PC indie title Sanctum is getting a sequel and this time it’s coming to Microsoft and Sony’s consoles too.

There isn’t a lot of info about Sanctum 2 yet, other than it’s coming. That’s probably because the game isn’t going to be with us until 2013, so there’s plenty of time for them to get around to revealing it all.

The original Sanctum is a mixture of tower defense genre and first person shooter, where the player must tackle an incoming hoard of invading creatures. With fully-upgradeable weapons and the player taking a key role in the defense of their stuff, the original game has shifted quite a few copies, 300,000 units in fact, for the PC via Steam.

While details are scarce, we’re expecting the sequel to build on all this and we’ll have more news as we get it.

You certainly can’t fault the developers of Shoot Many Robots for making sure the game lives up to its name.

As this latest trailer shows, there’s quite a lot of them. In fact, there’s many of them. Which is kind of the point.

Still no firm date for the release of the game on PSN or XBLA, but it’s still scheduled for a 2012 release.

With the opening month of 2012 now behind us (did that go as quick for everyone else too?) we’re at that time of a new month when we have a look at the best of the content on offer from the other members of the Character Select Network.

Without further ado, here’s some of what the others were up to during January:-

Introspective Retrospective

2011 may be old news now, but that doesn’t mean there’s no scope for people to sit down and have a natter about what gaming treats they enjoyed. The Cane and Rinse podcast gets a few members on board to talk about their favorites.

To conclude our thoughts on the year in videogames that was 2011, Cane and Rinse contributors Karl Moon, Darren Gargette, James Carter, Joshua Garrity and Darren Foreman each offer their own personal perspectives on the previous twelve months of digital delights.

And while you’re there, and if you’re a fan of Halo, you might want to check out their podcast all about Halo:Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition

This week Leon and Tony are joined by Karl Moon and, making his Cane and Rinse podcast debut, Darren Gargette, to discuss 343 Industries Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.

 

The Changing Demands of Gamers

Onyersix (possibly not his real name) ruminates over just how gamers tastes may be changing as the medium pushes ever onwards, including things like value for money and catering to everyone’s different play styles.

Although the character is an important aspect of the game, modern day RPGs have taught us that you can, to a certain degree, role-play and develop characters in your own styling.  You might choose to play Fallout 3 as a psychopath, homicidally murdering people in their sleep and insulting everyone you speak to.  (Telling a woman she was bats**t crazy was hilarious to me!)  If nothing else, it lets us mold the story to our own choosing, rather than dictating a linear path in the style of games like Uncharted 3.

Syndicate Preview

While the change into a First Person Shooter may not site well with some,  sci-fi title Syndicate is soon to be reborn. Tony Chandler has a look at how the game is shaping up with a hands on preview.

The new Syndicate takes the basics of this, and spins it into a very modern game. Gone is the old fashioned isometric viewpoint, replaced instead with a first person perspective. The characters look has been changed too, from the very 90s sunglasses and trench coats look of the original to a futuristic cross between a character from Mass Effect and Killzone. The demo we were given to play was the four-player online cooperative mode, on a mission to find and kill a rival Syndicate’s Colonel. There were three classes of agent to choose from, Offense, Defense and Support, so for the first game I picked Defense.

Meanwhile Dan Bendon takes a look at the latest in the series of Boobs and Battles…sorry, Swords and Souls with a review of Soul Calibur V

Once fully unlocked you’ll have a choice from a cast of around 28 characters made up of returning characters and newcomers in about equal measure with some of those newcomers being inspired by older characters, remade and revamped into younger bodies. All of the newcomers have entirely new move-sets and fighting styles so while it might look like Taki, Kilik and Sophitia have just undergone some plastic surgery and been given a new name it’s not the case. The cast feels very well rounded with very little overlap in styles, even the Alpha and Omega versions of Patroklos and Pyrrha play quite differently from their standard alter egos.

For what it’s worth, this latest Skullgirls trailer tries to suggest there’s a story to the seemingly random, over the top cartoon violence.

Pft! Like you’re going to be playing it to be regaled with the gaming equivalent of War and Peace.

Regardless they’ve lifted the proverbial lid off the different game modes and some features, which will include:-

- Story Mode
- Arcade Mode
- Practice Mode
- Ranked and Unranked Online Play
- Custom Soundtracks

They’re taking their sweet time in getting the game out, so expect the drip feed of info to continue for some time yet. Or at least until the game hits the still projected `early 2012` release date.

It’s a dire week this week for PSN users expecting original gaming content. Sadly there’s no other way to describe today’s releases.

After getting everyone a tad bit excited that The Simpsons Arcade Game was coming, they then turned around last minute and said it’ll be next week instead. What does that mean for releases this week? Pretty much just Puddle in the US for $9.99.

Europe gets naff all, except for opening up the Gotham City Imposters Beta. That is unless you want to download the Kane & Lynch games or Mini Ninja’s for an exorbitant price, when you can buy the disc based releases in the shops for mere pennies…

Just be strong everyone and remember, Sony loves you!

Today Capcom made a little announcement that we’re finally getting Phoenix Wright: Ace Attourney 5.

No more messing about playing Miles Edgeworth.

No messing about with wannabe Apollo Justice.

And no special guest starring from Professor Layton.

They’re actually releasing an honest to goodness new adventure featuring everyone’s favourite shouty lawyer, Phoenix Wright. Hooray!

But alongside this news, they announced that the first three Phoenix Wright titles (so that’s the original Phoenix Wright, Justice for All, and finally the excellent Trials and Tribulations) would be getting a HD release for the iPhone 4 and iPad.

So the burning question right now for me is, if you’re going to do a HD release, why not spread your net as wide as possible and include as many platforms as you can? After all, I know I’d love to play through the games again if they’d been giving a loving spruce up and some HD visuals. I bet there are lots of other people who would too – throw in some decent Kinect / Move integration and you’re half way there.

It wouldn’t be the first time the Phoenix Wright titles have been given a downloadable release on the consoles either – after all, they were released bit by bit on WiiWare in 2009 – 2010. But we’re guessing they didn’t exactly sell like hotcakes due to Nintendo’s terrible behind the times approach to downloads.

So you have to question why Capcom would pass over the consoles for this sort of release? Sure, almost everyone and their dog has access to an iDevice but then they’ve already released at least one of the Ace Attorney games on the platforms less than a year ago.

So the question I have to ask is why are the titles being overlooked for Xbox and PlayStation users? Are Microsoft and Sony not interested in having the titles on their machines? Or is it just that Capcom have yet to break the news?

Let us know what you think.

Depending on what region you’re in, with today’s update to the PSN you can download either Puddle or Scarygirl.

But not both.

European users get their hands on puzzle game Puddle from Konami, while US peeps get to play Scarygirl. We very recently reviewed it and which you can read all about by clicking here.

As usual the full list of original download releases for this week can be found below:-

Scarygirl – $9.99
Bermuda Triangle – minis ($2.99)
Gold Medalist – minis ($2.99)
Stick Man Rescue – minis ($3.99)

Puddle (£7.99/€9.99)
Mecho Wars – minis (£3.99/€4.99)

This reviewer’s not ashamed to admit that he’s been out with some very scary girls in his time. We’ll spare you the details but if the dark corners of the Internet, where some ladies obsessions with the Twilight saga are given hideous form, teach you nothing else then realise that there’s more than enough nutty females out there to go around.

But there’s never been anything quite like the scary girl in TikGames and Square Enix’s Scarygirl for PSN and XBLA. After all, how many women have you met with a tentacle for one arm and a bone stump on the other? Actually don’t answer any of that because we’d rather not hear about your sordid love life. Oh, and before the feminists beat a path to our door to try and string us up, yes we’re well aware that there are plenty of nutty men out there too…

Based on the obscure graphic novels by Nathan Jurevicius, the titular Scarygirl in question here is an orphan who was washed up on the beach many years ago. Now she lives in relative contentment in a tree house built for her by her friendly octopus friend Blister, and is guided by the mystic rabbit Bunniguru. Woken late one night from a weird dream, she sets out to discover the identify of a strange man who seems to occupy her sleeping visions.

It doesn’t matter if you’re unfamiliar with Scarygirl before playing, as the game does a lovely job of presenting the background in a storyboard fashion. Despite the fact that it feels like it’s been produced by someone who was completely tripping balls, everything is done with an irrepressible bright and colourful style that makes it nice to look at. With a range of fantastical creatures and locations to look at, despite some ragged edges, there’s some very stylistic eye candy going on here.

Which is just as well really, since there’s not actually much to the gameplay. Taking the form of a side scrolling platformer, the player must guide Scarygirl from left to right, beating up any monsters who dare to get in her way. There are light and heavy attacks to be used, along with using her tentacle to grab and throw enemies, or even use them to batter their colleagues.

Scattered around the levels are various sized gems which can be used to purchase additional weapons such as anchors or fans, each with different attributes, or upgrades for her abilities for jumping and using her tentacle in a rotary motion to hover. After attacking enough enemies and building up her rage meter, Scarygirl can enter Scary mode (naturally) allowing her more powerful attacks for a very short period of time.

That’s pretty much all there is to the game. Some very basic platforming, mixed with some very basic combat along a very linear path. The game does try and add some elements of exploration to proceedings by having branching paths, but the fact that you can backtrack through a level to these points and take the alternative route for a few extra goodies means there’s no real reason to replay a level once you’re finished.

There’s not much challenge either and it’s possible to leisurely stroll through everything the game has to offer in a very short space of time. The end result is a game that feels like it’s very much aimed at the younger audience. It doesn’t necessarily do anything wrong, it’s a relatively fun distraction to occupy the brain for a while, but it does feels very light and a completely throwaway experience that suffers from style over substance. Depending on your age that may suit you down to the ground, but anyone over the age of thirteen is unlikely to find the gameplay providing them with any lasting sense of fun.

Which means the real sticking point here might be the games price. Currently sitting at 1200 Microsoft Points / $14.99 it doesn’t feel like it offers enough value to warrant the price of admission. If you’re looking for something quick and easy to park the children in front of and stop them climbing the walls during a rainy afternoon, then this could be it. Otherwise it’s the case that there might be something else out there that will hold your attention, as well as warranting your money, a lot more.

VectorCell’s release of Amy for PSN and XBLA is a good reminder of just how far, in a technical sense, the download services have come in such a short space of time. It may not be the first time we’ve said this but it bears repeating,simply  because it’s incredible to think that on the services that started out giving us ports of Joust! and simple remakes of Marble Madness, we’re now seeing titles which are similar in scope to last generation retail titles. And just like last gen, VectorCell seem keen to keep the survival horror genre going.

Set in the future the player takes control of Lana, the guardian of a young child who is also the titular Amy. With the gifted autistic child in toe, Lana is in a hurried escape from a mysterious research facility. `Something` resembling an explosion happens and the train they are on derails. When Lana comes too, Amy is missing and there are nasty zombies everywhere. The player must first track down the missing Amy and then try to escape with their lives.

That sounds like a flimsy description, and it is, but during the meandering opening sequence that’s as much as you’re given before you’re thrown in. It’s a feeling you’ll need to get used to quite quickly too, since there’s not a lot about Amy’s plot line or direction that makes much sense. It’s almost as if the developers somehow mixed up the definition of `intrigue` with that for `befuddled` when they were trying to put the game together.

And befuddled is an emotion that is very apt here because Amy (we’re talking about the game now, not the child; this could get confusing) tries to do a lot of things but doesn’t manage to succeed at any of them. There’s a whole host of issues here, both in terms of game design and the tech used to deliver it, which means the opening train wreck feels more appropriate than was ever intended. There’s a real Overblood feeling about this game, but without the novelty of it being so bad that it ends up quite good.

The intention seemed to be a focus on the relationship of Lana and Amy, doing things like taking Amy by the hand and hiding in cover until the monsters have passed. Unlike notable games such as Demento / Haunting Ground which got this hiding mechanic down to a tee, but here you can’t help but feel little connection with Amy and so there’s no real bond to be formed. This isn’t helped by the fact that for the most part you can wallop the lesser enemies to death at your leisure because they don’t seem interested in Amy at all. It’s only when the game ups the stakes slightly by introducing more heavily armed enemies that this becomes an issue, but even then it’s more an issue of self preservation as they’ll take Lana out in no time.

VectorCell seemed to think that all they need do was throw in a guiding mechanic and an apparently hapless young child to bring the game into line with something like Ico, but what’s been created here isn’t that tight knitting association, rather a sensation of grinding necessity that quickly seems at odds with the desired intention. The player plods through the levels trying to avoid enemies, solving some rudimentary puzzles and backtracking enough to generally end up feeling bored by it all.

Undeniably it’s easy just to put a review together by just listing the bad points of a game, but with Amy there isn’t that much else to talk about. In fact it’s hard to know where to start with its problems, given the extent to which they stretch. The game is unbearably dark where the developers also seem to have confused `moody` with `can’t see anything`. There’s a slew of issues with the frame rate stuttering (even managing it in the cutscenes), the controls feeling clunky, the combat feeling stilted, and the voice acting is shockingly bad with long pauses in between characters talking that would put a badly matched first date to shame.

There’s also some serious fundamental issues in providing information to the player in terms of what they need to do, partly because everything is so dark, but also because it issues confusing and nonsensical advice in a rather throw away fashion. When entering areas where the infection is high, Lana is told to move slowly through them to avoid exerting herself and becoming more infected. No matter how many times we’ve tried to come up with understanding that concept, we just can’t make sense of it, since dawdling through an infected miasma is surely more likely to make you worse…

And while all these may be issues which the more forgiving player can overlook, there’s a list as long as your arm of technical glitches and bugs which are impossible to avoid and ultimately do more damage to the overall experience. These range from getting stuck on the environment, through to key actions not triggering which means there’s no way to progress. This is made much worse by some terrible checkpoints, meaning you can look forward to playing chunks of the game again if it decides to break on you. Given that it’s not enjoyable to play through once, having to do it again may be the aspect that quickly breaks any sliver of patience you might have been clinging on to.

Lacking cohesion in all aspects and ending up a sloppy mess, there’s little left to say about Amy. We’re genuinely sad to say we called this back when the recent media was released before launch, where the game looked to have issues and we even said that it seemed to need more time in development. We wouldn’t even call the current state of the game half baked, since it doesn’t even seem to be 50% of the way towards being what it should and ultimately that ends up a real shame. You can see the potential, but it’s as if the ideas were never more than half thought out concepts written down on the back of a cigarette packet.

We’re not sure if VectorCell have overstretched themselves with the ambitious nature of what they were attempting here, but the ending to Amy leaves things open for a sequel. If there is to be another, we’d hope that VectorCell take stock of what they’ve produced here and either spend a lot more time getting things right, or just not bother.

Konami’s Puddle (yes, that does sound very dirty) hasn’t been seen for a while. Since E3 last year in fact.

But out of the blue they’ve announced that the game is coming next week, starting on Microsoft’s platform.

The winner of the 2010 Independent Games Festival Student Showcase prize, Puddle certainly looks a bit unconventional with the player required to dodge heat beams and rays of electric current, handle a blob of radioactive fluid, guide a virtual puddle of rocket fuel through a hand drawn blueprint, and follow a sip of water as it makes its way through a human body.

Now there’s not many games where you’re asked to do that!

The game will launch on XBLA next Wednesday with a date of 31st January pencilled in for the PSN release. It’s unclear right now if that’s just the North American release or not, so you’ll have to wait and see along with the rest of us.

While the world and its cousin is slavering over the new Resident Evil 6 trailer, Capcom have also announced a little something for PSN users to get excited about, in the form of Resident Evil Chronicles.

Chronicles will be a HD update of the on-rails light gun games of Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles and Darkside Chronicles (both previously released for the Nintendo Wii). As well as getting some HD visuals, the game will predictably feature Move support, making it yet another title to add the to rapidly expanding list of lightgun centric games that seem intent on finding a second home thanks to Sony’s wand-like peripheral.

There’s no talk of date or pricing yet, but it’s a safe bet that it’ll arrive before number six in the main series launches in November.

From Codeglue and Sparweed, ibb and obb looks like a PSN title that’ll be easy on the eyes and gentle on the ears.

Colourful and bright, the minimalist platformer is a cooperative puzzle platformer that “allows players to journey through a world with two directions of gravity”.

Sounds confusing, and it probably is, but when it looks this enchating it’s hard not to be drawn towards it.

The game is currently expect to release in the second quarter of this year.