New Releases for the Week of April 29th, 2012

Sniper Elite V2 ScreenshotFrom Awesomenauts‘ foray into the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) genre to Sniper Elite V2‘s re-invigoration of the tactical shooter, April’s concluding week is poised to deliver a number of remarkable titles. Whether you’re a player with a proclivity to rip out spleens while riding the bus, or merely a PC gamer yearning for a MMO that’s brimming with nuanced combat, new releases ranging from Mortal Kombat to Tera are in store.

360
Awesomenauts (XBLA, $10)
Fable: Heroes (XBLA, $10)
Sniper Elite V2

PS3
Awesomenauts (PSN, $10, Free for PS+ Subscribers)
Max Payne 2 (PS2 Classic)
Rayman 2 (PS2 Classic)
Sniper Elite V2
The Legend of Dragoon (PSone Classic)

PSP
The Legend of Dragoon (PSone Classic)

3DS
eShop releases announced 5/3

Vita
Mortal Kombat

PC
Call of Cthulhu: The Wasted Land
Nexuiz
Port Royale 3
Sniper Elite V2
TERA

DesertEagle’s Pick: On September 14th, 2011, Codemasters announced they were shutting down their Guildford studio. This decision represented more than just an abandonment of the Operation Flashpoint franchise, it also meant that quasi-realistic military sims on console were almost extinct, with only Sniper: Ghost Warrior around to placate stay-at-home soldiers. With clunkers like NeverDead and Shellshock 2: Blood Trails on their resume, I nearly bypassed Rebellion Development’s demo for Sniper Elite V2, assuming that the remake was just a quick and dirty up-rezed port of the 2005 Xbox game. Four playthroughs later, I was hooked, scanning the rooftops for the glint of a counter-sniper’s scope. Hopefully, the guys at Rebellion polished the short-range combat and environmental navigation, because I’m eager enough for Elite to plop down pre-order money just for a chance to take out Der Führer from 1800 meters out. Lights out, Adolf.

Kill Hitler DLC

SeanNOLA’s Pick: After spending what amounts to weeks playing Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 on the bus to and from work, the Vita has become my go-to platform for fighters. I’m pleased as punch to finally mix it up with Mortal Kombat. I can’t wait to rip out Sonya’s spinal column in front of some old lady on Los Angeles’ new Expo Line (also opening this week)!

Samurage’s Pick: Most of this week’s releases leave me saying “meh”, either due to a lack of ingenuity or personal lack of interest.  However talk of TERA caught my attention some time ago and left me intrigued.  Though I usually don’t get into the MMORPG genre, I think I will be checking this one out. The back story is interesting, and seems to weave together a combination of mythologies from Japan, Greece, and SE Asia.  The races and classes are not entirely unique, but even the ones which we’ve come to expect seem to utilize novel aspects for the gameplay.  And on top of all of this there was a lengthy legal battle leading up to this release which would’ve kept the game out of the US entirely, and which was only resolved April 18th.  I hope to be pleasantly surprised. Perhaps this will finally be a MMORPG that I can get into.

BlueSwim’s Pick: PS Vita owners get the chance to rip each others spines out with the Mortal Kombat reboot. Sure, it’s a port, but Mortal Kombat on the Vita sports all of the original game’s character and costume DLC. That means you can shred someone with Freddy Krueger’s claws while riding on the bus (here’s to you, Sean). There’s also new content for the Vita version, such as exclusive classic costumes, new missions, and even a mini-game mode reminiscent of Fruit Ninja where you swipe to slice skulls and other objects. Just don’t swipe too hard and deliver a fatality to your touch screen.

Mortal Kombat Vita

About Robert Allen

Since being a toddler, Robert Allen has been immersed in video games, anime, and tokusatsu. Currently, his days are spent teaching at two southern California colleges. But his evenings and weekends are filled with STGs, RPGs, and action titles and well at writing for Tech-Gaming since 2007.

43 comments

  1. Walker, Texas Goodguy

    How come SNOLA’s pick is so short?

    • Am I the only one who read that sentence wrong? haha.

      Free Awesomenauts is the only thing to see here.

  2. Awesomenauts for free is pretty damn awesome. I just hope my PS+ subscription doesn’t run out by Tuesday.

  3. MK on the go seems pretty cool to me. Hopefully, the port is pixel-perfect.

  4. Are the stars aligned or something?

    All four picks (well, Lawman doesn’t get a pick? Was he a one and done guest) posted at once.

  5. Hey, Des welcome back! I was worried that you’d never enjoy FPS’s again.

    I thought Sniper Elite was good, but it’s just a remake. Why didn’t they make a new sequel for those that already played the original game to death.

  6. I’m with Deagle, Sniper Elite V2 was pretty cool. Reminded me of:

  7. “Just don’t swipe too hard and deliver a fatality to your touch screen.”

    I give this round to BlueSwim. Very cute.

  8. Awesomenauts on PSN of course.

  9. Looking forward to Sniper Elite V2 – had a long chat with DesertEagle about how awesome this game appears to be – let’s hope those kill cams hold up a week into the game!

  10. This week will probably be like the last 10 or so and the only think I will pick up is a pick your price indie bundle.

  11. I saw some places are selling Sniper for $40. That might be worth a go, then.

  12. I was TERA was $50 (Or $80 for the Collector’s)+ a monthly fee. Ouch.

  13. I played the Sniper Elite demo and didn’t see anything special about it. The rifle aiming seemed off and as the machine gun aiming was all clunked up.

  14. I’m sure I’ll try the Fable: Heroes demo.

    Fable was a really good series at one point. Well, before the third one.

  15. No Prototype 2 review? C’mon you guys!

  16. I think I might go with Sniper Elite this week. I really enjoyed the demo 🙂

  17. I have to try out the Sniper demo now. Thanks for letting me know, I also like the more tactical type shooters.

  18. Mortal Kombat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  19. I hope the PC port of Sniper Elite V2 is decent. I liked the first game when I had a Xbox.

  20. I’ll try MK if there’s a demo. It would be cool to take the console version with me everywhere.

  21. LOL’ed at Deagle’s “Lights out, Adolf.” Is GS the only way to score this?

  22. Oh yeah, Deagle what about the latest Humble Bundle. With a slew of games from Amanita Design, + soundtracks, + A MOVIE!, (and all for whatever price you want) that seems tops to me.

  23. DES, you going to review Sniper Elite? I was thinking about picking it up.

  24. I heard Awesomenauts isn’t coming to XBLA.

  25. Hours away from MK, yeah!

    (that rhymes)

  26. You guys missed Deep Balcy Vol. 1 Last week.

    Actually, you didn’t miss much.

  27. Went to thee different stores. Not one of them was selling or even received Sniper Elite V2. What a half ass launch.