Hey folks, Valkor here, bringing more first looks, hands on previews that TOV does best. Sure we could post press release after press release, but getting up close and personal with a game seems to suit TOV just fine. This round the folks at Warner Interactive have come to town, bringing along some choice titles for myself and others in the gaming press to peruse. Let's check em out!
Lollipop Chainsaw (PS3, XBOX 360 release June 12th, 2012) – From the mind of Suda51 (No More Heroes and Killer 7) and a script by James Gunn (the Saw series) comes a game that's rife with 80's cheese, monster slaying, corny yet likable dialogue). In Lollipop Chainsaw you'll play Juliet Starling (Tara Strong), a skimpy dressed cheerleader battling hoards of zombies. The demo I got to see wasn't hands on, but took place at the O'Bannon farm where we were introduced to Nick (Michael Rosenbaum), the head of her boyfriend whom she decapitated. At this stage of the game their off to rescue Juliet's sister Rosalind, who's on a bus that's out of control. I got to check out a host of moves involving the decapitation of multiple zombies all at once, while checking out enhancements of Juliet's chainsaw, plus she can use Nick as a weapon by placing him on select bodies of decapitated foes. At the end of the stage, Juliet fought it out with trippy hippy lady Mariska in a psychedelic stage of tap the monster with the blaster. It was fun to watch and I think it'd be crazier to get some hands on. The graphics look pretty good and the voice work is crazy. Nick (Rosenbaum) is the definite show stealer; the dudes' got jokes! Bonuses are the music bits heard throughout (during certain scenarios) such as 80's hits "Oh Mickey!" and "You Spin Round". This is definitely one to watch out for.
Mortal Kombat (Playstation Vita Release May 1st) – If you didn't get enough of Mortal Kombat on the consoles, now you can have it on the go with the Playstation version. The game will be scaled down from its big brother versions, but what NetherRealm Studios taketh away, they also add more goodies such as 150 challenge towers, fatalities you can pull off with the touch screen, and use of the rear camera allowing you to use whatever setting as your backdrop. The game will run at a full 60 fps making use of Adhoc or Wi-Fi for multiplayer action. This was a hands-on demo and the controls were very smooth with fluid animation. Use of the rear camera to create your own backdrops can be hit or mess, especially considering that the Vita's camera isn't all that hot. But I doubt this will dissuade fans from dipping into this title.
Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition (Xbox 360 April 17th, 2012) – This one rates absolutely high on the "must own it" scale, because right from the new CGI cinematic opening, I was hooked on Witcher 2. The game is given an update on visuals and makes use of just about every button on the Xbox controller, which at first seemed quite intimidating, but in just a few minutes I had the moves down pat. The story of Witcher 2 is as follows (taken from the press release): In The Witcher 2: Assassin of Kings the player takes the role of Geralt of Rivia, a professional monster slayer, a witcher. Entangled in the political turmoil that engulfed Temeria, Geralt helped quell the rebellion of the Order of the Flaming Rose. Soon after, he saved King Foltest's life when the monarch was attacked by a witcher-like assassin.
Witcher 2 is an action RPG, with a cinematic look and feel, and a non-linear storyline. The player, when encountering other NPCs, gets to choose from multiple responses that may or may not affect the overall story. When in battle you'll get to choose from an assortment of steel or silver weapons (each of which can be used best against humans or creatures). The graphics are beautiful and gameplay is solid. Again I thought it would be frustrating trying to pull off magic and standard attacks when looking at the button tutorial given, but when it came time to dive in… believe me it just felt right. Just one question: will this game see the light of day on the PS3? I would like to think so!
I can see myself getting lost in Witcher 2, but Lollipop Chainsaw and MK Vita look to be hits in their own right - and I can't wait to see more. Stay tuned to the pages of TOV for this and other goodies from the WB and other gaming companies.