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Now Loading for the week of May 27, 2013: “Will it Blend?” Edition

by: Jeremy - posted: 5/28/2013 1:24:00 PM
More On: Now Loading CastleStorm Fuse GRID 2 The Night of the Rabbit Wargame: Airland Battle
Enjoy this week’s variety of releases, because things are about to go quiet as we head into E3. With the big conference a mere two weeks away, the pipeline of new releases is going to crawl to a halt next week, but you can use that time to catch up on all of the great releases we have been seeing so far this year. Plus, if you’re smart, you will be tied up with CastleStorm (which is all I can say about that right now).

My picks for this week:
  • GRID 2: With a vehicle selection spans more than four decades and the control scheme has been modified to present an even mix of realism and accessibility, GRID 2 is looking to build on the excellent foundation that the original built back in 2008. In addition to a deep campaign, the game offers an extensive multiplayer experience courtesy of Codemaster’s RaceNet service which is a consistent stack tracker that links all of their racing games. The service will deliver weekly challenges and updates that will keep the experience fresh for a long, long time. Mike gave us a nice preview of the game last week and is pretty excited for the game, which means a lot considering he doesn’t traditionally go for racing games.
  • Fuse: Insomniac Games, best known for the Ratchet and Clank series on the various PlayStation platforms, is releasing their first multiplatform titles with Fuse. The game, previously known as Overstrike during its early development, puts players in control of a misfit agents known as Overstrike 9. I found it to be sort of like a mesh of Gears of War and Bulletstorm, putting the focus on the cooperative aspects of both series. Mike did our official review, and found some fun with the game but ultimately walked away unimpressed. Judging from the other reviews being released today, that was putting it nicely. Personally, I enjoyed it a little more than he did and found that the overall fun factor of the game outweighed its various technical hiccups. This is certainly one meant to be played with your friends.
  • CastleStorm: I absolutely love it when developers mix together a bunch of genres... even when the results don’t turn out the greatest, it is still fun to see them experiment. Zen Studios is blending a bunch of game genres together with CastleStorm on the Xbox Live Arcade. Imagine taking Angry Birds, throwing in a healthy dose of tower defense or capture, and mixing in a little hack and slash with roleplaying elements... plus a healthy dose of LEGO building. This game is the best of all of those worlds as you pick a side in an ancient war between the Vikings and the Knights and set off to take down the enemy’s castles. You will take the heat to your enemies from a distance with your trusty catapult while managing an army of ever-evolving troops, and even heading onto the battlefield yourself to get up close and personal. Review and details on the game are under embargo until tomorrow, but trust me, you will want to check this one out.
This week’s full lineup:
  • 99 Spirits for PC
  • CastleStorm for Xbox Live Arcade
  • FUSE for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
  • GRID 2 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
  • Hunters Trophy 2: Australia for Xbox Live Arcade
  • The Night of the Rabbit for PC
  • Rising Storm for PC
  • Spartacus Legends for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
  • The Swapper for PC
  • Trackmania 2 Stadium for PC
  • Wargame: AirLand Battle for PC