The Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series, once an intriguing mix of two different titles, has at this point become an institution of its own. It was inevitable, I guess; Spike Chunsoft’s long-running Mystery Dungeon gameplay is something at which it has become very experienced, and attaching the super-popular license to it makes for much better sales. That said, Gates to Infinity does represent the largest change in the franchise, both visually and mechanically. READ MORE
Two Tribes’ Toki Tori 2 (which we recently previewed) releases next week on the Wii U eShop. We caught up with creative director Collin van Ginkel at PAX East to answer a few questions about the game.
Snackbar Games: What should players of the first Toki Tori game expect from this one?
Collin van Ginkel: People who loved the first Toki Tori will hopefully love the second game as well. It’s now more of an open-world puzzle adventure game, and before it was really a puzzle platform game. Now we’ve added the storyline, we’ve added an open world and we’ve really simplified the experience. In the old Toki Tori, you had like an inventory with eight items you could use, and it was pretty complex. In this case, as a player you are tasked with solving puzzles, which you do by whistling and stomping next to the creatures and figuring out how they respond. READ MORE
Ghosts’n Goblins has gotten this reputation of being an incredibly difficult game over the years. While it certainly doesn’t even approach the level of games like Mushimeshama or Beatmania, it’s true that the game is punishing, and it requires a very different mindset from the usual platformer. While most allow the players to rush through the stages once beaten once with some skill and memorization of the patterns, trying to do the same in Ghosts’n Goblins is impossible, thanks to the heavy randomization of enemy spawns and movements. Every step, jump and attack must be planned in advance, and trying to ignore even the lowliest of the enemies is a sure way of getting killed. READ MORE
The latest in a long line of games by developer Artdink and only the second to make it to the West, Carnage Heart EXA is not your typical game. It feels more like a programming training tool, with a very specific language and no external applications. That’s not to say it isn’t fun by any means, though. It’s just important to know going in just exactly what you’re getting into. READ MORE
Despite being acquired by Microsoft, Copenhagen-based Press Play isn’t abandoning the games it previously created. Its upcoming project, Max: The Curse of Brotherhood, shares many of the concepts of its predecessor, but isn’t exactly following an identical formula. READ MORE
