Ikaruga creator's latest 3DS blaster Kokuga will swoop onto the UK and US eShop later this summer

If you like bullet-hell shooters, then it's a good bet you've heard of Hiroshi Iuchi.

He's the director of Ikaruga and Radiant Silvergun, two of the finest arcade-style blasters the world has ever seen.

We gave the Android version of Ikaruga a Silver Award at the start of the year, and stated that "Treasure's seminal colour-based shooter doesn't translate as well as we'd like to the touchscreen interface, but enough of the magic remains to make this a thoroughly worthwhile purchase for blaster fans."

The good news for Western fans of Iuchi's work is that it's finally been confirmed that his next title, the 3DS-exclusive Kokuga, will be released over this side of the world.

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We first heard rumours back in April that Iuchi's card-based, top-down tank blaster would be heading over to these shores at some point. That 'point' being this summer.

Kokuga looks a little calmer than your traditional bullet-hell shooter. For example, you can only fire one shot at a time. Kokuga also features a series of card-based power-ups that you can 'play' when you get into a tricky situation.

The game also includes a four-player co-operative multiplayer mode, enabling you and up to three friends to take control of a squad of tanks.

We'll let you know as soon as we get a more concrete Western release date and pricing details for Kokuga on 3DS.