HarmoKnight is a neat take on the relatively new rhythm-platformer genre. Combining elements from various other rhythm action games, like Bit-trip and Audiosurf, the game presents a cohesive tale of three adventurers who find themselves facing and driving off a malevolent alien race. The Noizoids attack the peaceful and musical world of Melodia without any provocation. The heroes must keep the beat through a variety of level types to ultimately vanquish the discordant foes. It’s colorful, musical, and three-dimensional
Created by one of the original Counter-Strike team, Tactical Intervention is a new take on the formula that made that game a classic. In the new, multi-player only, team-based, first-person shooter, players choose to run either as terrorists or counter-terrorists in asymmetrical, goal oriented missions , typically with the terrorists trying to do something nefarious, while the counter-terrorists try to stop them by force.
What makes this one new is the complexity of the levels and missions. Often, a given match has multiple stages, and the combat zones are significantly larger than those in the classic game. Players will have more soldier types available, as well as a wider variety of weapons and gadgets. The big gimmick, however is vehicles. Multi-personnel transports will play a part in a number of missions, including one which takes place entirely on the road, as the counter-terrorists are tasked with chasing down and stopping a caravan of terrorist vehicles, with each vehicle on each team having several players in it. A big focus of the new design seems to be on teamwork, and many of the scenarios are set up in such a way that it would be nearly impossible for a single good player to carry the team.
Dungeon Hearts is a slick action-puzzler. A stereotypical four-member adventuring party is fighting across the countryside, each combat represented with a puzzle session in which gems move across the screen from right to left, and must be quickly matched and moved so as to make the most effective combinations and sequences when they reach the heroes, which determines the effectiveness of their attacks, defends, and other moves. It looks way too fast for me, but fans of the gem-swapping puzzle genre who also like jRPGs might find the frenetic pace a challenge, and the themes compelling.
The Icrontic Spotlight this week beams from the beak of BioShock Infinite. Every gamer is likely familiar with BioShock and its deeply compelling lore, but the story of Rapture is over, and in BioShock Infinite, the tale ascends into the nationalist cloud-city of Columbia. There, rather than the restrictive, claustrophobic environments—and philosophies—of the city under the waves, we’ll get the wide open spaces and lofty ideals of the balloon city, where flight is the chosen transport, and patriotism is the most respected virtue.
The city of Columbia was founded as a patriot’s paradise, a place to live for all of those who feel that love of their country is the greatest part of us. Twelve years before the start of the game, the city falls into open revolt, sparked by the Vox Populi movement, who distrusted the leadership of Columbia and felt that the only patriotic thing to do was to question their government and, if necessary, bring it down. They were opposed by the supporters of the government: loyalists who felt that the true patriot would follow his government unquestioningly.
The big new feature of this entry is an AI partner, Elizabeth, who helps the protagonist along, lending context-specific and scripted assistance at various points in addition to being a combat aide. The story of Infinite is really hers, as the story follows Booker DeWitt, an ex-government agent, who is sent into Colombia to retrieve the girl, discovering along the way that neither Elizabeth, nor the city of Columbia, is what it seems.
There will also be a variety of new weapons and abilities (gears) to help combat the new array of enemies and monsters. The developer decided not to waste time on multi-player with this go around—after the dismal failure of BioShock 2’s multi-player modes—and has promised that the ending of the story will be “like nothing you’ve experienced in a video game before”. Though it seems hyperbole, I’m looking forward to seeing what they mean.
Following is a full list of this week’s announced North American releases:
Windows
- BioShock Infinite
- Warframe
- Bridge Project
- Dungeon Hearts
- End of Nations
- Tactical Intervention
WiiU
- The Path of the Warrior: Art of Fighting 3 (VC)
3DS
- HarmoKnight
Xbox 360
- Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel
- BioShock Infinite
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14
PS3
- Army of Two: The Devil’s Cartel
- BioShock Infinite
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14
- WRC 3: FIA World Rally Championship 2012
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