Thursday 28 January 2010

Mass Effect 2 'n' Pals

Scifi gaming in 2010 kicks off properly this week after the abortive false start of rocketpack uncharted Vs art deco geth disapointment-em-up 'Dark void'. I would hope almost everyone reading this will be aware of 'Mass Effect 2', bioware's cinematic scifi space opera RPG. I will be writing extensively about this in the coming days and weeks. The opening sequence is fantastic, featuring one of the best 'on board a dying starship' sequence in any visual mediums to date. The next bits less so, but it's way too early for a full opinion.

Mass Effect 2 isn't alone this week, PC owners have the FPS 'Exodus from Earth'. for some strange reason i take a sort of masochistic interest in the generic scifi FPS, Pariah, Chrome, Kreed, Mace griffen, Chaser... it's like a wierd perversion, i always hope there will be some kind of redeeming scifi idea. Exodus has seen release already in many territories, this is the official UK release.

PS3 owners, denied the mass effect universe have M.A.G. the MMO FPS against despiriting metal gear style PMC warfare consumes the world backdrop. It remains to be seen if the story will evolve with or be influenced by the players actions or is just an excuse for vaguely futuristic projectile weapons.

Wii owners, aren't left totally in the cold, especially those with a passion for obscure (in the west at least) 1970's anime. they have 'Tatsunoku vs Capcom'. As with the MvC games of yore, Capcom characters square off for unending best of three brawls with characters owned by Tatsunoko, the best known of which in the west are easliy those from Gatchamn (a.ka. G-force a.k.a Battle of the Planets). Despite the crossover. For many in the west it's a streetfighter game for the Wii

Finally, there are the point and click mystery horror stylings of 'Dark Fall 3' for the PC This is an independent Puzzle game. I enjoy the indie adventure scene, but i've yet to see any of the games in this series. from what i can tell it's a first person paranormal myst style puzzler, telling it's stories through found writings and puzzle clues.

Those with children, or deranged minigame compilation fans may also be interested in 'Arthur And The Revenge Of Maltazard', a collection of minigames based on the childrens film of the same name. it looks to combine he scale based antics of zelda and the minish cap and avatar style naturism finished with a sort of troll doll aesthetic. This appears to be the only Portable (DS) release this week. (Iphone excluded, i shall endeavour to include this platform soon).

January 29th 2010

Mass Effect 2 - Bioware/EA - 360/PC
Exodus from Earth - Parallax Art Studio / 1C - PC
Tatsunoko Vs Capcom Ultimate All Stars - Capcom - Wii
MAG: Massive Action Game - Zipper interactive/SCEA - PS3
Dark fall 3 - XXV productions/adventure Company - PC
Arthur And The Revenge Of Maltazard - Ubisoft - Wii, DS, PS3, PC

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