Let's Have a Cat Fight!

Thanks to the success of Street Fighter IV, we've seen a resurrection in the fighting genre.  We've got some good looking downloadable fighters coming out this Spring/Summer.  And most of them star all female, all sexy casts.  First, we have the slick looking Skullgirls.  Smooth animation, lots of T&A and interesting characters are the main selling points for this game.  Now, out of the shadows, appears another all-female throw-down.  Here's a link to the press release for Girl Fight, which seems (as far as I can tell) to be a descriptive title.  Well, all right then.  I'm sure this is what the developers were thinking about when coming up with this idea.  (via Joystiq)

Skullgirls looks badass

A challenger appears?

Review: AMY

Amy

PSN (reviewed), XBLA, PC

Publisher: Lexis Numerique

Developer: Vector Cell

Release Date: 17 January 2012 (11 January 2012 on XBLA)

The key to any good survival horror game is the terror and fear that they produce. Characters in situations that are far beyond their control and horrific monsters are the order of the day. But the truly special horror games don't put us in control of highly trained police officers, mercenaries or other folks that can handle this sort situation. No, the special ones put us in the shoes of average folks forced to do the extraordinary to survive. Silent Hill did this (more than a few times), Siren does this and so does Alan Wake. Amy tries, but is is encumbered with so many faults that it isn't worthy of being mentioned with the best of the best.

Stars Lana and Amy

Rush of Solid DLGs Coming Soon!

It's strange.  This time of year, I'm usually excited for all the big, retail, AAA titles that slipped past the Holiday Rush for one reason or another.  That's not the case this year.  Not at all.

The biggest game I'm waiting for this Spring is Mass Effect 3.  That's about it.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still excited about Syndicate, but I just don't think that it will be the AAA title realm.  So, until Q3 when the reboot of Tomb Raider is due, and, presumably, The Last Guardian I don't have much to get excited about on the retail front.

Review: ilomilo

ilomilo

XBLA

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Developer: Southend Studios

Release Date: 5 January 2011

Best friends do everything together. Play-dates in the park, fishing, trips to the fair. All these things make memories that should last forever. But what happens when memories are fading and best friends begin to forget. Taking these surprising themes and mixing it with cutesy art and mind-bending puzzles, ilomilo is fun little DLG (downloadable game) for XBLA.

The strange world of ilomilo

Review: Bastion

Bastion

XBLA (reviewed), PC, Chrome Browser

Publisher: Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment

Developer: Supergiant Games

Release Date: 20 July 2011

What would you do if you woke up and found that your entire world was in ruin? Floating above a destroyed world, all you know is that the world is gone, and moving forward is the only way to set things right. Thus begins Bastion, Supergiant Games' first entry and a show piece of Microsoft's “Summer of Arcade” promotion. The crowded XBLA scene has plenty of fun games, so what does Bastion do to stand out? Only everything.

Welcome to the end of the world

Review: Costume Quest

Costume Quest

PSN, XBLA, PC

Publisher: THQ

Developer: Double Fine

Release Date: 19 October 2010

Halloween is a special time of year, especially for children. Thoughts of candy, jack-o-lanterns, candy, costumes, candy, creepy parties, and candy dominate the month leading up to the special night. You know, this kind of Halloween. The talented folks at Double Fine used this magical holiday to set up a grand adventure that children and adults can enjoy. The DLG (downloadable game) Costume Quest brings us back to a time when Halloween was a night where anything could happen.

Spooky times ahead