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Good news X-Fans! Konami's 1992 arcade brawler X-Men was just announced as "coming soon" to the XBLA and PSN. The game will feature six-player online co-op with the ability to play as Cyclops, Colossus, Wolverine, Storm, Nightcrawler, or Dazzler.
Considering Konami's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is already out, and with this one on the way, I sincerely hope that The Simpsons arcade game is next on the list. no comments
The following questions are intended to weed out those that the news in this post will not be relevant to. As you read through them, every time you answer "Yes," continue on to the next question. If you answer "No," stop reading immediately. Seriously, just stop. As a matter of fact, leave this page altogether. I don't want you clogging up my bandwidth if it is no use to you. Ok, here we go!
1. Do you like saving money?
2. Do you like playing video games?
3. Do you like to play video games on your computer?
4. Did you like Left 4 Dead, but still haven't picked up Left 4 Dead 2?
5. Would you now like to buy Left 4 Dead 2 for $6.79?
Ok, did you make it? Then good, because I think you get the point. L4D2 is on sale right now on Steam for $6.79. As a matter of fact you can buy a 4-pack of the game for $20! So you can pick up four copies of the game for the price of one, and give the others to three of your cheapass friends, and you can all play together. However, don't buy it for me, because I just bought one for myself. I work better alone. no comments
Are your Spider-senses tingling? Mine are. That's because our friend Adam Morris has sent in this amazingly comprehensive review of Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions. Have a read and let him know if you agree or disagree in the comments. Thanks, Adam, and keep 'em coming, everyone!
Shattered Dimensions starts with the wall crawling hero in pursuit of Mysterio, who has broken into a museum in an attempt to steal the "Tablet of Order and Chaos", and of course Spiderman, being Spiderman, swings in to recover it. During the battle the tablet is split into many pieces and are scattered throughout different dimensions. Luckily each of these dimensions has it's own Spiderman on hand and throughout the game you'll play as Amazing Spiderman, Ultimate Spiderman, Noir Spiderman and Spiderman 2099. Each of these different versions brings new attacks, abilities and enemies, as well as its own unique visual style.
Unfortunately for Spiderman, the fragments of the tablet have fallen into the hands of some of Spidey's most notorious villains, extending and increasing their powers. Shattered Dimensions handles these villains really well with each one having its own cutscene at the start of the level; it really adds to the sense of drama within the game. But these enemies might not be the ones you are familiar with, as the game alters well known characters to fit with the style they are found in: Noir Vulture is now a cloak wearing cannibal, Ultimate's Deadpool is a game show host - heck, 2099's Doc Oc is a chick! This works extremely well, with each of villains new appearances fitting really well with the genre in which they are placed, most noticeably in the Noir Spidey's dimension, where enemies had to be changed to fit the time period they were present in.
Here is a list of the downloadable titles available this week:
PSN
Alien Breed: Impact: Releases October 5th, price TBA.
Deadliest Warrior: The Game: Releases October 5th, $10 US.
XBLA
Comic jumper: Releases October 6th, 1200MSP.
this week's PSN releases are a somewhat known quantity, as both games have been out on PC and XBLA for some time now, though it still seems like a fairly strong line-up. Comic jumper on the other hand, is the new game from developers Twisted Pixel (The Maw, Splosion' Man), and if the game is anywhere near as good as their previous efforts, it'll be a lot of fun.
It's also worth mentioning that Microsoft are running another XBLA promotion during October, and the deal works as follows: if you spend 2400MSP ($30) between the October 1st and October 31st, Microsoft will send you an 800MSP ($10) rebate. Given that Super Meat Boy is also due out this month - and is also priced at 1200MSP - it looks like this promotion should be quite easy to qualify for.
Trailers for all of the games listed above can be found after the break.
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Again, this week's digital offering sees the release of some high profile titles, so be sure to check out the list below:
XBLA
Hydrophobia - releases September 29th, 1200MSP.
PSN
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light - releases September 28th, $14.99.
Hydrophobia has received a great deal of hype in recent months due to the game's revolutionary new HydroEngine - an engine designed to provide realistic fluid dynamics technology in the game, allowing water to react with "jaw-dropping realism". by the sounds of things, this will be put to good use not only to solve the game's physics-based puzzles, but also as an environmental hazard which can be used to kill not only your enemies, but yourself too if you're not careful. Unfortunately, so far the game seems to be receiving mixed reviews, so this one's definitely a case of try before you buy.
For Playstation owners there is both good news and bad news: the good news is that Lara Croft And The Guardian Of light is a great action-adventure-platforming game, and is well worth checking out. The bad news: the online co-op functionality is still not ready yet, so Playstation owners face the same problem that Xbox owners did when the game released last month - it's couch co-op only I'm afraid.
Hit the link below to check out videos for both games listed above.
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GamesRadar has an interesting article about 14 franchises that they'd like to see return to video games. Amongst the predictable fare like Battletoads and Killer Instinct, there are a couple surprises to be found. I had totally forgotten about Wizards & Warriors, which was a game that I actually was able to beat when I was a kid. I'm not sure if modern gaming could really pull this one off, and the last thing we need is another bad medieval reboot (remember that Golden Axe remake?).
Another interesting remake request would be Mutant League Football; this one ran on the old Madden engine and had cool stuff like exploding body parts. Again, I'm not sure if a this-gen remake is necessary, but I wouldn't mind it being ported to a modern system for a dose of nostalgia.
GameRadar's full list can be found here. no comments
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is an upcoming third-person action/adventure game, whose demo just hit PSN/XBLA last week. In it you escort a female character named Trip back to her home village, with just a little catch - she placed a device on your head that will kill you if she dies, to ensure her safe return.
Enslaved was developed by Ninja Theory, who created Heavenly Sword, and it shows. Its female lead looks strikingly like the main character from Enslaved, and both have a similar visual style. Enslaved's world is rich and vibrant, which may have to do with the fact that your character traverses a world overrun by vegetation.
The game plays like a mix of Uncharted-esque climbing and Arkham Asylum-influenced combat. Unfortunately, although it has chosen good titles to emulate, it doesn't quite live up to its influences. The climbing sections are a little tedious, and don't convey the same sense of accomplishment that Uncharted did. The combat will probably get more varied as the game progresses, and it was pretty solid in the demo, but it also felt a little looser than what I'd like. Actually, the controls as a whole felt a little loose, as if I wasn't in total control of my character; which resulted in my feeling like I could fall off a ledge at any time. That being said, the demo did present a good amount of variety and some pretty epic moments; if the rest of the game can keep up this fast pace then it should be a pretty fun playthrough.
Where the game really succeeds is in its character animation and story development. The characters look great, and even the enemies look stylized and interesting. The story itself is intriguing enough to make me consider playing through some of its more lackluster elements just to see how it all plays out. Hopefully, they'll get into how the world got to be this way, which is what interests me the most.
While it didn't totally win me over, I remain optimistic about Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. What did you think? no comments
Whilst it may have been available on the Playstation network since Tuesday, the demo for Enslaved: Odyssey to The West only landed on the Xbox Live marketplace yesterday. However, there seemed to be a strange lack of hype surrounding the demo's release, and it seemed to just appear on the marketplace with very little fanfare, so we figured we'd let you know about it.
Whilst there has been very little official marketing surrounding this game, many review outlets have been saying some very positive things about this game for months, so if you want to see what all the commotion is about, then go check the demo out now. no comments
While Halo: Reach chronicles the origin story of the series, it represents the culmination of a decades work by Bungie. In that time, Halo has become a cultural phenomenon, penetrating the minds of all gamers around the world. With all eyes on Bungie, it's time to see if their last hurrah lives up to expectations. no comments
The image above pretty much explains it all. Even though I have a free 1 year subscription to OnLive, I never used because it didn't allow for WiFi play, which seemed like a grave oversight. Now I'll definitely revisit the service and give it the chance that it now deserves.
They are also offering 75% off select games, which isn't too shabby either. They are mostly second tier titles, but Giang did have some nice things to say on AaAaaAaAAA!!! -- A Reckless Disregard for Gravity on the podcast a few weeks back, so that might be one to check out. Check out the image after the jump for that announcement. no comments
