Worms Reloaded for PC
GAMERS of a certain age will remember the absurdity of the first Worms games, but will also recall how fiendishly addictive they were. Taking charge of a squad of murderous worms, players choose an array of weapons, from exploding sheep to banana bombs, and set about destroying an opposing team. This updated version features off- and online multiplayer modes as well as a new single-player game. Destructible landscapes make the gameplay surprisingly tactical at times and new weapons include ferrets (really) and the intriguingly-named Buffalo of Lies. An enjoyably-updated blast from the past.
Out now |
Smackdown vs Raw 2011 for all formats
THE faux-violence of WWE’s wrestling juggernaut returns for its inevitable annual console beat-em-up. Love it or loathe it, the “sports entertainment” company knows how to put on a show and the game features all of the razzmatazz of its real-life counterpart. A massive roster of 70 competitors (condescendingly known as Superstars for the men and Divas for the women) have been lovingly recreated, while the title’s story mode has been polished to give owners a greater feeling of being in the WWE world. The usual glut of fight modes add to a strangely-alluring package.
Out later this year
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Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 for Xbox 360
AFTER having its mantle as the football gaming purists’ title of choice well-and-truly stolen by last year’s FIFA outing, Pro Evolution Soccer has gone on the attack to regain its crown in 2011. The ace up developer Konami’s sleeve appears to be increasing realism, chiefly through a new power bar for each player. No longer will gamers be able to press a button and see the ball end up where they want it; now they must choose how long to hold the button for to decide the pace of a pass or shot. Nothing more than the Fifa series has been doing for a while, but it could see Pro Evolution Soccer mount a top-of-the-table challenge.
Out this autumn |
www.team17.com |
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Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
THIS all-formats release sees the Need for Speed franchise return to its roots. Instead of the tear-around-the-track races found in most driving games, Hot Pursuit places gamers in the driving seat of either a police car or a high-performance auto for the ultimate cops-and-robbers chase. The gameplay is fast and frantic and the joy of stopping a racer or escaping the law is immense. Developer Criterion Games has also gone big on the title’s online abilities, with a new “Autolog” feature tracking drivers’ performances and uploading them to a dedicated social network. Should be a hit.
Out in November
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John Daly’s ProStroke Golf
TIGER Woods’ dominance of the golf game leaderboard faces its first threat in a long time courtesy of fellow feline-nicknamed player John “The Lion” Daly. The all-formats release’s biggest innovation over it’s famous rival is the use of the “ProStroke” system for taking shots. The control scheme gives gamers a first-person view of the ball and club head, in theory making the experience much more realistic. The title will also make use of Playstation Move technology to allow owners to rotate the club in real time and apply precise amounts of power and height to shots over 12 courses.
Out in October
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Gun Loco for Xbox 360
AS the name suggests, Gun Loco promises to be a fast-paced, slightly insane take on the shooter genre. The interesting plot revolves around a group of prisoners left to fight it out on an abandoned planet at the very edge of the solar system. Early images of the title show a highly-stylised game world which takes in a variety of decaying locations and a multitude of climates and developer Square Enix has set out to provide a high-tempo gaming experience to match. Described as a “sprint shooter”, the game will not offer much respite as prisoners are chased – or do the chasing – in on- or offline battles.
Out in 2011
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www.gunloco.com |
