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CommanderVideo Charges Into The Latest Bit.Trip, And Metal Slug Returns
Please fasten your seatbelts and place your console hard drives in their upright and locked positions. This week's DL games are after the jump.
If you haven't tried out any of the great Bit.Trip games on WiiWare, you're missing out. The latest from Gaijin Games is Bit.Trip Runner, an absurdly fast-paced variation on the traditional 2D platforming formula. CommanderVideo can do a lot of things – jump, slide, vault. There's only one thing he can't do – stop running. With a great stylized, pixilated presentation, and a thumping 8-bit soundtrack, Runner is the most complex and visually entertaining entry in the series thus far. It's also exceptionally hard. Careful memorization of the levels and fast response times are necessary to progress through the game's 50+ levels. Bit.Trip Runner is available on WiiWare as of this week for a measly 800 Wii points ($8). Buy it....and despair at your pitifully inadequate reflexes.
As promised last week, Rocket Knight arrived yesterday on PlayStation Network for $14.99. The Konami platforming star from the 90s makes an impressive return in this title, complete with challenging levels and giant bosses. Sparkster's rocket pack offers a particularly amusing thrill, letting the opossum hero bounce off walls and crash through enemies. Our full review of the game is right here, if you'd like to learn more.
Metal Slug XX is up today (May 19th) on XBLA for 1200 Microsoft points ($15). In case you've been hiding on the moon for the last 14 years, the Metal Slug series is a side-scrolling shoot-em-up with incarnations that have appeared on any number of platforms over the years. This latest entry offers more of what its fans love – insane multi-path stages filled with bullets and explosions to dodge while attempting to devastate enemy infantry and artillery with extreme prejudice.
XBLA is also the new home to Aqua - Naval Warfare, a unique action shooter with strategy overtones. The game has players navigating the oceans and upgrading ship weaponry and equipment before heading out into – you guessed it – more naval warfare. Combat is handled in familiar dual-analog shooter style, but the steampunk-inspired visuals, along with a continuous narrative, offer an interesting variation on the normal approach to the genre. Aqua is all yours for 800 Microsoft points ($10), and it's out today.
Any of these new games strike your fancy, or are you too busy with the recent slate of excellent retail releases?
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