Previews

By Mike Wall at November 6, 2011.

First Look: Echo Storm

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Dave Voyles in PC Previews | 3 Comments

Shmups are known for being notoriously difficult. This attribute commonly makes the genre as a whole unappealing to many gamers, unless you get your kicks from punishing yourself. But the winds of change are bringing a new title to our table in the form of Echo Storm, which allows players to adjust the difficulty based on which side of the screen they play on.

I first met developer Benjamin Jelter while talking over a game of Sonic Generations at NYC Comic Con recently. Instantly we were aware we both knew a bit more about gaming than most participants of the event. We sat down, where he showed me an early build of Echo Storm, and I was also sent a copy to play for myself. What follows are my thoughts on the innovative shooter, and what you can come to expect from it upon its projected 2012 release.

PAX Prime: Tribes Ascend Hands-on Preview

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Dave Voyles in PC Previews, Previews, XBLA Previews | Leave a comment

As far as FPS titles on the PC go, the landscape over the last decade has shifted greatly from what gamers of the 90s knew. Call of Duty and Battlefield titles dominate the market now, as well as consoles, where the crown was previously held by arena-style franchises including Quake, Unreal Tournament, and Tribes. After a nearly 10-year hiatus, however, Tribes is looking to take back that crown and rejuvenate the arena-shooter market. What separates the Tribes franchise from others are two key features: jetpacks and skiing. Although jetpacks have been implemented many times in newer popular titles, most notably in Halo: Reach, they haven’t been done in unison with Tribes’ s smooth skiing mechanic. For those of you unfamiliar with skiing in Tribes, it is exactly what it sounds like: graceful movements utilizing your character’s moment to propel oneself across a vast and open map. Read more

Shoot Many Robots Preview: More Than One Way to Shoot a Robot

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Taylor Bliss in PC Previews, Previews, PSN Previews, XBLA Previews | 2 Comments

We had a meaty preview for Shoot Many Robots back during PAX East 2011. Now, a few months later and another PAX attended, the guys from Demiurge Studios had a whole new mode to show off and lots of new details surrounding the game’s release. I had a chance to get my hands on the new Survival Mode at PAX Prime, and once again walked away impressed with this cooperative run ‘n gun shooter.

The Survival Mode will be of the now often-used ‘Horde’ style, pitting you against waves of increasingly difficult robots that must be destroyed. The mode will be integral in moving up in the RPG elements of the game. Your robot slaughter will facilitate loot and nut drops that will get you set up with more powerful gear, as well as currency that will let you buy anything else you might be missing from your arsenal.

Firefall preview: Shooting from the hip

Posted on August 27, 2011 by Dave Voyles in PC, PC Previews, Previews | 30 Comments

As I made my way across the show floor at PAX East back in March, my gaze was instantly drawn to the oddly familiar, large logo overhead that was bathed in a lightning-blue hue. The word Firefall was drawn on the the sign and instantly recalled the familiar Starcaft logo; the similarities stop there though.

FireFall is a PC-exclusive, class-based FPS…..Hey wait, we weren’t done yet! I didn’t get to telling you about how it’s completely free to play! As I mentioned in my previous story on Firefall last week, this title has adopted the recently popular freemium, or also commonly known as free-to-play model. This is a bold step in what could prove to be an outstanding experience, should the community latch on. This was my third opportunity with the game; the first two coming at PAX East and again at GamesCom.

My experience with FireFall at PAX was far different from my previous outings with the title. In the latest build, not only was the Engineer class finally revealed, but the MMO elements of the world finally came to life. This sudden change of pace for the game was welcome and certainly makes it more appealing due to the variety of added elements.

Fuelcell Games shares details about Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet DLC

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Taylor Bliss in Previews, XBLA, XBLA Previews | Leave a comment

In a pre-PAX meeting with Joe Olson and ‘Scrapper’ of Fuelcell Games, the indie devs spilled some of the beans to Armless Octopus about the upcoming DLC for its beautiful adventure, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet. The expansion is going to take what the game did with the Lantern Run multiplayer and expand on it, significantly. Olson said the DLC will arrive “before Gears of War 3,” which is a twisted way of saying we’ll have our hands on it sometime in September.

Following the elimination of the shadow plague from the infected planet, you and your alien compatriots are going on the offensive to find and eliminate the dark threat. The dark plague has taken refuge in a belt of asteroids located near the planet, and in the DLC, you and up to three other shadow-fighting compatriots will take to the belt to find and drive back your mysterious adversary.

David Williams explains the benefit of the free-to-play model for FireFall

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Dave Voyles in PC, Previews | 17 Comments

Red 5 Studio may be new to the block, but if their staff’s success at the previous studios is any indication of what’s to come, then we certainly should have our eyes peeled for this team. Industry veterans Scott Youngblood and James Macauley are two notable members. Youngblood previously worked as Lead Designer of Starsiege: Tribes and Tribes 2, while Macauley was the Program Manager of Core Software Services Team for Xbox at Microsoft and played an integral role in crafting the Xbox Live Dashboard; these two have an excellent track record.

Firefall is a freemium (also commonly known as free-to-play) game, which is a somewhat new business model that gamers are still adjusting to. This is a bold move for what looks and plays like a visually stunning triple-A title. The greatest part of all? It won’t cost you a penny to hop in and enjoy the fun! When players hear the term free-to-play, their fears of having to buy their way to the top of the scoreboard quickly arise. This free-to-play FPS attempts to alter that notion. Fortunately, the only items players can purchase game come in the form of purely aesthetic or convenience items. Have the money but not the time necessary to wait for that somewhat rare weapon drop? Not a problem; you can purchase it, albeit at a premium cost.

Hard Reset preview: Blinded by the light

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Dave Voyles in PC, PC Previews, Previews | 2 Comments

Hard Reset initially caught me off guard. I went in expecting something of a cross between Blade Runner and Deus Ex, and what I got was exactly that, albeit more on the action side of things than the role playing or character-driven storyline side. That’s not to take anything from Hard Reset or say that it’s a poor product by any means, because it’s not – in fact it’s just the opposite.

The visuals in Hard Reset were top notch from the get-go and never slowed down. The lush colors that rained from the dynamic lighting provided an atmosphere that engrossed me from beginning to end. Overhead, I saw roadways, towering steel structures and vehicles eagerly flying by, all of which were tinted with a sense of despair: reminiscent of the hopelessness one would experience in a city such as that of Midgar from the 1997 title Final Fantasy VII.

Apple Jack sequel ripening on XBLIG this year

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Mike Wall in News, xblig, XBLIG News, XBLIG Previews | Leave a comment

It may have been a bit outrageous, but the original Apple Jack (not to be confused with the mouth-scraping cereal of the same name) was one of our favorite indie games last year. What could be crazier than a game with pigs in tutus, laser-shooting owls and a protagonist with a Granny Smith dome? We should find out soon, as My Owl Software is hard at work crafting a new adventure for our apple-headed hero and promises the story will be even stranger this time around.

Tentatively titled Apple Jack’s Great Escape, the sequel will feature a greater variety of level sizes and shapes and a new “Flashback” system that allows players to rewind time. Locations will no longer be named after actual British towns, and this time Apple Jack will journey through preposterous areas such as “The Panda Factory” and “The Bacon Exchange.” The game is still early in development, but My Owl Software is aiming to release Apple Jack’s Great Escape by the end of the year on XBLIG.

Source: My Owl Software