Click me for more info. You know you want to.
It’s baaaaaack… (which is a good thing, folks).
Here we go again, because the original Kickstarter only ran for a week and left a few folks out of the loop. Now you have a second chance to get in on this crowdfunding action thanks to a new push to get in those folks who felt left out. Head below the jump for the press release and a few more screens.
RedDeerGames‘ interesting looking mash-up Cyber Protocol ($9.99) had me at the cool neon aesthetic and what looks to be some tough retro arcade gameplay. 100 levels await and the game’s visuals certainly have some nice nostalgic vibes appreciated by my old ancient self. Take a peek at the game’s trailer and some screens below:
A little game description goes a long a long way, right?:
Cyber Protocol is an arcade puzzle game set in a Cyberpunk scenario with strong and dynamic gameplay. You play as the main hero, whose mission is to bring his Android friend (G0X6) back to life by activating the protocol to revive him.
That looks pretty awesome, doesn’t it? As for screens, see for yourself:
-GW
POW! From publisher/port home BlitWorks and solo developer SebaGamesDev (or sebagamesdev) comes this fun-looking throwback that’s landed on Switch and Xbox One as of the 26th (and is also set for a PS4 release) for a mere $19.99. Here’s the trailer, but try to keep from grinning broadly so much because it really brings back memories of the old arcade days:
“Some day, a real rain wi…” no, wait, oops, wrong Taxi Driver reference!
Well, this is different. I’ve downloaded the free Neo Cab demo onto my Switch (there’s a PC demo for STEAM users here) and will say I’m more than impressed with what’s here so far. The art style is pleasant to look at, the writing is fine and there are elements to the gameplay that just simply work really well. As Lina, one of the last human drivers-for-hire on the streets of Los Ojos, you’ll find yourself caught up in a friend’s disappearance after she takes what’s supposed to be a short detour. Developer ChanceAgency has a few things going on here, all of which gel into a memorable game so far.
Trapped in the city she hates for a few reasons, Lina is forced to keep driving in order to keep her Star rating up and her sanity up, as she more or less has to love in her ride thanks to having to more or less live in her car until she finds out what happened pt her missing roommate. The demo is enough of a solid tease to make me stop here and let the developer tale the floor for a bit: Well, after the trailer and below the jump.
She does look FAAK-ing familiar, but that’s a good thing.
Speaking of metal, Crian Soft’s new game in progress looks like something out of the pages of Heavy Metal magazine circa 1983 or so. This is a good thing as the developer’s not known for 100% tight gameplay (I’ve played and liked Age of Barbarian despite it being a bit of clunky fun), so I’m not expecting it to break a mold or anything like that. Actually, it is a mold breaker in one way, as it’s the company’s first console release, which is cool (about time!).
Here’s a peek at the game’s first trailer and some screens to ogle. So cheesy it hurts, but hell, I’ll be onboard if it nails more that just the looks just right.
Oh yeah, it’s on, even if it’s not so hot at the end of the day. Hey, if I’m surprised that it’s good stuff, all the better, right?
-GW
I’m grinning a little too much because NARCOS: Rise of The Cartels isn’t the Grand Theft Auto V clone some expected from Curve Digital and developer Kuju Games. Nope, this one’s going the turn-based strategy route much like the XCOM series or the underappreciated Falling Skies: The Game from 2014. This is a good thing for me because I prefer to slow things down a tad these days and stuff that’s turn-based fits right up the alley here. Sure, it’s not the visual feast some expect, but this means it’ll be a perfect fit on consoles as well as PC. I’ll certainly be playing it to enjoy its merits and will have few issues unless the AI isn’t up to snuff.
Fans of this sort of game should keep an eye peeled, I say (or some drug lord will peel one for you, ow).
-GW
As we’re a wee bit swamped today, I’ll go with the official line on this rather interesting looking PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch game from developer Lunar Great Wall Studios and publisher Toplitz before a review code arrives:
ANOTHER SIGHT is a surreal fantasy adventure with steampunk elements set in London in 1899, towards the end of the Victorian era. With an emphasis on culture and character, ANOTHER SIGHT focuses on the emotional development of the relationship between its two protagonists, Kit, a refreshingly intrepid teenager, and Hodge – a mysterious red-furred cat. They meet in the darkness of a London Underground construction site after Kit loses her sight when the tunnel, she had been exploring collapses.
They team up for an adventure into the unexpected, with Hodge proving himself to be an indispensable companion, upon whom Kit will come to rely. Kit and Hodge explore a surreal fantasy world, both together and separately, each using unique talents to make their way through compelling environments and to solve intriguing puzzles. Beneath London, in a world inspired by Neil Gaiman’s urban fantasy, Neverwhere, Kit and Hodge encounter a hidden society made up of the world’s greatest inventors and finest artistic minds, including Claude Monet, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison and other historical, cultural icons.
Did you want screenshots with that? Well, here are a whopping 45 to peruse:
It sure looks as if a great deal of work went into this one, so here’s hoping it’s a memorable game experience. I’ll be back in a bit to let you know, of course.
Oh, before you get all “Hey, where’s the Xbox One package?” – there wasn’t an image in the press kit I got (so there!).
-GW
If you’re a Nintendo-only fan who missed out on Red Faction Guerilla in one of its previous competing console or PC incarnations, it’s finally arrived on the Switch in pretty solid form as Red Faction Guerilla Re-Mars-tered ($29.99) If you’re also a huge fan of open world games packed with plenty of content and a ridiculous amount of destruction, you’ll be very pleased with this one despite a few technical hiccups.
Developer KAIKO has ported original developer Volition’s 2009 classic to Nintendo’s hybrid system with all the DLC and game modes intact and while things can get a wee bit iffy when the frame rate gets bumpy in the busiest moments, it’s an amazing port for what’s working perfectly right out of the gate. For starters, the game looks great despite the seemingly limited color palette. Characters are smoothly animated, there are some great visual flourishes and hell, even the rolling skies will make you stop and stare once in a while (well, provided you’re in a safe zone). Hopping into your vehicle of choice or hoofing it to a destination whereupon you unleash all sorts of ordinance as you attempt to survive whatever the EDF troops throw back is just pure fun on a stick with the results being lots of leveled structures and a bunch less pesky pissed-off troops to deal with. The AI certainly puts up a decent fight, calling in support that can and will escalate things in a tearing hurry.
“Damn, those alien bastards destroyed my ride!” Oops, wrong game.
The destruction, thanks to the Geo-Mod 2.0 engine, looks and feels darn near perfect as those assorted enemy bases and other structures crumble and tumble with a particular sense of weight that can be hazardous to your character’s health if he or she is too close to something exploding or collapsing. While both the Campaign and DLC content have stories to follow, you’re pretty much going to be rolling out with intent on doing as much damage to enemies and enemy buildings as you can while trying not to get space-dusted yourself. Even on the easiest difficulty it’s all too common here to barely survive some of the tougher missions. But persistence and perhaps a better loadout pay off big. As you get better at fending off the enemies, when you do buy the space farm, it’s likely going to be from going in too hot and not being prepared for EDF retaliation. Or: you may want to have an escape route planned or at least enough explosives to blast your way out of trouble when necessary.
(Thanks, EurogamerGermany!)
There’s certainly a boom in things going BOOM, as the arcade shooter market has made quite a comeback over the years. In reality, it really never went away as plenty of smaller indie developed and fan-made games can be found as digital and physical retail titles with a little bit of online legwork. That said, R-Type holds its legendary status to this day simply because it’s pure brilliance from start to finish. Granzella’s strategy for a super-short Kickstarter for R-Type 2 Final has paid off big time with as of this writing, some 543K has been pledged to bring this final Final to life and with under four days ti go, you could say the sky’s the limit if that funding hits some of the stretch goals noted on the Kickstarter page.
Personally, I’m hoping the game gets up to that goal where Granzella can recreate levels from previous R-Type games just so this stage from R-Type Final gets redone in glorious HD. Hell, drop a bag of money on my head (ow) and I’ll throw it at Granzella just for this stage alone.
-GW
Riffing with Glyph-ing: choose your cards wisely, or else suffer the fate of the unprepared.
Laser Guided games mostly excellent Golem Gates ($24.99) made me wish attract screens were still a thing in modern games. While it’s a solid and enjoyable take on the Real-Time Strategy (RTS), card collection and MOBA genres and translates well enough from its keyboard and mouse-centric PC origins to a game controller, it’s also the sort of game where a rolling demonstration mode would just be a cool thing to have happen when the game is booted up if only to get a few more people on the fence about it wanting to give it a shot. If you’re super-old school and need a sort of reference point, imagine Herzog Zwei, StarCraft and DoTA having a baby and getting it onto PC and now, consoles and you’ve got an idea od what to expect.
Granted, if you’re buying this game for yourself, you know exactly what you’re getting into and likely don’t need any persuasion. Conversely, if a friend drops over and is itching to know what the big deal is, you’ll just have to have them plop down on the couch or wherever and play as they watch, or pick up a controller and join the fun if they’re more than a little curious. Thankfully, other than the rather dry main screen that greets you along with Dalvan King’s stellar music, the gameplay hooks you right in if you’re a fan of this sort of play. Kicking off with a tutorial that explains the basics, your Harbinger uses cards (called Glyphs here) to summon up a small variety of troops and useful goodies to assist in dealing with assorted enemies as you attempt to take out the enemy Harbinger. In Campaign mode, that list of Glyphs gets larger as do the enemy types that need crushing, and yes, decks can be created and customized to your liking as new Glyphs appear.
"DESTROY ALL FANBOYS!" 