I'm still only just starting my Trials Evolution journey, but developer RedLynx has delivered a superb follow-up to the brilliant Trials HD. Everything feels very similar at the moment, but the new environments really add to the experience and the level designer (and store) opens up a ton of new content. The integration of dots that represent your closest leaderboard rivals might not be original, but it adds an extra competitive element to solo play, while multiplayer looks likely to be a easy way to eat up time when friends are over. With this and Fez released within a week of each other, Microsoft is spoiling Xbox 360 owners.
I can't remember the last time I was genuinely excited for a new Tekken game. I spent hundreds of hours playing Tekken 3 back in the day, and I loved the original Tekken Tag on the PS2, but since then my affection for the series has dwindled. Tag Tournament 2 may change all that. There's a sense of self-confidence and focus here that we've not seen in a while, and the addition of 2-on-1 battles is an interesting move - one that's rarely been explored by other fighters. Could this be the game to re-ignite my devotion to Heihachi and co? I certainly hope so...
I did actually play Skyrim this week, too, but I figured we could use a break from that for a while - that's right, I'm not writing about Skyrim this week!. So, instead of playing a fantasy RPG about dragons, I decided to play another fantasy RPG that has a dragon in it: The Witcher 2.
Is it good? Yes. It's really good - I'd say it's something special for sure, but I still don't understand why people seem to be acting like it's the holy grail of RPG games at the moment. Were people stained so deeply by Dragon Age II that they're overcompensating a bit on this? Still, Geralt is an absolutely ace protagonist who feels unique in our sea of baldy space marines and bearded regular marines. It's just a shame that awesome meditation posture from the PC hasn't made it into the console versions - I imagine a few 360 fans would have signed up to some Bikram Yoga classes based off those animations alone.
Right now I've mopped up the main story quest and am double-dipping to clean up on the game's more fearsome dark difficulty. I'm also having the occasional pop at the Arena mode, but I'm finding it a bit too strenuous at the moment - there's no saving between rounds (as far as I'm aware) and I just can't commit to sitting through all 30-odd rounds in one go.
Why new gamers should avoid Neverwinter
Until Dawn Guide: Totem Location Guide
Torchlight 2: Melee 2 Hand Weapon Engineer Build Guide
. Plays August 26, 2012
Dark Souls Asylum Demon Guide