It’s been a busy week, what with E3 and several of the staff attending. As such, let’s play catch up on a few releases. Thunder Wolves, an action-arcadey chopper game in the vein of the classic Strike games released on June 8 for 800 MSP. The gameplay is quite decent, but while it tries to pull off a Blood Dragon style spoof of 80′s action it falls a little short. If you’re looking for a fun, arcade action game definitely check out the trial.
Fireburst and Storm both released last Wednesday for 800 MSP each. Fireburst is your typical offroad racer with an interesting boost gameplay mechanic. Fans of the FlatOut games should definitely take a look. Storm is a really slick puzzle game that puts players in control of the elements. It’s really difficult to describe, but if that sounds interesting you can view a gameplay trailer after the jump.
Classic DnD gamers will have something to cheer for tomorrow when Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara hits virtual shelves at 1200 MSP. It includes two classic Dungeons and Dragons games: Tower of Doom and Shadow over Mystara. Both are beat em’ ups with elements of role playing. For the uninitiated, think Streets of Rage with some Castle Crashers.
Full Disclosure: RedLynx now sponsors Trials Tuesday each week, allowing us to bring you even more tracks in a new cleaner format.
Three great tracks this week. We start with HellRay’s R, a creepy trip through an alien planet full of sci-fi goodness. Next it’s off to the amusement park to take a nice, casual ride. Finally Illumination 1800 puts players in a trippy dreamscape that will have them wondering which way is up.
To download these tracks enter Track Central, select Get Tracks, then press X to search. Enter the gamertag in the video to find the track. Be aware that the search is case-sensitive. Our videos also assume that you own Trials Evolution (obviously) and the Origin of Pain and Riders of Doom expansion packs. If you haven’t picked them up be sure to head over to xbox.com to grab them. You won’t be disappointed.
Focus Home Interactive and 3AM Games’ Magrunner is an interesting one. It’s premise is a little bit Portal, a touch of Half-Life 2, with a heavy dose of Cthulu Mythos dumped into the mix. The game begins in a testing facility, not unlike the one Portal protagonist Chell found herself in. But here the facility is entered by volunteers, who handle a magnetic glove-like weapon of sorts that behaves like part portal gun, part Half-Life 2 gravity gun. As the testing progresses the test subjects find that the facility is changing around them–changing into something sinister. A parallel universe begins to collide with their own, the universe of H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulu Mythos.
As seen on Kotaku. We can all agree that, given that the system looks like something from the 80s/90s this is actually an improvement. In fact, we now demand a digital clock on the front of the Xbox One. Simulated wood grain can be optional. We’re Xbox fans for life, but come on.
Fans of Monolith Studios’ Lord of the Rings: Guardians of Middle-earth have a vast array of characters to choose from. In addition to the characters included with the game a whopping 14 DLC characters have been released. The latest of these additions are the Elf lord Elrond of Rivendell, and the villainous Mouth of Sauron — once a member of the race of men, now corrupted both morally and physically from years of service to the dark lord.
Both characters are now available for 160 MSP each, and are not included as part of the season pass. Of the 14 released characters, only the first eight are part of that pass. Should you be new to Guardians, the season pass nets you those first eight characters plus a new survival mode for 1200 MSP. Purchasing these nine items separately is 1600 MSP, so you’re saving 25% if you want it all. The Mouth of Sauron character trailer can be viewed above. Hit the jump for Elrond’s.
Full Disclosure: RedLynx now sponsors Trials Tuesday each week, allowing us to bring you even more tracks in a new cleaner format.
It’s a bit of a shorter episode this week, but we’ve got three fun tracks for all sorts of riders. First up is a simple-yet-deceptive supercross track. It runs around 1:30 and is great for casual plays. Following it is another stupidly difficult ninja track that most of us will never be able to finish. Rounding out the the courses this week is a fun under the sea adventure. It’s short enough to keep you hooked, yet has enough routes that it’ll take time to get that perfect score.
To download these tracks enter Track Central, select Get Tracks, then press X to search. Enter the gamertag in the video to find the track. Be aware that the search is case-sensitive. Our videos also assume that you own Trials Evolution (obviously) and the Origin of Pain and Riders of Doom expansion packs. If you haven’t picked them up be sure to head over to xbox.com to grab them. You won’t be disappointed.
TimeGate Studios, developer of Section 8: Prejudice has ceased operation, Kotaku reports. The news comes as a result of two crippling blows the the company. The first was the loss of a legal battle between the studio and SouthPeak Interactive, who published the original Section 8, a retail game. As a result TimeGate was ordered to pay over $7 million in damages and lost the license to the Section 8 franchise. The second came as the developer was hung out to dry for their work in assisting Gearbox Software with development on Aliens: Colonial Marines, a game that was panned by critics. Aliens had a troubled development cycle, and currently is the subject of a class action lawsuit that claims the game was misrepresented by its trailers, and that the final product did not meet expectations given in trailers.
The fate of the Section 8 franchise, and subsequently the standing of Section 8: Prejudice on Xbox LIVE Arcade, is unclear. Presumably a passing of the torch will see the publishing rights fall back to SouthPeak rather than the game being delisted. It’s currently 94th in sales out 575 titles, so it’s quite possible the game is still profitable.
Source: Kotaku
Grab your tree stand and your camoflage vest, cuz’ we’re goin’ hunting. That’s right gang, with the first XBLA hunting game our favorite downloadable platform has now covered nearly every genre out there. Developed by Klytonn Entertainment and published by Big Ben Interactive, Hunter’s Trophy 2: America drops players into the wild, with just their rifle and hunting dog to take down their prey. Several areas serve up different hunting game, with locations ranging from Alaska to Kentucky. The game features tree stand hunting, general hunting for game, a shooting range and the ability to hunt with your good ole’ hound dog at your side. You can hunt ducks, but there’s no word yet on whether the dog can come along, nor whether he’ll laugh at you should you miss your prey.
The game releases May 17 for 800 MSP, which is a little over half of the PC release price of USD $18.99. Whether it’s worth a purchase remains to be seen, but at least we’ll have something other than other people to shoot at. In the meantime you can hit up the game’s official website for additional info, and hit the jump for more screenshots.
The shutdown of LucasArts by Disney early last month left many wondering about the fate of the Star Wars games. Disney had previously stated that their focus would be directed toward social games, and the with the demise of LucasArts fans wondered if all hope was lost. Who would save us from a sea of Star Wars Facebook and mobile games? Then an unlikely hero emerged. EA stepped in.
The announcement came yesterday to mixed reception. Some were optimistic, others were quick to point out EA’s reputation as the Consumerist’s Worst Company In America. On Twitter the #starwarsnextgen hash tag began to trend with ideas for new Star Wars titles, the majority coupling Star Wars Battlefront III with the Battlefield series engine, EA DICE at the helm. Others clamored for a new, non-MMO installment to the Knights of the Old Republic series.
Regardless of how you feel, it’s a very exciting time to be a Star Wars fan and a gamer. With LucasArts’ relatively poor showing the last 5-8 years there’s really only one direction Star Wars games can go. Up. So let’s take a few minutes to assess just why EA is a great choice for the franchise, and take a few more to note some potential caveats as well.
Full Disclosure: RedLynx now sponsors Trials Tuesday each week, allowing us to bring you even more tracks in a new cleaner format.
There’s always something fresh in Track Central. This week you’ll get a chance to outrun a Tsunami, and while the track isn’t overly difficult there’s a great tension that makes it fun. Once you’ve washed up on the shore take a ride through the docks, then compete in what could only be described as a ninja difficulty spoof on American Gladiators. If you’re looking for a unique challenge we’ve also got a gravity-shifting track that will make you wonder which way is up.
To download these tracks enter Track Central, select Get Tracks, then press X to search. Enter the gamertag in the video to find the track. Be aware that the search is case-sensitive. Our videos also assume that you own Trials Evolution (obviously) and the Origin of Pain and Riders of Doom expansion packs. If you haven’t picked them up be sure to head over to xbox.com to grab them. You won’t be disappointed.
