At first glance, nothing about Super Mega Team's Rise & Shine feels quite right. You've got a child as protagonist, but gratuitous amounts of gore turn this into something decidedly kid-unfriendly. There are a lot of tongue-in-cheek references to other games and visual gags to be found, yet the story feels overtly dramatic. You've got all the elements of great run & gun gameplay in place, but the game stops you every few steps to solve an easy puzzle or take cover from enemy fire. And yet, when all these elements come together, the game kind of works - if you're up to the challenge.

Playing as young Rise, you experience the invasion of your home planet Gamearth firsthand, when nasty aliens land and start killing everyone. Thankfully, you happen upon the talking gun Shine. This doesn't just give you a means of defending yourself, it also makes you the mythical savior of Gamearth. No pressure there. Together, you set out to kill every last invader and try not to die too often.
That last part is harder than the game's cute protagonist will have you believe. Rise & Shine is not just difficult, it's unforgiving, bordering on cheap and unfair. You will die, you will rage, and then you will die again. What's more, if you decide to frustratedly call it a day, you'll probably come back later and discover that your progress hasn't been saved and you'll have to replay the last maddening twenty minutes. You can probably tell that the difficulty ruined the overall experien...