New Releases for The Week of Evil Exes and Spinning Marsupials

CB Droege 10 Aug, 2010 at 6:07pm ET Article published in Gaming

Scott Pilgrim v. The World

It’s a slow release week, but there are still a few gems—starting with Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. In this stylized, side-scrolling brawler, players follow a loose interpretation of the plot of the graphic novels, choosing one of four playable characters (each with unique special moves) to defeat Ramona’s seven evil exes. AI characters, such as Knives Chau, may be summoned, and in co-operative mode, players can use combo moves to defeat enemies more easily. They also have the ability to revive fallen comrades before they lose a life. Earning “eXperience” points allows the character to level up and gain access to more special abilities and moves.

TURN: The Lost Artifact

TURN: The Lost Artifact is a Paganitzu-esque puzzle game in which the player must guide a pair of adventurers through a series of magical chambers. The twist is that the player must do this by turning the rooms themselves, and letting gravity move the puzzle elements around the room. With over 250 increasingly difficult rooms to complete, this puzzler could last you quite awhile.

Victoria II

In Victoria II, players take on the role of the leader of one of over 200 different governments in the age of colonization. Just like the other games in the series, Hearts of Iron and Europa Universalis, the gameplay is extremely detailed, allowing players to control all aspects of trade, diplomacy, warfare, and social policy—including eight distinct government types and hundreds of technological advancements. Keep an eye out for Icrontic’s review of Victoria II sometime this week.

Galactic Taz Ball

This week’s Icrontic Spotlight shines on the furry flurry of Galactic Taz Ball. Marvin the Martian has stolen huge chunks of Earth’s landscape in an effort to beautify Mars, but has accidentally taken up Taz with one of the pieces. Now Taz must venture across floating pieces of Earth to stop Marvin and save the planet. The cool gimmick here is the two distinct gameplay modes. When Taz is above ground, the gameplay takes the form of a 3D isometric platformer, in which the player uses the bottom screen as a track-ball to guide Taz’s spinning—occasionally spinning him into such a furry that he becomes a tornado, and may more easily take out the enemies and obstacles in his path. When Taz descends below-ground, however, the game switches to a 2d side-scrolling platformer in which Taz must slow down and move more carefully. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen an interesting game using the Loony Toons IP, and this one looks promising.