Pick & Play: January 8-14
Welcome back to the weekly release list. There isn’t much as we move into the second week of the new year, but there is certainly stuff in some capacity. It’s all downloadable, but that doesn’t mean these are experiences you should skip. Some of them are downright chilling.
Yes, it’s a winter pun. I’m sorry.
AMY
(PSN*, XBLA)
AMY is a downloadable survivor-horror title. Those aren’t an unheard of thing, the Resident Evil series having gone downloadable in recent years and, in the way of original content, Hydrophobia bringing psychic abilities and gallons upon gallons of water to the table. AMY, though, is all about escorting the eponymous child through Silver City, which is teeming with grotesque and toothy creatures of a malicious bent.
More interesting, perhaps, is the manner in which AMY is to be priced: while it’s 800 MSP on the Xbox LIVE Arcade, the game was originally slated for the $12.99 bracket on the PSN—a full three-dollar price hike. According to AMY’s developers, this was due to 800 MSP being the game’s global price, and while that equates to $10 in the US, it’s 10 Euros (or closer to $13) in Europe. Lexis Numérique is therefore putting it to a vote: option one is that the game be released at the same time on both services with the PSN version at a $12.99 price-point, while option two offers price-parity and a delayed PSN release. At this point, option two is winning out with 70 percent of the votes. The PSN version still might hit the network on Tuesday, January 10, but that’s looking increasingly unlikely. The XBLA version, however, will be out on Wednesday, January 11 regardless.
Zen Pinball 3D
(3DS)
Featuring four of the developer’s tables, Zen Pinball 3D brings its creative layouts and satisfying ball physics to the 3DS eShop, where players who download it can experience the title in stereoscopic 3D. As someone who grew up playing pinball on a physical machine, I can attest that depth is certainly a key part of the experience, and the static nature of the table makes it a natural fit for a 3D display, where your eyes are best focused on a single point. Zen Pinball 3D will be out this Thursday, January 12.
Choplifter HD
(PC, PSN, XBLA)
An HD update to the Choplifter series, this is a game that shifts one’s focus from murder and mayhem to rescue and goodwill. Rather than merely blowing apart other choppers with a barrage of missiles or ripping through squadrons of enemy soldiers with a nose-mounted minigun, players are tasked with rescuing the stranded, in need of a quick jaunt in your chopper to safe, flat land. These range from military prisoners to citizens in the midst of a zombie apocalypse, but the focus on the rescue aspect rather than merely the destruction of enemy materiel is what makes Choplifter a unique franchise. Choplifter HD will be out on the PC and PSN this Tuesday, January 10 and the XBLA on Wednesday, January 11.
Hidden Gem of the Week:
Dungeons of Dredmor
(PC)
No, it didn’t come out this week, but Dungeons of Dredmor is one of those indie titles that everyone can afford to try. It goes for $5 on Steam ($7.50 if you buy it with the optional Realm of the Diggle Gods expansion), and is well worth the price. Mix classic roguelike action with a variable difficulty and charming graphics, then tie it all together with a wicked and irreverent sense of humor. Where else can one gain levels in such theurgic practices as Emomancy and Golemancy, or begin the game with a Werediggle curse?
Humor, lutefisk, and hardcore dungeon crawling await those who play this title. Who wouldn’t want that?
By Shelby Reiches
CCC Contributing Writer
*The views expressed within this article are solely the opinion of the author and do not express the views held by Cheat Code Central.*