lets you load up any of the levels you either created or downloaded via the Sound Load feature.

Besides the two modes that let you actually play various levels (Tutorial and Free Play), you can also choose Edit Mode that lets you either start a new level from scratch or build one based on any of the other levels found in Free Play mode. Interestingly enough, this mode can be entered into while in the middle of any stage simply by tapping the (Select) button. I find the game's Edit mode to be one of the more interesting aspects of Bangai-O Spirits, but we'll talk about that more in the Game Mechanics section.

The last option is Sound Load which lets you prepare your game to accept a custom made level from another copy of the game. Instead of requiring some sort of wi-fi link up with another game, you simply have to go to Sound Load and either let your DS listen to your friend's level, or choose a level that you want to share. The result is a series of high-pitched screeches that anyone whose ever used a dial-up internet connection will remember. Provided the transfer is complete (I only had minor issues, and those were typically from levels I loaded off of YouTube or other websites), you will then have a copy of your friend's level to play or edit to your heart's content.

Bangai-O Spirits has some pretty tough levels and there were many times when I either simply couldn't get past a mission or had to retry it so many times that I very nearly gave up. Not all levels are like this, but there are quite a few doozies in the included 150+ levels (and let's not talk about the custom ones).

Quite frankly, there are more difficult missions than easy ones, and the ability to go to any level at any time really helps keep you from feeling held back or not making any real progress. Of course, since the game has no story, progress is only really measured by the levels you've successfully beaten. Either way, getting past a stage usually ends up being equal parts, correct equipment, persistence and dumb luck. So if you are looking for a shooter that will keep you on your toes and busy, Bangai-O Spirits might be up your alley.

Bangai-O Spirits's level editing abilities are by far one of this game's more interesting features. As mentioned before, during any mission, you can tap the (Select) button to pause the game and pull up a little pallet in the upper right corner of the touchscreen.

With your stylus in hand, you will be able to paint the level's map (walls, breakable objects, etc.), or place objects in the world like enemies of varying sizes or power-ups, or even change the amount of HP and EX that the player's Bangai-O will have when the level starts. While this feature is really simple and easy to use, you can make a wide variety of levels; heck, the levels in the game already cover everything from maps of the Earth to levels where you can't move and can only swing your Bat weapon at balls to hit them around walls and take out enemies. And since you can edit any of these, the possibilities are quite literally endless.

Bangai-O Spirits definitely appeals to two different (but not mutually exclusive) crowds. One is the masochistic player who will take on the hardest games in order to see how well they handle the challenge ahead, and trust me, there is quite a bit of challenge in this title. The other is the tweaker or aspiring game developer who is looking for any excuse to mod and make levels to share with friends or the public in general. If you fall into either of these categories, then you will definitely want to check out this game.