The current crop of consoles are seemingly playing swapsies this week. That’s to say, the majority of “new†releases on the download services are simply belated conversions and whatnot. Save for Splatoon, things aren’t looking all that fresh where retail releases are concerned either – cult adventure package Syberia Complete Collection heads to PS3 while Namco’s three-strong Fighting Edition collection (comprising of Tekken 6, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and Soul Calibur V) launches on Xbox 360 for around the £20 mark.
On Xbox One the 2D procedurally generated Rogue Legacy (£11.99 or £9.59 with Gold) jumps ship from PlayStation 4, while colourful kart racer Beach Buggy Racing ($9.99 in the US; UK price unknown) makes a pitstop after first appearing on the likes of iOS and Android. The latter comes from Vector Unit, of aquatic racer Riptide GP 2 fame. Guess what? That launches on PS4 this Friday. We reviewed the Xbox One version and found it to be lacking in personality but a decent enough distraction. Worth the £4.49 asking price, certainly.
Fresh from the Xbox One and PC, Team 17’s well-received The Escapists arrives on PS4 for £14.99, heading to both PSN and retail. That’s being joined on PSN by Octodad: Dadliest Catch on PS Vita (£11.49) open-world puzzle/driving curio Roundabout (£11.99) on PS4 – which faced a mixed reception when it launched on Xbox One back in February – and Ultra Street Fighter IV (£19.99). As pleasing as it is to see the likes of Ken and Ryu grace the PS4, Kotaku reports that it’s a pretty sloppy conversion that suffers from chronic lag. Amazingly, title screen still says “Press Start†even though the PS4 doesn’t have a start button. Oh, Capcom!
Then there’s BADLAND: Game of the Year Edition, out Thursday on PS4 (£9.49) and Friday on Xbox One (price unknown). Originally released on mobiles, where it bagged Apple’s iPad GOTY Award in 2013, this 2D physics-based adventure went on to receive over 20 million downloads. The trailer can be found here. Incidentally, it’s also due out on Wii U next month.
Speaking of Wii U, Splatoon arrives on Friday. Well, not at GAME anyway – their entire shipment was stolen. This puts those hoping to pick up a copy from a high street store in something of a pickle. With a bit of luck both Argos and HMV will be stocking it, in addition to some of the larger supermarkets. If you missed it, here’s our review round-up. In short: it’s pretty darn good, if a little light on content. Fortunately it can be found for way less than £30 and post-launch DLC will be free.
3DS owners meanwhile get Fossil Fighters: Frontier. It’s Pokemon but with rampaging dinos, pretty much. If you’re careful when excavating fossils, your soon-to-be-reborn dinosaur will be more effective in battle. A nice touch. It has a six-player online mode too. We’re kind of intrigued by this one.
As for other genuinely new arrivals, there’s Game of Thrones – Episode 4: Sons of Winter. IGN believes it’s the best episode yet. “Game of Thrones: Episode 4 – Sons of Winter delivers a dose of of the action we’ve all been waiting for†they also claim. GameSpot on the other hand felt differently: “As Telltale’s Game of Thrones passes its halfway mark, it takes a bit of a dip, staging a set of scenes that feels less like something you can control and more like something you can only passively watchâ€. They did report that it serves as a “strong enough taster to make you hunger for Episode Five†however.
This leaves us with Magicka 2 on PS4 (£11.99), a top-down co-op adventure that has more than a whiff of Gauntlet about it. And a fragrant whiff at that.
Next week: Steins;Gate (PS3, PS Vita), Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy (PS Vita), Skulls of the Shogun: Bone-A-Fide Edition (PS4), Super Exploding Zoo (PS4, PS Vita), The Swapper (Xbox One), The Jackbox Party Pack (Xbox One) and Massive Chalice (Xbox One)