Defiance – watch the show; shoot the cast

After the busy month of March, April is looking rather quiet as far as new releases are concerned.

Injustice: Gods Among Us, Dead Island Riptide, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen, Star Trek and LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins are the month’s big name games, all of which are due out on 26h April. Good work there, publishers.

This week in fact we’re looking at just two new titles – Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and the intriguing console/PC MMO shooter Defiance.

Defiance launched on Tuesday, ahead of the Syfy TV show which is due to premier on 15th April. In a genius twist, what players get up to in the game will affect the outcome of the show. If you’re wondering why this one hasn’t had that much press coverage then you’re not alone. We assume that publisher Trion Worlds are hoping that the show will provide plenty of promotion for it. There was a beta last weekend too but it was a bit of a disaster – we, and countless others, failed to get any further than the title screen. Most of the technical glitches should be ironed out by the time you read this though. Well, we hope.

So is it any good? There are no reviews just yet – which we’re guessing is down to the servers not going live until earlier this week – but those who were able to get the beta to work likened it to Borderlands 2. Trion Worlds has worked on similar games in the past, such as Rift, so it’s not as if they’re jumping in blind here.

It’s available for around £35 both online and at the majority of supermarkets such as Tesco, Asda and Morrisons. GAME has bagged an exclusive ‘limited edition’ which comes with bonus weapons, while Amazon lists an ‘ultimate edition’ which comes with a figure, soundtrack CD, postcards, artbook and some downloadable items. This version also includes a season pass, which is worth 3200 MSP on Xbox and “$39.99” on PlayStation 3. We’d wager that’s £24.99 in real money.

As for Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge, all signs suggest that this is the game that Ninja Gaiden 3 should have been first time round. The Wii U version, which was released back in January, was met with decent reviews. The AI and battle systems have been revamped and it also includes all the DLC that has been released since the original Ninja Gaiden 3 came out. It’s more violent too, if a splash of claret is your thing.

Things don’t fare too badly in the world of downloads either this week. After some lengthy delays BattleBlock Theater is finally available on Xbox Live Arcade. This comes from the developers behind Castle Crasher and Alien Hominid, and as such shares a similar visual style and sense of humour. Currently it stands proud with an 89% Metacritic – The Official Xbox Magazine, EGM and Destructoid have each given it 9/10. Polygon meanwhile has handed out an 8.5.

Toki Tori 2 on Wii U has been getting good reviews too. This is another that has seen a few delays. It was originally due out around the same time as the Wii U itself, but then held back so that Two Tribes could add more features and polish. “Toki Tori 2 takes the Two Tribes mascot in a bold, ambitious new direction, and represents a unique offering on the Wii U eShop. At its best it’s a visually appealing, intuitive experience that truly teaches you to use powers of deduction and to think creatively,” said Nintendo Life in their 7/10 review.

Friday also sees the release of Double Dragon II on XBLA. This is yet another that was originally due out ages ago. Well, last September. Unlike the recent Double Dragon revamp, this one isn’t from WayForward – it’s by an unknown Korean company. The official blurb doesn’t exactly fill us with confidence:

“This is a remake “Double Dragon II” a 80’s game. The story line takes same as original game story. However, the graphic, character, action, system etc. are change. Also we are including new stage and enemy in the game. The player will be addicted to new version of Double Dragon II. Also, characters are undressed from 80’s style, and recreated with modern sexy and beautiful style that amaze you.”

Curious? We’d strongly suggest giving the trial a go before shelling out 1,200 MSP.

Next week: Jewel Quest 4 Heritage (3DS), Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst (DS) and The Croods (Wii, Wii U, DS, 3DS). Oh dear.