If you find it a little random that a franchise like Rush’n Attack is getting a revival, then you’re not alone. It surely isn’t the most obvious franchise to revive, but when it comes to Ex-Patriot, you’ll hardly care.

Essentially, the game doesn’t feel anything like the old arcade game, instead moving in a Shadow Complex direction, though there are some important changes. But if my time with the game at E3 taught me anything, it’s that I am absolutely ready for some more action in the style of Shadow Complex.

Read more… »

Anyone who is familiar with the indie developer ACE Team should know not to be too surprised when its newly announced game, Rock of Ages, is described as “a game of fast-paced strategy, high art… and gigantic boulders of doom.”

Rock of Ages is strategy game where players must construct defenses and raise armies to help protect their castle from a giant marauding boulder, whom their opponent controls. While this may sound absolutely crazy, you should check out the trailer above before passing judgment. Read more… »

Today developer Frozenbyte and publisher Atlus announced that they are hard at work on a sequel to 2009′s platform puzzler Trine. Simply dubbed Trine 2, the sequel promises to offer the same great physics-based action we know and love as well as some new features, the foremost of which is online 3 player co-op.

The press release reads: “Boasting sumptuous visuals, a masterful musical score, and clever physics-based gameplay, Trine 2 is the perfect mix of old-school platforming action, original physics-based level design, and cooperative multiplayer fun!” Read more… »

I wish all of you readers could be with us on the showfloor – but since you can’t, here’s the next best thing: random photos!

If you so choose, feel free to flip through some of the more colorful pictures we took while covering the event. Read more… »

All Points Bulletin had to work its way onto my radar. I’m not a fan of twitch shooter MMO’s, and APB seemed like another game that would attempt to capitalize on the expanding market. However, my skepticism was abated when I was able to spend some quality time with Realtime World’s new baby.

Yep, a company with only one major release (the studio is filled with talented and experienced individuals) will be releasing a bold MMO in 11 days.   What’s different here is that Realtime Worlds is trying to put creativity in the hands of the player, and from our hands on, they are heading in the right direction. Read more… »

Final Fantasy XIV is arguably one of the biggest upcoming titles of the next few years. Tons of hardcore fans have chosen Final Fantasy XI as their MMO of choice over World of Warcraft – in fact, I played XI for a bit after I took a break from WoW.

After all the drastic announcements of the changes coming to XIV, I was really eager to get my hands on it to see if it was really an upgrade from XI – needless to say, even though this was a pre-public beta, I wasn’t very impressed.

(Surprise fun fact – the exhibitors of the event told me the selective beta would be launching in a month!) Read more… »

I wasn’t honestly expecting much when I wandered out of the mainstream sections on the last day of E3. Most of the games on the outskirts (or wastelands, as I call them) are pretty low quality, and don’t really have much to offer – with so many high octane titles we have to cover for the readers, it’s hard justifying covering a lot of these games.

But I was really drawn in by one really cool stand in particular. There was some pretty awesome artwork going on, and the idea of playing a quick dungeon with some fellow attendees really spoke to me – so what did Vindictus have to offer? Hardcore visceral Devil May Cry action in Phantasy Star Online form. Read more… »

I love me some metroidvania. In fact, I consider Castlevania: Symphony of the Night to be one of the best games EVER released. Now, whenever Konami talks about releasing a side-scrolling Castlevania adventure fest, I’m there waiting with puppy dog eyes and a slack jaw.

Enter Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. It’s a six-player side scrolling action platformer that attempts to marry cooperative play with Castlevania’s classic gameplay, and it’s set to hit gamers during Xbox Live’s Summer of Arcade in July.

So, how are things coming along? Read more… »

Resident Evil 5 was announced pretty early into the Move’s lifecycle. Everyone was wondering whether or not Move would ship with anything but casual titles/mini-game fests, and finally, we know that at the very least, we’re getting a Resident Evil game.

To be blunt, if you enjoyed Resident Evil 4 Wii, you’ll dig Re5 Move: but it’s definitely not without it’s faults. Read more… »

This is going to sound really ridiculous, but a random Hudson Soft mini-game collection has sold me Kinect. I was skeptical at first: all I wanted to do was try out Kinect just so I could say I tried it.

It wasn’t until about 30 seconds into DecaSports Freedom’s Paintball that I was completely sold on the concept. Read on to find out how some lame looking mini-game sold me a $150 product. Read more… »

[note: thanks to the background noise of Microsoft's press only area, we were unable to hear the wonderful music of Limbo. highly recommend checking out video feed shot in a quieter setting]

Xbox Live’s Summer of Arcade is almost upon us, and an exciting little title called Limbo is creeping its way into the hearts of gamers. The simple 2D platformer utilizes audio and visual minimalism to create an experience remiescent of Darkfate.

Play Dead Games were kind enough to give us a demo of the game (interview coming soon), and I can’t be any happier that it will soon be digital added to my heart drive. Read more… »

Hydro Thunder was always one of those games back in the day that was just an absolute blast to play in the arcade.  If you could find one of the sit down cabinets with a large monitor and loud sound system, the experience was an intense thrill ride that could make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

Unfortunately, the only proper console release the game received was the Dreamcast version.  As time has gone on, Hydro Thunder has just sort of faded into the background, with little of hope of ever being revived.  Well, that’s all about to change, asdeveloper Vector Unit is about to release a true sequel to the Dreamcast version, exclusively on XBLA.  I got my hands on the demo today at E3, so hit the jump to hear all about my wet experience. Read more… »