Metroidvania

Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit was developed by Arkedo Games and published by Sega. It was released September 26, 2012 in North America and a week later in the UK for 1200 MSP. A copy was provided for review purposes.

It’s difficult to classify Hell Yeah! in a single easy statement. Arkedo’s Xbox Live Arcade debut draws heavily upon classic games such as Sonic, Mario, WarioWare, Parodius, Mortal Kombat and just about everything in-between, but remains almost entirely unique at the same time. Put simply, Hell Yeah! is one of the most enjoyable XBLA titles we’ve played this year, despite the occasional flaw and my own reservations about some of the humor.

The game begins with the most tenuous of story lines as Ash (the Dead Rabbit Prince of Hell and main protagonist of Hell Yeah!) is pictured in the act of bathing with his rubber duck by a nosy paparazzi. The pictures are quickly uploaded to the Hell-ternet and much embarrassment follows for our hero. Determined to have his revenge (and to recover the photos) Ash sets out to defeat one hundred and one monsters across a range of unique and interesting worlds.

Read More

The excitement train for Sega and Arkedo’s Hell Yeah! Wrath of the Dead Rabbit has been rolling for quite some time now. We loved it at E3 and loved …
Read More

Were you stuck at home this while your gamer friends partied at PAX this weekend? Well dry those eyes, for Gamespot have compiled a neat video showcasing five of …
Read More

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.

Read More