That one of gaming’s most legendarily preposterous properties is coming to Kinect is both a case of delicious irony and keen pragmatism. One of the most hardcore games of all time — in the sense that it cost L130, demanded full command of a 40-buit0n …
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That one of gaming’s most legendarily preposterous properties is coming to Kinect is both a case of delicious irony and keen pragmatism. One of the most hardcore games of all time — in the sense that it cost L130, demanded full command of a 40-buit0n …
Honestly, I expected the worst when I loaded this one up for the first time. By all means, My Cat vs Zombies Episode 1: Meows in the Darkness should have been a meme-filled nightmare — another throwaway XBLIG release that hoped to attract attention by featuring a handful of cat pictures and unfortunate Internet catchphrases. And yet, a few minutes later, I realized that I was having fun. Look past the amateurish presentation and programmer art and you’ll find a game that’s strangely coherent and decently written, with gameplay mechanics that provide a surprising amount of depth. My Cat Vs Zombies presents a bleak future in which humankind has been decimated by a zombie virus, and cats (being unaffected by the disease) have created an underground civilization. Unfortunately, in the years since the outbreak, zombies have developed a taste for cats. As Rascal the cat, you must fight for survival. While hunting for fellow felines and taking on odd jobs (often as a catnip runner), you’ll scavenge for weapons, earn experience, and level-up to earn new abilities. It’s no masterpiece, but for what it is, it’s executed quite well. I didn’t think I’d be saying this, but I can’t wait to see what’s planned for the next episode. My Cat Vs Zombies is priced at 80 Microsoft points ($1).
[While the new Indie Royale game bundle that we co-created with Desura is running, we'll be profiling each of the five games featured in it, giving our honest opinion on the pluses and minuses of each title. Today, we check out the last game in the Bundle - an FPS title featuring Nazis and dinosaurs. Yes, folks! It's time for Dino D-Day! ] It’s Christmas and your back is against the wall. You’re running out of time and you have at least one more person to purchase gifts for. On the off chance that the aforementioned individual may enjoy dinosaurs, strange takes on WW2, terrorizing others and goats, you may want to consider handing them over a copy of Dino D-Day. Developed by 800 North, Dino D-Day is sort of a ‘what if’ story. What if the Nazis weren’t satisfied with nuclear warfare? What if they wanted to take intimidation to new levels? What if they had dinosaurs ? Needless to say, it’s kind of silly but that’s one of the reasons as to why Dino D-Day works – it doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s filled with little comedic touches and a fair bit of dark humor. During load screens, you’ll find yourself treated to tactless yet humorous condolence letters. My favorite was the one that explained to the bereaved that their loved one was ‘still firing a tommy gun down its gullet’ while their legs were being ripped off with ‘horrible wet sounds’. Intended strictly for multiplayer usage, Dino D-Day still feels less like a complete game and more like a well-done mod. To 800 North’s credit, however, they’ve expanded considerably on their little offering. Most notably, they’ve increased the number of playable dinosaurs. Even the allies have a dinosaur of their own now. Granted, Trigger the Protoceratops has a prosthetic leg and was regarded as a bit of a failure by the Nazis but it’s still a dinosaur. Menagerie-wise, the Nazis definitely have it better. There’s the ninja-like Microraptor who is capable of limited flight, the kamikaze Compsognatus whose sole purpose in life is to explode in proximity with others and even a ponderous T-Rex that can, well, shoot things and generally operate like a T-Rex. In total, the game now boasts of nine dinosaurs and judging by how much support the developers have been providing, the total might increase further. The humans have a few neat tricks of their own even though they’re boring and bipedal. Not only do they get to call on reptilian aerial strikes, they also sport the ability to distract dinosaurs with jack rabbits. Well, the Allies do, at any rate. Speaking of the allies, one of the classes there has the ability to go berserk, chase down enemies and deal unbelievably amount of damage with his fists .I haven’t a clue as to whether this would work with a gigantic T-Rex but I’ll be impressed if I ever see a scrawny human punch the massive beast to oblivion. In terms of gameplay, DIno D-Day is exactly what you would expect of a Source-based FPS game. There is primary fire, alternate fire and a variety of game modes to engage in. If you’ve ever played a shooter, you’ll probably be able to pick this up immediately. Sadly, this also means it’s somewhat dated-looking, something that may break the deal for some. After seven years, the Source Engine is definitely showing its age. And that’s about all I have to say about the game, folks. Dino D-Day is one of those games you jump into with a cluster of friends. It’s that thing you play when you’re sick of Left 4 Dead. It’s kind of like a popcorn movie – you won’t praise it excessively but you certainly could do worse things with a spare evening. Official website here, and you can buy it as part of Indie Royale’s ‘X-Mas Bundle’ for the next few days.
2K Games has released a new trailer for their upcoming shooter, Spec Ops: The Line, which is due out next year for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows PC platforms. Trailer
There’s a good chance you caught some of the Spike TV video game awards on Saturday night. However, there’s also a good chance you missed a lot of the awards that were given out because… well… they didn’t actually give them out… So, here’s the full list, in case you missed it: GAME OF THE YEAR The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim STUDIO OF THE YEAR Bethesda Game Studios CHARACTER OF THE YEAR The Joker – Batman: