Concept Art

It’s been 20 years since the Amiga/Sega Genesis/Mega Drive (and other platforms) hit Flashback, a cinematic platformer in which protagonist Conrad Hart must protect humanity from a shape shifting group of aliens. Woken and suffering from amnesia, he finds a recording from himself detailing the plot against humanity.

The story takes place in a futuristic setting and gameplay can be compared to Shadow Complex. Like that game, Flashback is powered by Unreal Engine 3. The original game was a best-selling, critically acclaimed game, and the remake looks to follow in its footsteps. Much of the original core team returns for the 2.5D remake, which as of yet has no release date or pricing. The original game’s sequel, Fade to Black, was equally compelling. Here’s hoping it gets the remake treatment as well. Hit the jump for concept art and the full press release .

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New assets have surfaced that all but confirm the upcoming XBLA release of classic platformer Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse. As unearthed by tipster @lifelower, Sega of America has …
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Surviving the end of the world takes skills. Skills developed in the slavering clutches of the undead, shaping wads of helpless victims into chiseled survivors. Everyone has their own strengths: the brawler, the sneak, the deadeye. Understanding your role in the zombie apocalypse could mean the difference between a lukewarm canned meal at the end of a long day and becoming the meal yourself. Undead Labs’ Richard Foge recently delved into the meaning of tactics, strategy, and how to last long enough to become a survivor in State of Decay.

“In State of Decay we put a lot of effort into making sure that players can transition smoothly between different tactical approaches to gameplay so that [you] can adapt quickly and make adjustments to your tactics as the combat situation evolves,” he writes. Foge brings considerable console game design know-how to State of Decay, having honed his craft as a Senior Designer for the SOCOM franchise, in addition to combat and systems design for God of War and Guild Wars, respectively. Now he’s set sights on ensuring your survival’s as organic as possible.

“We want you to easily flow from stealth to melee combat to ranged combat to using items. We know that everyone approaches these challenges differently, and it was important to make sure that as many approaches were accounted for as possible.” There’s a dizzying array of ways to tackle the flesh-eating obstacles infesting State of Decay — for one, literally. Though Foge discourages too much physical contact when interacting with your new neighbors, “It’s a great way to get yourself killed, but it’s also a great way to dispatch a couple of zombies without letting the legions of the damned know your exact position.”

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We’ve all thought about it: the end of days. Life, as we know it, over. Our laws, our society, our grande vanilla rooibos tea lattes, all gone, and we’re left with a staggering view of a world that’s indifferent of our existence. There’s no shortage of inventive ways to envision that demise, but the destruction-du-jour is contagion, with a twist. Infected by a mythical super-strain, our bodies succumb to the infection, wither and die. Reanimated a short time later, they shuffle (or sprint, depending on your inspiration) across the empty remains of our cities, towns and suburbs, catering to the most basic of impulses — to feed.

But the true draw, the appeal even, of an undead apocalypse isn’t the madness of the moment, it’s the days and weeks afterward. The life after life-as-we-know-it; the fitful consequences of our actions in an existence without margins for error, and how we stack up against that uncertainty. Undead Labs, the Washington-based, zombie-obsessed, fledgling development studio wants to realize that future, virtually, and give you the keys to a whole new life in a State of Decay.

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The story of the Oddworld franchise on the Xbox, and now Xbox Live Arcade is a complex one. When Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee launched for the original Xbox, it was …
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Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds, the XBLA 2D side-scroller outed the other day by Famitsu, will release exclusively on XBLA in 2013, the above debut trailer reveals. This first trailer is obviously meant for Japan, with an HD version said to be coming at some point during E3 next week. It’s unknown whether or not the high-def cut will be redone for the English-speaking world or not.

Either way, eager gamers can peruse the gallery down below there full of in-game screens and character art emphasizing the new 8-bit-inspired art style. The visuals are a stark departure from the original title’s looks. Conversely, the game’s controls are said to be almost an exact match of those found in the fighting game that preceded it, allowing vets to easily jump right into the fray. Speaking of jumping in, the only characters playable from the start of the adventure will be Mikoto, Waka, Itsuki and Yuzuha. The remainder of the cast will presumably be unlocked as players progress through levels.

Pricing has not yet been decided upon for the spin-off of the 2009 fighting game known simply as Phantom Breaker. A few solid gameplay details have now shaken lose thanks to Famitsu, though. In addition the main game featuring 4-player co-op, there will also be a “Battle Royale” mode that pits players against each other in different scenarios, such as one player taking on three others by his lonesome.

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Hungarian based production company NeocoreGames, famed for tactical RPG King Arthur, have announced that they are currently developing a new action RPG for PC and XBLA, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing. The game, which is said to be loosely based on Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula, will follow the son of the famed hunter, known in-game as Van Helsing, to the dismal land of Borgovia where former supernatural foes have enlisted his help to defeat a new scourge terrorizing the ravaged Eastern European city. Viktor Juhász, lead writer at NeocoreGames said of the project:

“Being located in Eastern Europe and having experience developing RPGs, Van Helsing is a natural fit for us; it’s a project where we can demonstrate our expertise in both domains and create something novel that RPG fans can appreciate”

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing is slated for a late Q4 2012 release and we’ve got some concept art for you to enjoy after the jump.

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A few weeks back Team 17 announced Worms Revolution, an all new Worms game set to be released on XBLA sometime during the third quarter of this year. Fans of the franchise immediately began to wiggle with joy upon hearing news of the game being built from the ground up on a completely new engine. Today, we’re able to deliver the first concrete details on that engine. In a nutshell, Revolution‘s environment’s will be rendered in 3D, with the game outwardly looking like a classic 2D Worms game, with much better graphics. Team 17 has promised that deformation and destruction of the game’s environments will be on par with the franchise’s classic side-scrolling entries. Team 17 has also revealed that Revolution‘s environments will have four central themes; sewers, gardens, farms, and a beach known as “Rock Pool”. You can check out concept art of each setting by following the link below. Don’t even try to claim you’re not already thinking about blowing these places to bits.

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Austin-based game developers, Minicore Studios have revealed at this year’s GDC in San Francisco that they’re currently working on a new PC/XBLA game named Laika Believes. The game tells the tail of Laika, the first dog to orbit the earth, however in this alternative reality Laika makes it back home as a half robot-half dog with advanced intelligence. She returns to a world where the Soviets have discovered highly advanced tech and stand as supreme rulers of the globe, while America and Great Britain are little more than smoking ash heaps. Against all odds, Laika believes that she can protect the countless lives crushed by the Soviets. The game is said to be a classic Metroidvania platformer, featuring:

• Massive, nonlinear levels that model the layouts of real locations in a way as of yet unseen in other platformers
• Large, choice-rich skill trees that let players approach the game how they want to
• A novel defensive mechanic that lets players turn the firepower of Laika’s enemies against them
• Smoothly flowing, fast-paced shooting action
• A story of struggle and hope, full of twists and revelations
• Rich, evocative art depicting a world overgrown by a technologically ascendant Soviet empire
• Secrets and rewards hidden in every corner for the determined player

Minicore Studios are aiming for a late 2012 or early 2013 release so it’s a while away yet but we’ve got some interesting concept art for you to check out after the cosmic jump.

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Girl Fight was only introduced a couple weeks ago but the upcoming fighting game with plenty of girls is soon around the corner. Kung Fu Factory and Microprose have revealed their first character entitled “Wrench”. While she may lack a shirt, she makes up for being a “tank” class which deals heavy amount of damage. She also graduated MIT at the age of 19, so it only makes sense a shadowy organization would kidnap her and make her fight other girls. Check out her arena after the jump.
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