Time of Shadows
Out on the PC is Time of Shadows. This is the sequel to Dawn of Magic, which most of you likely haven’t heard of considering its limited release (UK only). It’s a hack-and-slash dungeon crawl with all the typical trappings: several classes to choose from, lots of skills and spells, and large world to explore. Unfortunately, it doesn’t generate the environments randomly, like the best of this genre. However, it does have its own gimmick: The magic system seems quite deep. Twelve schools of magic, which contain over a hundred spells. These spells can be combined to create new effects. None of the information I’ve received mentions multi-player, so I wouldn’t count on it.
Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
For the DS this week, we get Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box. This sequel to Professor Layton and the Curious Village continues the professor’s puzzle-solving adventures with 150 new puzzles, and lots of new characters to interact with. This one has all the features that made the first one good, with the addition of a secret mode, where weekly puzzles can be downloaded by those players lucky enough to be playing on a DSi.
Batman: Arkham Asylum
The major cross-platform release for this week is Batman: Arkham Asylum. There has been much anticipation for this title, and it’s finally time to see if it lives up to its expectations. This title is a third-person screen-to-screen fighter based on the Batman IP. Stalk from one dark Gotham area to the next, beating the snot out of escaped asylum patients in an effort to restore order to Gotham. The new FreeFlow combat system will allow players to fight more like Batman would, sneaking in the shadows and striking from suprise. Through the course of the game, The Bat will encounter such well-known enemies as Joker, Bane, and Killer Croc.
Cursed Mountain
A sort of unusual game for the Wii takes this week’s Icrontic Spotlight. Cursed Mountain is an attempt to utilize the Wii’s best features to create an immersive and atmospheric survival/horror game. The protagonist has lost his brother on a mountain in the Himalayas, and has ventured there to find him. Instead, as he climbs he finds a series of spirits who have become trapped there, and who must be defeated and released to allow advancement up the mountain. Combat mostly utilizes the WiiMote motion controls, and some of the required feedback will come from the WiiMote itself in the form of sounds from the small, underutilized speaker in the WiiMote itself. The story seems to be an attempt to combine the Buddhist idea of Samsara with more western ghost stories, as the spirits encountered must be freed to lift the curse, and allow their reincarnation.
Following is a list of this week’s announced releases for North America:
PC
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- CrimeCraft
- Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting to Danger
- Section 8
- Time of Shadows
PS3
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- SuperCar Challenge
PSP
- Dissidia: Final Fantasy
- Warriors Orochi 2
Wii
- Beach Fun Summer Challenge
- Cursed Mountain
- Harvest Moon: Magical Melody
- Metroid Prime Trilogy
- Reel Fishing: Angler’s Dream
- Wizards of Waverly Place
DS
- Emergency Room: Real Life Rescues
- Go! Go! Cosmo Cops!
- Harvest Moon: Frantic Farming
- Imagine Teacher: School Trip
- Logic Island
- Mahjongg Ancient Mayas
- Monster Racers
- Princess Lillifee’s Magic Fairy
- Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box
- Puzzle Bobble Galaxy
- The Bigs 2
- The Clique: Diss and Make Up
- Wizards of Waverly Place
XBox360
- Batman: Arkham Asylum
- Watchmen: The End Is Nigh Part 2
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