Released on the PC in 2002, Mafia garnered almost unanimous high praise from game critics, with many citing the realistic nature of the world and spot-on production as high points of the game. Unfortunately for console gamers, the PS2 and Xbox versions suffered from numerous bugs and glitches, and didn't provide the same level of the polish that the PC version presented. Fortunately, developer 2K Czech is already on the right track to deliver an equally impressive sequel not only on the PC, but on the Xbox 360 and PS3 as well with Mafia II.
The music-game genre is an almost contradictory game category; though these games test the dexterity of players and their ability to color match on the fly, they don't teach gamers anything about playing a real musical instrument. The advent of the drum peripheral allows gamers to experience a fairly close simulation of what it's like to play a drum set, but would-be guitarists are left out in the cold. Seven45 Studios hope to change that with the release of Power Gig -- Rise of the Six String, which offers music game aficionados an actual working electric guitar (3/4ths the size of an actual guitar) to put to use in and out of the game.
The atmospheric and utterly unsettling side-scroller LIMBO is up for a few awards at this year's Independent Games Festival, and judging from our brief time with the puzzle-platformer it is fully deserving of the nominations.
Space Ark is one of those games that takes a long time to explain, when really, three seconds of hands-on time tells you everything you need to know. Even so, Dan Marchant, business development director for developer Strawdog Studios, took a stab at it: "It's inspired in part by Arkanoid. So there's cute characters, bright colors, and lots and lots of fruit."
As far as tired video game settings go, it sometimes seems like outer space may as well be World War II-era Germany. While angry space marines and ridiculous doomsday guns are growing in popularity, I can't help but feel that it's getting harder and harder to tell an original space-based story that's main selling point isn't "headshot!" What about the exploration? The ship-based combat? The customization? The seedy, otherworldly space ports and shady alien NPCs?
Zeno Clash originally reared its head in April of 2009 as a downloadable game on Steam. Built off the Source Engine, it wowed many a gamer and critic with its unique first-person "brawler" gameplay. It went on to become a finalist in the "Excellence in Visual Art" category at the 2009 Independent Games Festival competition, but lost out to the equally visually stunning Machinarium. Fast-forward to 2010, and Atlus is breathing new life into the visually bizarre brawler, bringing the title to XBLA as Zeno Clash: Ultimate Edition, which will contain many tweaks that Chile-based developer ACE Team implemented for this release, as well as a few new modes to sweeten the deal.
Sega revealed Vanquish, the latest action game by Platinum Games and the first game directed by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami since 2006's violently misunderstood scream-yourself-dizzy masterpiece God Hand, at an open-bar-and-canape event in a scary-dark lounge atop the Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills, Roppongi, Tokyo, last Tuesday. They must have paid through the nose for the place: it offers a near-unparalleled view of the Tokyo skyline. To parallel that view, you'd need a helicopter, or at least a jetpack.
Mixing wry British humor with episodic gaming and puzzles is Relentless Games' goal with their new project, Blue Toad Murder Files. The six-episode murder mystery marks the developer's first non-Buzz! project and first foray into PlayStation Network exclusive games.
On the surface, Backbreaker might not appear to be more than just another arcade-style football video game in the vein of NFL Blitz -- sans any licensed NFL teams, logos or stadiums -- but it's actually approaching the genre from an interesting and refreshing new angle.Backbreaker's most notable feature that distinguishes it from Blitz and Madden is the fact that it doesn't rely on motion capture technology to put realistic moves and play formations into the game.
Despite the increasing clamor for details about Blur, there has been a confident silence from Bizarre Creations. This has been a mixed blessing though, as rumor and hearsay have dominated forums about their new racing game. During the course of a drizzly day in Liverpool they announced not only the May 28th release date but also a host of new details about Blur.
