Blow sh*t up.

I was checking the database for some shooters. It had the usual meh games. It also had two games of a BattleBlade series, which were good, and a great game called Hyperwars (I like its Gameboy-style graphics and it's even a bit funny).

When I saw Ray-hound in the list, though, I forgot about those three fast.

Hikoza.T.Ohkubo ("Hikware") made a game before Ray-hound, called Warning Forever, which I love for the gradually-tougher-bosses battles. Ray-hound is immensely different from that. There are increasingly difficult levels here, yes, but that's where the similarities end. You can't shoot, but you can use the left mouse button to slingshot dangerous rays of light back at cannons that launch them, or "flick" the mouse to boost the ship and reflect those rays. It's different from many games I've played, and while it does feel very different and weird at first, it's extremely fun, and even the deadly rays are a nice sight for sore eyes (though the other graphics are above-average at best).

No joystick is needed for the mouse-only, Windows-only game. It doesn't seem to have sound, instant-replay, or many options yet, but this also seems to be the first public version of it, and like wine, Windows, or anything else (except maybe Sony), it will certainly mature and age gracefully. I'll definitely be watching Ray-hound closely—I love it.