According to a post by a community manager on the SEGA company forums, Sonic 3’s level designer is back working on Sonic 4.
Earlier in the week, it was revealed to us that Dimps would be handling development for the new Sonic the Hedgehog game, but that’s no longer the case according to the forum post.
“So, is it just Dimps? Just Sonic Team? The answer is a bit of both. Yes, Dimps is working on the game. But there’s actually more to it than just that: at the same time, we also have members of Sonic Team, including the original senior level designer from Sonic 3 & Knuckles on the SEGA Genesis working alongside them.
“It is most definitely a partnership, and the result of this teamwork is something many of us are excited for.”
Well, I can definitely say I’m way more excited about Sonic 4 than I was before, but I’m still doubtful of the episodic release style.
The first episode of Sonic 4 is on its way to the PS3, 360 and Wii this summer.
Microsoft Game Studios’ Ken Lobb that Pefect Dark’s XBLA release on March 17th will come with a bit of a bonus.
Goldeneye multiplayer levels Complex, Facility and Temple have been confirmed for Perfect Dark’s multiplayer, and Lobb told Kotaku that certain guns from the classic shooter will also be available for Perfect Dark’s multiplayer, albeit under different names for legal reasons.
Are you more excited for March 17th now? I am. :D
In the mid-to-late ‘90’s, the PC gaming market almost seemed like a sort of secret society, offering a consistent level of thrills for quick-learning gamers who knew how to use their PCs for more than just The Oregon Trail. First Person Shooters were all the rage back then, adding fast-paced action, copious violence, and the occasional bits of profanity and nudity that made committed computer players feel truly rewarded.
Eventually, videogame consoles would catch up to the PC market with 3D visuals and “edgier” releases, and it was during the turn of the century that Serious Sam was released, almost as a send-off to the FPS days of yesteryear.
Fast forward to today, where the team behind Sam’s previous adventures brings back their classic for a console and PC re-release. Not content with merely porting the game at a budget price, developer Croteam has given the original game a serious HD makeover, appropriately titled Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter. But does the untouched gameplay still remain fresh in a time of an overabundant FPS market?
It seems to me like we’re living in the age of nostalgia, where many of us are almost constantly looking back to what we remember as a golden age of gaming, when all the games were great and no one was shouting “noob” at us from across an internet connection. The Xbox Live Arcade has slowly built up a library of remakes, reboots and upgrades of old arcade classics like Asteroids, Centipede, Pac-Man and Galaga.
Another such title just released is Qix++, an improved version of the old arcade game from 1981. Originally released by Taito, the point of Qix (pronounced /kɪks/) according to Wikipedia, is to fence off, or “claim” a majority of the level’s playing field. Every level is a large, empty rectangle containing the titular Qix, a computer virus according to the game’s back story.
If you’re a gamer and Star Wars fan, you’ve more than likely heard of LucasArts, the videogame developer side of Lucasfilm. Most of us associate LucasArts with the point-and-click adventure game craze of the 80’s and 90’s, when the company wasn’t just milking the Star Wars franchise for all it was forth. And for a time, it was good. But then adventure games sort of just stopped, their market value having fallen once full 3D and the Quake era had begun. LucasArts decided to make Star Wars games instead, which has obviously payed off despite some quality issues on certain games.
So imagine my jubilations when I saw an interview with LucasArts president Darrel Rodriguez on GTTV, who promised to bring LucasArts back to their old style of game developing. Star Wars was still their bread and butter, obviously, but he wanted the company to branch out and bring more quality games onto the market. The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition had just been released on Steam and Xbox Live Arcade, and more LucasArts adventure games was coming to Steam. LucasArts shut down for a week in order to generate new ideas and concepts. One of these concepts was Lucidity, which they decided to make into a full game.
If you’re a gamer willing to open yourself to new and inventive ideas, consider downloading Lucidity from the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. The main menu introduces you to a hauntingly beautiful rendition of a well-known Swedish lullaby, Byssan Lull, whose origin is steeped in mystery.
Lucidity’s composer, Jesse Harlin wrote an interesting piece recently on how this Swedish lullaby came to be chosen for the game, as well as his opportunity to work with Swedish singer Lisa Eriksson.
The LucasArts composer provided a partial translation of the lyrics on the website which are used as a starting point for the subtitles included in the video below.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled
The original Turtles in Time is regarded as one of the best beat-em-ups of its time, and after the success of the previous XBLA TMNT game and re-releasing the most popular of the Turtles games from their heyday seemed like an obvious choice to both the consumer and the companies involved.
Less obvious is the decision to completely remake the game graphically when for many fans a mere port with online play would’ve sufficed. Even stranger than this is the decision to base this remake off the inferior, less popular Arcade version rather than the SNES version that had grabbed the hearts of so many.
An entire stage is gone, as are several characters, and the sections where on the SNES primitive Mode-7 gave us a glimpse at 3D are gone too, with few of the crazy camera-twisting maneuvers Mode-7 enabled in the game.
The gameplay is solid, but there's just something missing.
It’s not all bad – the game is in true 3D and additions such as 8-way attacking instantly makes the controls more refined. Online multiplayer is in, and all the basic, fun gameplay elements that made the original a smash are in place.
In spite of still having solid game mechanics and controls, Turtles in Time Re-Shelled seems to lack something. The graphical overhaul in particular feels charmless compared to the original sprites, and through that the nostalgia factor is gone.
With the fan service gone, all that Turtles in Time Re-Shelled has going for it is its gameplay, which while serviceable now feels tired and outdated.
- 6 / 10
Trials HD
Trials HD is a difficult game to describe, but here goes – it’s a physics-based motorbike racing and stunt game that draws its addictive qualities from leaderboards where the game challenges to beat out those on your Xbox Live Friends List.
In a nutshell, that’s this game – out of the box you’ll have over 50 tracks and you’ll be challenged to get from one end to the other as fast as possible without breaking any bones, setting yourself on fire or generally causing the rider any damage.
Not that it matters for the poor driver – he gets totaled at the end of every level anyway. A nice touch.
Each level will likely take several attempts to complete and again it’s clear how long each level took and how many respawns everybody used on the leaderboards – everything is tracked here. You can even see your progress against others whilst playing via a handy meter at the top of the screen, so you know if you can afford to slow down or if you need to put your foot down.
There are bronze, silver and gold medals for every level – merely surviving will net a bronze, but silver and gold are significantly more difficult to get. Stuck players can watch replays of the top 500 people on each task’s leaderboard and see exactly what buttons they pressed and when via icons on the screen.
Sometimes frustrating - but great.
Sometimes the game can be frustrating, but the feeling of accomplishment when you pull off an incredible jump or a death-defying stunt far outweighs the anger you felt when you failed it 50 times prior.
The addition of several fun challenge modes and a level editor further increases the value of the game and makes it one of the more condensed but complete experiences in XBLA. Levels can be shared with friends and everything – everything – is leaderboarded to foster competitive driving.
All of Trials HD is meticulously designed and well presented. The game also has controls as tight as they come – important for a game like this. While I found myself wishing for more options in game and some sort of actual online game mode, there’s still a fair amount of depth here.
It’s a great example of how to integrate Xbox Live without gameplay actually being online, and it’s a master class in how to create a very simple, condensed but stunningly addictive game.
- 9 / 10
MetroidVania is an interesting genre name to be sure. Named after the two series’ that birthed this particular gameplay style, Metroid and Castlevania, the genre is defined by 2D gameplay across sprawling maps with progression controlled by the items and moves you have access to at any given moment.
The genre isn’t dead, but it’s certainly a bit of a wasteland right now with portable Castlevania titles the only viable option and the last 2D Metroid released way back in 2004. Here to save the day for fans is Shadow Complex, a new, original, sizable adventure for Xbox Live Arcade.
Platform & shoot your way through the game world...
Just a quick note that the next-gen remake of Turtles in Time Re-Shelled has landed on Xbox Live. This age old favourite has been recreated with 3D HD graphics, enhanced animations and original gameplay.
The game will set you back about 800 MS points.
From the moment I booted up ‘Splosion Man, I knew I was in for something special. The last time a mere menu and intro caused so much interest and intrigue on Live Arcade was in Braid, and we all know how well that came out.
‘Splosion Man tells the story of ‘Splosion Man, an escaped experiment who has been given the power to explode without causing any damage to himself – and is now determined to break out of the facility that created him and out into the world.
Looking like a whacky version of the Fantastic Four’s Human Torch, ‘Splosion Man is easy to control – you move with the stick, and every single 360 face button makes him ’splode. Simple.
Best. News. Ever.
Speaking at Casual Connect in Seattle, PopCap revealed to a grateful world that the insanely addictive, ridiculously enjoyable and delightfully quirky Plant vs Zombies will be heading to the Xbox Live Arcade.
Now who wouldn’t be happy about an announcement like this?
Ah, the good old seasonal Xbox Live celebrations, where Microsoft sees fit to release what it considers to be its best titles over the span of a single month.
This year’s line up is especially impressive – you’d have to be a cold, heartless human being not to be impressed by a line up that includes the Secret of Monkey Island remake, the TMNT game, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and Shadow Complex.
By the looks of it, 1200 MS Points is the new 800.
Full release dates below.
- July 15th: Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition – 800 MS Points ($10.00/£6.80).
- July 22: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – 1200 MS Points ($14.99/£10.20)
- July 29: Marvel vs. Capcom 2 – 1200 MS Points ($14.99/£10.20)
- August 5: Splosion Man – 800 MS Points ($10.00/£6.80)
- August 12: Trials HD – 1200 MS Points ($14.99/£10.20)
- August 19: Shadow Complex – 1200 MS Points ($14.99/£10.20)
Eurogamer have revealed that Serious Sam is being remade for Xbox Live Arcade. To be released late this summer, the title will set you back 1200 Microsoft Points.
“Serious Sam HD” will be a re-imagining of The First Encounter and is being created by the original developer Croteam.
Serious Sam first appeared on PCs in 2001 and was know for its insane over-the-top weapons and scenarios, where enemies would spawn in on the protagonist from practically every angle. When other FPSes focused on being gritty and realistic, Serious Sam focused on balls to the wall action and inanely good times.
This is news that will no doubt frustrate PS3 fans looking forward to the game, but Ubisoft has confirmed today that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles remake, Turtles in Time Re-Shelled, will be an XBLA timed exclusive.
TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled will be part of Xbox Live’s yearly “Summer of Arcade” promotion, and will be available on the Xbox Live Marketplace on July 22nd
The PSN version is slated for “later this year”.
This weekend we reported on a remake of the old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade game “Turtles in Time”.
Below you’ll find a rough, somewhat out of focus video of the game in action. The player goes through the Skull and Crossbones level, beating the snot out of foot soldiers on a pirate ship while some dude offers inaudible commentaries in the background.
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