Review - Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (Xbox 360)

¡Ay caramba!

As many of you who read this site will know, the so-called Metroidvania sub-genre is one of my favourite types of game. 2D platformers are my passion and have always appealed to me a million times more than even the best 3D offerings (Mario 64 I'm looking at you). So any new game laying claim to the Metroidvania tag is always going to be a cause of much excitement. It was this excitement that got me playing the original version of Guacamelee! on the PS3 last year. It was a beautiful homage to classic SNES game Super Metroid (even containing many unsubtle nods to its source of inspiration) that added a welcome sense of humour to proceedings. Unfortunately, I was never able to beat the game and frustration led me away and, I'm embarrassed to say, I completely forgot about it. Well, I can now right that wrong as Guacamelee! is back in a new and improved 'Super Turbo Championship Edition' (Capcom would be proud of that title!) which adds new content and mechanics and irons out many of the issues of the original version.

Review - Max : The Curse of Brotherhood (Xbox 360, Xbox One, PC)

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

As anyone who has one will attest to, having a younger brother can be a real pain in the ass. They use or steal your stuff, embarrass you in front of your friends and are generally a thorn in your side until you are are old enough to move out. Max's little brother Felix is no different. Max returns home from school one day only to discover the little runt is in his room again, playing (and breaking) his toys. So, Max does what anyone would do in his situation. He goes online and finds a spell that will rid him of his younger sibling for good. Moments after he utters the magical words a portal opens up and a monsterous claw comes through and pinches Felix right from under Max's nose. Being a decent sort, Max dives in after his little bro in order to save him. So thus begins Max's adventure, a journey that will take him through sandy deserts, deserted towns, lush forests, dank caves and lava filled pits. All in a desperate bid to rescue Felix from the clutches of Mustacho, an geriatric evil wizard kinda guy, who intends to switch bodies with Felix in order to regain his youth. 

Indie News - La-Mulana sequel in the works via Kickstarter!

La-Mulana 2 - sequel in development

The cryptic mind-fuck, masquerading as a 2D Metroidvania platformer, La-Mulana, is getting a sequel. This brand new adventure is being developed by Japanese developers, NIGORO - who brought us the original PC version back in 2005, and Playism, who brought us the remakes for Wii & PC. Using the popular Kickstarter site to fund the title seems like a wise move, as it's already raised $140,000 of its £200,000 target, with another 2 weeks to go.