Magus Teaser Trailer: Aksys Has a PS3 Surprise Up Its Sleeves For RPG Fans…

MagusCoverTentativeIn case you haven’t figured this out yet, “next-gen” kicking off with the releases of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One don’t mean that “last-gen” is dead at all by a long shot. Well, not for a while at least. Which is why it’s great to see new games being announced for those “old” systems that won’t be headed to stores until 2014. Aksys Games has one of these games, Magus, set to hit the PlayStation 3 on February 25, 2014.

A wee bit of internet poking about by yours truly reveals that this one’s from developer Black Tower with Aksys Games, runs on the versatile Unreal Engine tech and looks like an Action/RPG of some sort. It’s also a PS3 exclusive it seems and can be pre-ordered from Amazon if you like that teaser trailer above that really doesn’t tell much.

Magus1 Magus2 Magus3 Magus4 Magus5 Magus6

While the game has a decidedly 2005 or so look to it in those screenshots above, I’m gathering these are early screens and not representative of the final game. That said, I like the “rustic” look to the visuals here, but hope things get polished up as far more details in the environments and the somewhat plain (and tiny!) GUI typeface. As to how it actually plays… I guess we’ll see. Aksys doesn’t exactly make NYC a stop on its press tours being a small publisher and all, but I trust them to not release a game that’s not somewhat enjoyable and interesting, “dated” visuals or not. We’ll see how this one is at some point – probably in a review down the road a piece. Stay tuned…

Random Indie Game of the Week: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (XBLA)

Since I’m sitting here with a couple of RROD’d Xbox 360’s (shakes fist at busted consoles) and no willingness to throw more money away at Microsoft to fix them or buy a replacement (shakes fist in the direction of Redmond HQ for producing such faulty junk of a console), I’ll need to wait for this to pop up on PSN or Steam. On the other hand, I think a friend is picking this up over the weekend, so I’ll probably boogie on over to his place and play this after he’s done with it. Given that Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is designed to be played in a single sitting, I don’t mind at all and I can get a perspective from someone else about the story’s impact and how he liked the unique control scheme. As noted in my earlier hands-on preview, this is one of those special games that’s worth a buy despite the relatively short length because you get to see a great developer stretch its wings with a fine new IP from a film director trying his hand at game development (and succeeding quite well). Back with a review probably around Monday.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Hands-On: Starbreeze Takes A Brave New Direction

brothers_cave01Starbreeze Studios and Josef Fares’ upcoming collaboration: Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (set for a spring launch on PC, PSN and Xbox Live Arcade) is an important game for a few reasons, but it’s also a game you actually need to play in order to understand how and why it works so well. The acclaimed Swedish director and well-seasoned developer have crafted a gorgeous-looking fantasy adventure tale with an innovative control scheme, smart camera system and no GUI to take away from the immersion, all of which make the game unique but accessible once you wrap your head around controlling two characters with a single controller.

There have been many games where players were either followed around by “smart” AI characters or controlled multiple characters on the same screen, but Brothers’ unique control scheme gently demands that both halves of your brain operate in unison right from the start, as many of the puzzles you’ll face require timing and precision in order to progress. Just remember that your left side of the controller is Big Brother and the right side Little Brother and it all clicks into place…
Continue reading

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons Behind the Scenes: A Fantasy Trip for Today…

 

Hey! Wouldn’t you like to be on a nice vacation right about now? OK, let’s go! Let’s say, hmmm… we’re now in Sweden with Josef Fares at Starbreeze Studios talking a little more about their unique game collaboration, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons coming to Windows PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 courtesy of publisher 505 Games? OK, OK… sitting in another room that’s different from the room you’re in now may not be much of a holiday at first glance, but think outside the box (or outside the building, in this case) and you’re on the way to your new destination with a fresh outlook. Um, Har en fantastisk semester – inte äta för mycket korv!

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons: Starbreeze’s Fantasy Fairy Tale Coming to PSN, XBL, Steam This Spring

Brothers_Logo

 

And just exactly what has Starbreeze Studios been up to these days you ask? Well, the busy and super-talanted developer has been collaborating with Swedish film director Josef Fares on an upcoming digital-only fantasy game headed for the PS3, Xbox 360 and Steam this spring and published by 505 Games. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons lets you control a pair of siblings with a single controller as they try to find a cure for their ailing father in a nicely detailed stylized fantasy world. Check out the teaser above and the short walkthrough clip below to see how the game will play. This one looks quite cool and hopefully will gain a strong following and not get buried in the rather large online game libraries on PSN, Xbox Live and Steam. As always, we shall see…

 

Brothers1 Brothers2 Brothers3 Brothers4 Brothers5