No sooner do they tease us with news that Rocketmen: Axis of Evil is coming in March, then they go and tell us that it’s coming the very first week of March. That’s right, the game will be up on XBLA and PSN on the 5th and 6th March respectively.
Here’s what they had to say on the finer detail:
Join Nick Sion, Alec Mink and the Alliance of Free Planets in their white-knuckled, frenzied struggle to free the Solar System from the tyrannical grip of the Legion of Terra! Rocketmen: Axis of Evil provides non-stop multiplayer action with role-playing game elements, including customizable characters and an engaging story, all wrapped in the game’s distinctive cel-shaded art style. Play with up to four players in co-op mode and blast anything that moves.
Think multiplayer Robotron-style run+shoot, with 10x the bullets, bosses, full character customization, a crazy amount of gameplay, and an actual story. A funny one even.
We’ll spare you from any more Elton John lyrics this time.
Despite showing off some screens at the end of last year, Infinite Interactive have taken the rather odd step of re-announcing their upcoming sequel to the magnificent Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords.
Rather than taking the easy option and plumping for a plain sequel they’ve decided to replace swords and dragons with lasers and aliens. The mechanics of the game also seem to have changed slightly in that it relies on matching colours (and looking a little bit like Hexic as a result). Right now they’re claiming the game will feature…
· Create a persistent pilot who gains skills and ships as he completes more battles.
· Each enemy you fight will require different tactics.
· Individual battles require only 5-10 minutes of time.
· Experience a conquer-the-galaxy style campaign mode.
· Find new objects to make your pilot and ship all-powerful.
· Trade supplies throughout the galaxy to increase your wealth.
· Meet companions who will join your crew and aid you in battle.
· Take your pilot and ship online against other players.
· Compete for positions on the online high score tables.
· Download new content - ships, items, plans, planets, factions and missions.
…which all sounds like it’s shaping up to be every bit as good as the original. Puzzle Quest: Galactrix is due for release towards the end of 2008.
I’m a rocket man… Rocketman! Burning out his fuse up here alone!…*ahem*
News reaches us that Capcom’s cartoon styled sci-fi shooter is due to launch on both XBLA and PSN in March.
The game will feature four player co-op (on and offline) and a create a character option so you can carve out your own homage to the black and white matinée serials of old. The first person to create a Jeff King/King of The Rocketmen character wins the Internet.
Microsoft have confirmed that this Wednesdays release will be Japanese Shooter Triggerheart Exelica for 800 MS points.
For those unfamiliar with the game the official blurb gives a good summary:
“Triggerheart Exelica” on Xbox LIVE Arcade is an upgraded version of the original Japanese arcade game and allows players to take down or trap and toss enemies by controlling humanoid weapons systems known as Triggerhearts. Players will enjoy the smallest and newest model of Triggerhearts, which feature the perfect blend of artificial intelligence and an imposing arsenal. They are the ultimate weapon against the mysterious enemy ships of the Ver’mith! “Triggerheart Exelica” also features five stages of enhanced graphics, BGM sound tracks, three difficulty levels and a “Variable Boss Attack System,” which adjusts the difficulty level to match player’s skills.
One of the more interesting announcements to come out of GDC last week that got lost in the hubbub around a Ninja Gaiden 2 demo (which never arrived) and David Jaffe pulling a sickie (get well soon Dave), was that Lionhead’s upcoming sequel Fable 2 will feature integration with the XBLA .
As reported by Eurogamer while Peter Molyneux is being a bit coy with all the details, he has thrown out some interesting little tidbits. Certain Arcade games will allow you to earn gold that can be spent in Fable 2, the first being a game called Keystone which he equates to being a “a little bit like craps”.
These games won’t be developed by Lionhead and rather than gold earning being focused on one game it’ll be spread over a number of titles that may not actually have anything to do with Fable 2 at all. The first of these should be out a couple of weeks before Fable 2 hits shelves, giving you a chance to amass a small fortune by the time you get your mits on a copy. Some of them will also be availiable to play in game in pubs scattered throughout Albion.
While it all sounds a bit like a minature-Home endevour it’s certainly an interesting concept and no doubt the closer the game gets to its late 2008 release, the more we’ll find out.
1Up reports that Capcom are slightly miffed with the size limit for XBLA games. Producer Ben Judd has said that because of the 150Mb cap on XBLA games, the 360 version of the will need to have lower textures than the PS3 / PC versions to compensate.
But it seems Microsoft disagree.
“That’s surprising to hear,” says John Schappert, Microsoft’s corporate VP of Xbox Live, Software, and Services, when we asked him about Capcom’s issues later in the day. “Last I checked it was Capcom that had an exception to our file size with Street Fighter II [Hyper Fighting]…. We raised our limit to 150 megs, which seems pretty darn great…. I don’t think it has limited our games in any way.
Regardless the game is looking like a great little remake of a classic game and Capcom have announced that they are aiming for a May/June release on all three formats.
Good news everyone! Seems that those creative lot at The Behemoth are reaching the final development stretch for Castle Crashers for the XBLA. As well as giving a tentative release date of “summer” they’re also released some new screens to wet or appetitive.
One of the highlights of this years GDC is Fez, a game which has scooped the Festival Award for Excellence in Visual Art. And deservedly so - check out the video to see why.
The bad news? It isn’t scheduled for anything other than an independent release on PC. Yet. Let’s hope Microsoft or Sony (or better yet both of them) snap this up right away.
In the meantime here’s some lovely screens to drool over.
Todays XBLA release for 800 MS Points is the stylish Ninja related puzzle platformer N+. Featuring 4 player co-op and literally hundreds of levels there’s tonnes to keep you occupied.
Today sees the start of GDC 2008 and Microsoft have come out all guns blazing. Expanding on their XNA developers kit which allows creative types to produce home grown games, they’ve made several of them availiable over Xbox Live for a limited time period.
The availiable games include:
“JellyCar.” Created by Walaber from the United States, this game is about driving a squishy car through squishy worlds, trying to reach the exit.
“Little Gamers.” This is a 2-D high definition action side-scroller based on the famous Web comic “Little Gamers” created by Loïc Dansart, a 24-year-old software developer from Belgium.
“Dishwasher.” An intense 2-D action platform game created by James Silva from the United States, “Dishwasher” has a unique, highly stylized look and fast and fluid action.
“TriLinea.” This puzzle game created by Edison S. Prata Jr., Renato Pelizzari da Silva and Davi da Silva Prata from Brazil mixes fast-paced action with strategy.
“RocketBall.” Created by Tyler Wanlass, Patrick Murty and Todd Barrons of the United States, this neighborhood game of dodgeball explodes onto the street with fast-paced multiplayer action.
“ProximityHD.” This game, created by Brian Cable from the United States, takes the essence of strategy games — battles for control of territory and armies — and distills it down to a simple, easy-to-understand set of rules for casual players.
“Culture.” Created by independent game development company Hidden Path Entertainment from the United States, “Culture” contains challenging games and puzzles based on beautiful flowers.
