Battling robots & time travel
| Sascha Rettig |
Berlin (dpa) – Just in time to help gamers get over their winter blues, a new crop of PC games is hitting markets.
The games also make clear that not every getaway is desirable.
In Far Cry 3 , young American Jason Brody had only planned to have some fun and relax on the tropical Rook Island, but is instead kidnapped by pirates and mercenaries who control almost the entire island.
Jason manages to get free and finds assistance from the natives as he takes the fight to the pirates. In the course of 25 hours of gaming time, Jason is transformed from a nervous tourist into a jungle fighter, meeting shifty characters as he explores the island.
If the main story isn’t enough, waste some time playing poker or go off hunting tigers, sharks and boars. If that prey isn’t enough, get some friends in multiplayer mode and head back into the jungle.
Far Cry 3 costs about 50 euros (US$66) and is also available, for 10 additional euros, for the XBox 360 and the Playstation 3.
Reperfection Volume 1, from Tinnitus Games, is also about a world turned on its head.
Comic-style gaming … Pressure
Only available as a download, it follows Ben Freeman, whose life is up-ended, first when he finds out his wife has died in a car crash, and then again when he discovers he can travel through time.
He uses that ability to bring his wife back, but at a high cost.
The game stands out for its original concept and striking visuals, looking more like a high-quality comic or graphic novel. Reperfection – Volume 1 is available at www.tinnitus-games.de for 7.99 euros.
Pressure, from Topware, also adopts a comic style. There’s a back-story about a baron who is trying to take over the world’s water supply to help his spa empire. But it’s mostly about action-packed racing, trying to get buggies past a series of hazards to the baron’s spa headquarters. Shooting opponents to clear the way is acceptable.
Pressure offers about 30 levels and sells for about 15 euros.
The online multi-player game Forge, from Dark Vale Games, is also full of action.
Players have a choice of five characters – shamans to pathfinders – as they explore a fantasy world. Gameplay is a new mix of strategy and shooter games. There are also four battlefields, including ruins, castles, forests and caves.
Forge costs just under 19 euros via the Steam platform. For that money, players get two versions of the game, meaning they can pass it on to friends and build up the community.
Hawken from Meteor Entert-ainment is also a mix of strategy and fast action.
ABOVE & BELOW: Hawken is a free-to-play game that can be downloaded at no cost. However, extra weapons and modifications come only at a price
But there are no fantasy heroes here, just battling robots called Mechs. The multi-player game is set on a distant planet, where inhabitants are fighting for scarce resources.
Part of the fun is that the robots generally only move slowly. Fast action is possible, but consumes vital fuel. Hawken is a purely online game, with the beta version currently up and running. The free-to-play game can be downloaded at no cost, but extra weapons and modifications come only at a price.
