Videogames highlights - July 2010, Underdogs Edition
After the previous month’s feast of mainly “triple-A” games, this new round of videogaming highlights focuses for the large part on minor titles, original games and games anyway without great advertising campaigns so far. After all interactive entertainment has never been directly tied to the money spent by developers and publishers for its packaging in finished products. On the contrary: the more the gaming business becomes an “industry”, the less an eclectic and old-time player like me tends to care about just the big titles on the limelight. Big titles already receive all the attentions by everybody so it’s useless to state the obvious.
Alice: Madness Returns
It was announced some time ago and now it’s official: American McGee’s Alice is about to come back and she is as twisted and problematic as ever. The new action game designed by McGee - previously known for his work at id Software first and with Alice afterward - follows the events of the original chapter published in 2000. Alice continues to suffer the consequences of her family traumatic death by a fire, and goes from the asylum in which she is held to a Wonderland that’s very, very different from the one described by Lewis Carroll in his novels. To be released on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2011, there will surely be other occasions to talk about the game again.
Crossfire
Feeling orphan of the Space Invaders classic gameplay or anyway of a good shooter capable of stressing the senses together with reflexes? Indie developer radiangames offers arena shooters fans Crossfire, a title that tries to “modernize” the game mechanics of the aforementioned Space Invaders by adding up the ability to teleport the spaceship from one side of the screen to another, a horrible techno soundtrack and neon graphics. Available exclusively for Xbox 360 owners on the Xbox Live Indie Games channel.
DeathSpank
DeathSpank is here, but right now it’s an experience restricted to the PS3 (PlayStation Network) and Xbox 360 (Xbox Live Arcade) platforms only. So, waiting for the much likely PC version, let’s enjoy the new video clips released on July with gameplay commented by producer Hamish Miller and a tasty list of epic equipments that have nothing to envy to those of Diablo II.
Evochron Mercenary
Made by independent developer StarWraith 3D Games, Evochron Mercenary is the latest iteration of the space simulators series with the same name in which the player spends his/her time by “buying, trading, negotiating, bribing, spying, racing, transporting, protecting, designing ships” and doing whatever his/her wants. The glorious and a bit obsolete game genre is the same as Elite and sequels, while Mercenary’s new features compared to the previous chapters include the ability to build space stations (in both single and multiplayer modes), a dynamic soundtrack, more customization and a new graphic engine. To be released on the PC this fall.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
What a nice and unexpected surprise, a single player action role-playing game for the PC 
(in addition to PS3 and Xbox 360). Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is the offspring of design work by Ken Rolston (who already designed Elder Scrolls III & IV) and fiction by famed author R.A. Salvatore, who created a new fantasy world in which fans of the action-RPG genre will be able to immerse themselves within fall 2011. No multiplayer trolls allowed.
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
How time goes by: a couple of years ago Lara Croft was showing off another pair of remade polygonal boobs in Tomb Rider: Underworld, while this summer the “professional” adventuress which had temporarily stolen the title of best platformer to Prince of Persia during the transition from 2D to 3D (at least until Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was released) will be featured in an isometric platform game sold as a digital download on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. The new title featuring the chesty Lara will not be named (for the first time ever) Tomb Rider but more prosaically Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, will be based on a co-operative gameplay in single as in multiplayer (when such mode will be released via DLC) and will be sold at the popular price tag of 15 dollars on all the three supported platforms.
Lost in Shadow
Introduced during the E3 2010 held in Los Angeles, Lost in Shadow features a shadow searching for his owner through a world that he can’t touch and cannot interact with except for its darker part. The following video clips clearly show the platformer nature of the game, which thing is a double bonus for me and I’m looking forward to experience a new title able to stress nerves and reflexes besides the usual Prince of Persia (the original one for DOS), Flashback and company I stably load under DOSBox. To be released in 2010 for Nintendo Wii.
Related posts
- Videogames highlights - June-December 2011 special (part 1)
- Videogames highlights - May 2011
- Videogames highlights - October 2010-April 2011 part 2
- Videogames highlights - October 2010-April 2011 part 1
- Videogames highlights - September 2010
- Videogames highlights - August 2010
- Videogames highlights - June 2010, E3 special
- Videogames highlights - February-May 2010
- Videogames highlights - January 2010
- Videogames highlights - July 2009
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