Welcome to Getting Some Play – the spiritual successor to Sarah Warn‘s excellent Good Game column – where we’ll take a look at the latest releases, news and developments in the world of video games.
Though the Getting Some Play crew (that is, me) was sadly absent from PAX Prime which occurred between columns this year, we did get wind of one of the coolest panels — Portal Project Lead and Lead Designer Kim Swift and her crew from Airtight Games showed off a first look at her latest mind-bending puzzle concoction: Quantum Conundrum.
You can tell Swift and company have a Portal pedigree — the same ultra-clever design and gently goofy sense of humor is present here. Only this time, players are switching dimensions to solve the many brainteasers, instead of shooting portals all over the place. It’s coming out early next year for the downloadable platforms — Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, and PlayStation Network.
The fall rush begins
The halcyon days of summer are just beginning to turn into the mad rush of fall releases. The first massive release of the fall season came just a couple of weeks ago (the stellar Deus Ex: Human Revolution), but consider that a warm-up to the wallet gymnastics will soon follow. At this point in the year, the best you can do is spot a few favorites, keep your ear to the ground about buzz and reception, and hold on — it’s going to be a crazy ride.
It all begins with Resistance 3 on September 6. The third in the big-budget alternate history shooter series from esteemed developer Insomniac promises more consistent action and hotter multiplayer than the iffy second chapter. It’s a PS3 exclusive.
Also on September 6 is the Kinect Horror title Rise of Nightmares, which didn’t fare very well when I tried it at E3 — but hey, if you want first person horror with no controller messing with your scares, knock yourself out. Speaking of horror, Dead Island is out for the PS3, PC and 360 on the very same day, promising open world zombie-killing action.
The next big 3DS title (and second major Nintendo 64 release, for those counting) arrives on September 9, in the form of Star Fox 64 3D — a revamped (and online multiplayer-enabled) version of the classic space shooter. So far, the very best 3DS game has been Ocarina of Time’s 3D outing, so you can expect good (if not exactly surprising) results here.
Pixel art (and retro loving) enthusiasts should get ready for Bit.Trip.Saga, appearing on both the 3DS and the Wii on September 13th. The title includes the following funky Bit.Trip titles: Bit. Trip Beat, Bit. Trip Core, Bit. Trip Void, Bit. Trip Runner, Bit. Trip Fate, and Bit. Trip Flux, and it might just give Star Fox a run for its money in the “3DS game of the month” department.
The following week contains Kirby: Mass Attack, Burnout Crash, and behemoth Gears of War 3 — so choose wisely, gamers. Your disposable income depends on it.
