Another day, another old game getting a makeover. This time it’s Shadow Complex Remastered, which is bringing an upgraded version of the 2009 side-scrolling, sci-fi shooter Shadow Complex to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. But while it doesn’t add enough to make it worth a double dip, the game does hold up rather nicely, especially for fans of the Metroidvania genre.
One of the great things about the current and previous generations of video games is that you can not only get tons of old games for new systems, but you can also get new games in old genres. Case in point: Lumo, an isometric arcade adventure being made by Triple Eh? Ltd., which Rising Star Games will release on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Vita, and PC this April. To find out how it fully embraces the spirit of those ’80s games, but with modern tenets, I spoke to Game Director Gareth Noyce as he played his way through the opening rooms.
Funko have announced that they’ll release a series of POP! toys based on the upcoming Blizzard shooter Overwatch this May.
In theory, Hitman GO (iOS, Android, Windows Phone) — a strategic puzzle game inspired by the stealth action series — shouldn’t have worked. Though because it employed increasingly clever mechanics, and both embraced and ejected the Hitman games’ tenet where necessary, it managed to be a rather impressive spin-off that was as fun for puzzle fans as it was for those who like the regular Hitman games. But while the new Hitman GO Definitive Edition (PlayStation 4, Vita) doesn’t add anything new, those who skipped the mobile version finally have their chance to get smart and sneaky.
In his 2008 novel The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman wrote, “If you dare nothing, then when the day is over, nothing is all you will have gained.” It’s something I thought about a lot as I explored the vast wilderness of Far Cry Primal (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC). Because while this continues what was done in 2008’s Far Cry 2, 2012’s Far Cry 3, and 2014’s Far Cry 4, it also dares to add new some new elements to this open world, first-person action series.
In promoting the new Plants Vs Zombies Garden Warfare 2 (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC), both the publisher, Electronic Arts, and the developer, PopCap, have repeatedly said that this sequel would feature a single player mode. But having a single player mode and having a mode you want play on your own are not always the same thing. Which is why I decided to play this game solo to see whether it’s worth buying if you don’t play well with others.
No matter how much people may love your game, there’s always things they wish were better. But while good game developers listen to this critiques, Sian Yue Tan — the creator of the 2D, side-scrolling, bird-brained shooter Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken — actually made a list. And checked it twice. And then proceeded to fix everything on it. The result? Rocketbirds 2 Evolution (coming soon to PlayStation 4, Vita) which, from the way Tan explains it, sounds less like a sequel and more like a rebirth.
Back in the day, before every video game console was connected to the Internet, people who wanted to play games together actually had to sit next to each other. I know, crazy, right? Well, the cartoony, top-down action game Wondershot — which is coming to PlayStation 4 and PC via Steam on February 18th and Xbox One on the 19th — is bringing that kind of action back. While it does have a single-player challenge mode, the centerpiece of the game is its multiplayer, which is local-only. To explain how it all works, I spoke to the Leikir Studio’s Aurelien Loos, the game’s Creative Director, as we and some pals played a few rounds.
The last thing you’d ever say to John Rambo is that he’s a chicken. But in the side-scrolling shooter Rocketbirds Evolution, a sequel to the similar Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken, the lead character is actually a Rambo-like chicken. Well, rooster, actually, but I ain’t going to call his a cock. With the game coming soon to the PlayStation 4 and Vita, both of which will support both cross-buy and cloud saves, I sat down with Ted Lange, Executive Producer at Reverb Triple XP, to play the game and to talk about how this sequel improves upon the original.