Missed me? Well let’s say you did! It’s good to be back folks. You could say I was taking a vacation, but the truth of the matter is, the last 3 weeks wasn’t just slow, it was dead. As in nothing whatsoever came out in the past 3 weeks. Enough about that, I hope you guys had a kick ass new year and even kick asser loot from Christmas, Hanukah, Made-up-holiday-because-you’re-jealous-of-everyone-else-getting-pressents day, and whatnot. If you didn’t get anything this week, maybe there’s something this week that’ll catch your eye.
Remember. Release dates are quite literally made at the whims of the publisher. The following are subject to change without any warning.
Honorable Mention
Lost in Shadow (Wii)
Tuesday January 4, 2011
I’m constantly amazed at the resurgence of this once nearly forgotten genre. This week, we have yet another game that takes the 2D platformer and adds another new wrinkle to the formula. Lost in Shadow is all about the adventures of a boy’s shadow on its trek up a tower where hopefully it can be reunited with its “owner” for lack of a better word. Being a shadow, you can’t actually use the physical platforms in the world, but you can use the shadows those platforms cast. Occasionally the light source can be moved to alter the shadows to your advantage. It’s almost Echochrome-y in that regards. Here’s another little comparison you can bring up with this game. Ico. The aesthetic looks to be very minimal with a limited color palette, but given how well that worked out for Ico, maybe Lost in Shadow is on to something by trying to follow in its footsteps. It’s kinda funny how the Wii is fast becoming to be the console to go to for a good throwback to the golden days of yore when 2D platformers rule. Lost in Shadow looks to be in good shape at giving that notion some validity.
Coming This Week
Tuesday January 4, 2011
Venetica (Xbox 360, PS3)
You know what’s funny? Death him/her/itself usually gets the short end of the stick (Castlevania, Dante’s Inferno), but his/her/its progenitors, not so much. Like Death Jr., Scarlet is the spawn of the Big D him/her/itself in an alternate 16th century Venice where Death is a physical being. Venetica appears to be an action RPG in the vein of what I like to call European RPGs (Think Western RPGs but very, very old school and usually very medieval in themes and aesthetics). Trouble is, it’s a little bit hard to be sure given the dearth of information about Venetica.
Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Osborn House (DS)
Just because Arthur Conan Doyle is long dead doesn’t mean his most famous creation has to stop solving crimes. Enter his latest mystery involving stolen royal genealogical records, which I’m guessing is important. The big difference between this and most of the Sherlock Holmes games that came out on various consoles before is that Mystery of Osborn House was actually made for the DS. All the previous ones were ports from their PC counterparts. That’s actually kind of encouraging.
It’s good to be back! I almost missed this little Sunday ritual/torture of mine. Here’s to hoping that you find something interesting on this week’s list.
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