It’s not a sequel. That’s still coming. This is just Alan Wake’s American Nightmare. In this action-horror game, Alan is stuck in one of the episodes of the television show he used to write for, and Mr. Scratch is in there with him. He must solve the mystery of why he’s trapped in a television show, and what it may or may not have to do with the main story line of the franchise. The gameplay continues the first game’s focus on lighting monsters up with a flashlight, and then shooting them, while trying not to get gutted by various rusty blades.
Syndicate is a remake of the classic isometric tactics games of the same name. Of course, very little has been retained other than the basic premise. It’s now a semi-tactical first-person shooter. The setting is a futuristic dystopian corporatocratic world. The player takes on the role of one of the enforcement agents for a major European corporation. Similar to Deus Ex, the player gains access to the brain of the character through technology that can be hacked in to give special abilities, including the ability to control the actions of other with chips in their heads (which is almost everyone). The ‘semi-tactical’ part comes in through these hacks, since the player can pause the action to activate some abilities, but otherwise, it’s mostly just shooting stuff. The game will have no competitive multi-player, but there is a four-player co-operative mode. Also, expect lots of gore. This is the game that caused all that controversy over in Australia when the ratings board over there refused to give it a rating less than A-O, due to extreme depictions of violent injuries.
The Icrontic Spotlight this week splits between the dual realities of Fractured Soul. This puzzle platformer uses both screens of the 3DS, and is the first 3DS game which does not use the 3D capabilities. Instead the player must watch both screens, and carefully flick between the two, as the protagonist is divided between two realities and the distribution of enemies and obstacles is different between the two. Wherever the character goes in one world, he is represented as an invulnerable ghost in the other, and can switch back and forth at will to avoid enemy fire and clear obstacles. The game consists of platforming levels, where it’s all about fading in and out, and some side-scrolling space combat levels, where maneuverability is thrown in and levels get more hectic. I’m sure there’s a story here somewhere about an alien invasion or an experiment gone wrong or something, but it hardly matters, of course.
Following is a full list of this week’s announced North American releases:
Windows
- Out There Somewhere
- Syndicate
- Wargame: European Escalation
Wii
- PokePark 2: Wonders Beyond
- Strider (VC)
3DS
- Fractured Soul
Xbox 360
- Alan Wake’s American Nightmare
- Asura’s Wrath
- Syndicate
PS3
- Asura’s Wrath
- Syndicate
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