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By Mike Wall at March 28, 2012.

AirMech Takes Flight at PAX East

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Dave Voyles in News, PC News | Leave a comment

Michael Bay may have shattered our delicate childhood memories when he took the reigns of the recent Transformers films into his own hands, but there is fortunately still hope for mechs. If you’re attending PAX East next weekend, you’ll be glad to hear that your childhood fondness of mechs can be restored in the form of AirMech, the PC RTS/shooter from Carbon Games, which will be playable at Booth 772.

For those of you who just can’t bear the wait, you’ll be pleased to hear that you can get your hands on it right this moment, either by playing it through your Chrome browser or signing up to be an alpha tester for the native PC client. Additionally, playing it at PAX will grant you instant access to the alpha tester pool so you can bring this bad boy home.

Until then, I guess the trailer above will just have to hold you over.

Source: Carbon Games

Game Type Review: Parkour Power

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Mike Wall in Reviews, XBLIG News, XBLIG Reviews | 2 Comments

While there are lots of things to like about the new flashy Xbox Dashboard, there’s also one glaring problem. Okay, there are tons of problems, but let’s just pretend there is only one: you need a goddamn road map to find where to go to buy games. Microsoft seems so focused on chowing down on the Doritos dollars and cramming UFC down our throats that they’ve neglected to provide a convenient way to give them money for actual games. It’s frustrating as someone who enjoys playing games, but apparently more infuriating for those who depend on selling them for a living.

All downloadable games have been relegated to murky corner of the Marketplace behind an obscure “Game Type” tile depicting a girl in a hoodie hopping in the air. That same girl stars in Mommy’s Best Games’ latest game, which is one part side-scrolling shmup, one part parody of the new dashboard, and five parts bonkers. The game was created in just a few days in reaction to the new dashboard, and while it’s impressive that the developer was able to rush it to the Marketplace in such a short timeframe, the truncated development schedule shows. Neither the cynical parody elements, nor the gameplay of the shooter buried beneath the fake dash feel complete enough on their own to warrant adoring praise, but combined they create an unique package that is worth experiencing.

Invasion Review: Parasitus Invasion!

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Mike Wall in Reviews, xblig, XBLIG Reviews | 2 Comments

If I were evaluating Invasion based on how much I wanted to like it, I would give it fifteen out of ten smoking laser rifles. A heavily Contra-inspired shooter that demolishes the fourth wall so thoroughly that it practically serves as a demo for another game? What could go wrong? Sadly, quite a bit, but not nearly enough to completely sour the experience. It might be a bit awkward at times, but damn do I love shooting aliens, and Invasion manages to keep the experience feeling fresh and fun for the whole ride.

Invasions’ individual elements aren’t always solid, but it succeeds in spite of them thanks to a great sense of personality and constant shifts in the game that prevent it from feeling dull. This is actually the prequel to Heart Attack Machine’s prior release, Parasitus: Ninja Zero, a game that had more in common with the hack ‘n slash ways of The Dishwasher than old school shooters. This time around, you play as Stockton, a cocky soldier looking to escape the city as it’s being overrun by aliens. The fragmented shooting sequences are broken up by dialogue sequences as Stockton chatters on his comm device with his commander who provides directions on how to heroically run for your life.

Beat Hazard Ultra review: Feelin’ the beat

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Dave Schectman in PC, PC Reviews, PSN, Reviews | Leave a comment

Over the past year, I’ve found myself venturing into indie gaming territory more and more often. It’s a refreshing change to see what a lone programmer or small company can do with an idea, especially compared to triple A titles made by large companies with multimillion dollar budgets. What’s more, when that idea is implemented well and allows some creativity the on part of the player, you’d best believe I’d be all over that like a junkie mainlining primo smack.

This brings me to the latest offering from Cold Beam Games: Beat Hazard Ultra. Before I go into the specifics of the game and my overall impressions, I have something to confess: when I picked up the original game last year, I was not impressed by it. The graphics were nice, and being able to control the soundtrack (and therefore also the difficulty) through my own personal soundtrack selection struck me as a pretty awesome concept. Compared to other music-based games like Audiosurf or Lumines, actively shooting whatever the song selection created was a hell of a lot more fun than matching colored blocks or screwing around with puzzle tiles.

The Last Pod Fighter review: Better than that pod racer movie

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Dave Voyles in Reviews, xblig, XBLIG Reviews | 2 Comments

The Xbox Live Indie Games Marketplace provides an excellent toolset and experience for those looking to educate themselves about game development. It also offers the flexibility to allow enthusiasts and industry veterans the opportunity to create their own titles as well. The Last Pod Fighter comes from the former, Fighter9 Studios, which is a team of students studying computer science or film and hailing from the University of Utah. It would be wonderful to see more universities take advantage of the platform and others like it to advance students’ knowledge of the development process. Fighter9′s initial outing, The Last Pod Fighter, presents an entertaining and impressive experience within the space shooter genre.

Those of you who have played the Star Wars Rogue Squadron series on the PC or Nintendo 64 will instantly feel at home. The control scheme is extremely fluid and standard for that of the space shooter, but offers increased maneuverability in the form of instant 180′s and barrel rolls to dodge incoming attacks. A key button that I missed during my initial playthrough was the button that allows for players to change targets on the fly. When I came across the first boss, I constantly found myself bombarded by smaller fighters as their circled around me like vultures picking at their prey, and short on rockets to damage the boss, I was just counting down the moments until my demise. My second playthrough revealed that changing targets was pivotal to success for the level.

Serious Sam Double D preview: Quadruple the insanity

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Mike Wall in PC, PC Previews, Previews, XBLIG Previews | 4 Comments

There are about a billion games that provide a massive arsenal that can be used to create legions of orphaned alien babies, but how do you cope with all of the choices? How do you handle the stress of determining if today is a shotgun day or an Uzi day? Serious Sam has obliterated those stressful decisions with a ridiculous contraption called the Gunstacker. Soak it in, ladies and gentlemen (okay, probably mostly gentlemen). The Gunstacker allows Sam to wield not twice, not thrice, but ~~frice~~ quadruple the firepower of those boring old games! It’s the ultimate tower of power that stacks four weapons into an unwieldy Erector Set of death.

I admittedly don’t have much experience with the Serious Sam franchise, but after playing through the one-level demo of Serious Sam Double D, developer Nate Fouts’ enthusiasm for working with the character was evident. Double D is a 2D run-and-gun shooter made by Mommy’s Best Games; think of it as Contra with a demented sense of humor. The version I played was pretty early, and while the quantity of enemies, weapons and levels is still up in the air, the game shows a lot of promise.

Shoot Many Robots preview: Scraping off the rust

Posted on March 17, 2011 by Dave Voyles in PC, PC Previews, Previews, PSN, PSN Previews, XBLA, XBLA Previews | 2 Comments

Growing up, I was always a huge fan of the Metal Slug series. The cooperative elements paired with cartoon-like demeanor offered a fresh quality to the run-and-gun shooter. Despite the number of sequels it spawned, it unfortunately never caught on well with Western audiences. Fortunately, developer Demiurge Studios has taken that formula and placed their own influence on it.

Shoot Many Robots opened with my character, P. Water Tugnut, dressed in eccentric outfit and stationed in a mobile home while waiting out the eventual robot apocalypse. I could almost smell the stench of my RV as I lingered over a filthy toilet which served as a storage container as well, allowing me to change a number of items on my character, including head gear, clothing and armament. The comedic influence shined through as I selected a pair of tight leather chaps that allowed me to dash across the floor quickly and a football helmet which displayed the description “Makes you run faster. Why? We’re not quite sure.” Read more