Tower-defence/RTS hybrid Defense Grid managed to gain a sizeable cult following when it was first released, and no doubt after being made available for free as part of Microsoft’s Games for Gold promotion it managed to find more fans.
This week sees this release of Defense Technica, a game that we assumed is a sequel to Defense Grid. Turns out it isn’t – it’s simply “inspired†by it. Right.
Promotion has been thin on the ground, but we don’t doubt that the £7.99 download will go on to get an advert or two on Xbox Live. If it has managed to rip off Defense Grid successfully, it should be worth a look.
Kick Ass 2 is another that hasn’t gained much promotion. Unlike Defense Technica though, this is a retail release. Yeah, we’re kind of surprised by this too. The colourful brawler is out Xbox 360 and PS3, with a price tag of around £19.99. We were thinking of sourcing a copy to review, but then remembered how terrible Freedom Factory Studio’s last game was – the shoddy superhero adventure Young Justice: Legacy. We really can’t face playing another game as potentially bad as that.
PS Vita RPG Demon Gaze is definitely a safe purchase. US Gamer gave it 9/10, claiming that “Demon Gaze is an enjoyable and enormously addictive title that strikes a good balance between endearing JRPG-style narrative and compelling dungeon-crawling exploration, let down only slightly by somewhat repetitive combatâ€. It was also given an 8/10 from Pocket Gamer: “Tough, beautiful, and easy to lose yourself in, Demon Gaze is a polished dungeon crawler with tons of challenge and charmâ€.
Hot on the heels of last week’s anime-inspired Short Peace, comes fellow PS3-exclusive Jo Jo’s Bizarre Adventure. Early reviews suggest that it’s a decent fighter marred slightly by cheeky DLC – out of the 41 characters, 9 have to be purchased additionally.
While that’s it for retail releases, there’s plenty of new arrivals on PSN. PS Vita can get lost space exploration sim Starlight Inception while the free-to-play Soul Calibur: Lost Swords punches onto PS3.
Then on PS4 there’s the colourful curio Octodad: Dadliest Catch. This was a delight to watch people play at last year’s Eurogamer Expo; the purposely cumbersome controls lead Octodad to get into all kinds of bizarre positions and situations. Reviewers claim that it’s on the short side. The asking price isn’t too steep though, so you shouldn’t let that put you off.
Next week: Child of Light (PS4, PS3, 360, Xbox One, Wii U, PC), The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (PS4, PS3, 360, Wii U, 3DS, PC), Putty Squad (3DS), Mario Golf: World Tour (3DS), Etrian Odyssey Untold The Millennium Girl (3DS), Blood Bath (360, PS3) and Hometown Story (3DS).