Reus is an indie take by Abbey Games on one of the best genres ever, god games. Oh, and it’s also 2D. How does a 2D god game work you ask? Surprisingly, much better than I thought it would. Read on to find out if this little indie game is worth your time and money.

We don’t get enough titles in the god game genre in my opinion. So when I first heard about Reus, it really caught my attention. Was very intrigued on how a genre usually played from a top-down/real-time strategy perspective work when turned into a 2D affair. It didn’t hurt that the game sported a unique and charming visual style.

God smash!!

You control four ancient giants (each with their own elements and unique powers) waking from their slumber to help mankind prosper by shaping the earth but you don’t have direct control on the denizens, only nature. You are powerful however, with a press of a button (and some slight waiting for the giant to walk over) you can summon oceans and mountains either breathing new life into the land or using their enormous powers to destroy already settled villages.

Don’t let the cute bright visuals and 2D perspective fool you, the gameplay mechanic is much deeper than it depicts itself to be. Pretty much a giant puzzle game, where you need to find the right balance of enriching the people’s lives but not too much or too fast in that they will become greedy and start attacking other villages or even the giants.

Look at them eyes. Live in peace you say?

You start off with an empty earth, summoning oceans will enable you to erect forests or swamps nearby and mountains will result in deserts. Different sources like plants, animals and minerals provide different resources so that the village will develop and grow. Timed objectives will pop up that you need to fulfill for further development. It does sound all easy but you have limited space to work with and sometimes you have to forgo one resource so that you can complete something else so balance is key.

You can even use your magic to evolve the plants, animals and minerals but even that too will take some tinkering with and often you will have to get rid of something you’ve already made earlier. The giants powers are all affected by cooldown so that will factor in your strategy. Imagine all this and running at least two village at a time.

And again, them eyes.

Your giants will constantly be walking back and forth trying to please everyone and that’s the beauty of this game. Trying to find that right balance is very satisfying and if you develop too fast, villagers will get greedy and start attacking others. You have the option to destroy the villages with the giants’ amazing powers but it will ache your heart that the ones you’ve been trying to please got greedy just because you thought you were doing the ‘right’ thing.

You need all four giants to progress in this game, their powers and abilities complement each other and one can’t live without the other three. There will be some constant pausing for you to strategise and come up with a plan because you’re living on a timer (you start off with 30 minutes and will unlock the 60 and 120 minutes campaign as you play).

Sleeping on the job

There’s no ‘story’ here, no major goals or enemies to defeat. The people you’ve cherished and taken care of are your potential enemies. Reus‘ clever combination of puzzle solving using four unique ancient giants coupled with a great soundtrack and crisp, beautiful visuals makes this a must-play for god games aficionados or as well as everyone else on this bloody planet. It might not have a story in the most traditional sense but the narrative is controlled by you. Go get Reus now and experience delight when your villages prosper and disappointment when they start chucking spears at you in a short 30 minute span. And for you achievement buffs, there are those too; and they’re worked them into the game itself unlocking more developments and progress.

This weekend’s play-for-free title is MMORPG Defiance in addition to it being 30% off. Click here to start downloading it onto your Steam client.

• Sleeping Dogs – $12.49 (50% off)
• Strike Suit Zero – $9.99 (50% off)
• Strike Suit Infinity – $3.49 (50% off)
• Strike Suit Zero + Infinity + DLC + Artbook + Soundtrack – $19.99 (50% off)
• Unreal Gold + Unreal 2 Awakening + Unreal Tournament 3 + Unreal Tournament 2004 + Unreal Tournament GotY – $10.00 (75% off)
• Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams – $3.74 (75% off)
• Dungeonland – $4.99 (50% off)
• Rochard – $2.49 (75% off)
• Lords of Football – $19.99 (33% off)

A listing has popped up on Amazon Germany – which have been taken down of course – of Mirror’s Edge 2 for the Xbox 360.

Although the platform listed is for the 360, the box art is in the style of the new Xbox One which could mean it’s releasing for this generation and next. It is listed with a placeholder price of EUR 99.99 which is roughly $130.

“This is not official EA material. We have nothing to announce at this time,” said EA.

Source: Amazon Germany via IGN

Remember that next-gen Kinect shown at the Xbox One reveal? Microsoft have announced that Windows will be getting that version also, but you’ve got to wait until 2014.

A new Kinect of course means it has some nifty new features like its Time-of-Flight technology which promises more accuracy and precision. It also has a better field of view which is a good thing, so you don’t need to renovate an entire room just to use the device.

Source: Microsoft

Remedy Entertainment’s Alan Wake series shows up in the latest Humble Weekly sale.

Alan Wake and American Nightmare is available for Windows only and a minimum of $1 will net you Steam keys. Apart from getting DRM-free versions of both games, a bevy of bonus materials will be made available including exclusive videos, digital comic books, behind-the-scenes materials, Alan Wake screenplays and more.

In the announcement video below, Remedy creative director Sam Lake talks about Alan Wake and the Xbox One exclusive, Quantum Break. Definitely worth your six minutes.

Source: Humble Weekly

Version Tested: PC

Last Light, the sequel to 4A’s excellent Metro 2033 continues the tight-corridor post-apocalyptic while mutants tries to eat your face theme. Have they outdone themselves again and made new fans for Dmitry Glukhovsky’s world or have their lighter finally ran out of gas? Read on to find out.

Continuing directly from 2033, the people of Moscow are living below the surface while radiation and mutated creatures plague the surface. Protagonist Artyom is back and with mutants clawing at him and other post-apocalyptic human dwellers gunning for him, he will have his hands full.

The game features the same linear system of the original game with an NPC to guide you. This means, your NPC is the one driving the narrative. No going ahead on your own here but to wait for the NPC to trigger plot events. It is a good thing then that the NPCs are well crafted and are also pretty well acted out.

Those that found the original to be unforgiving can breathe a sigh of relief here. Artyom, with everything he went through previously is better at killing stuff now. Those that liked the way 2033 handled its combat might be a little disappointed with Last Light.

The post-apocalyptic theme have been done to death, a long time ago but Metro: Last Light still managed to impress me, it is definitely a visual spectacle. The best parts are definitely when you go up to the surface. Looking through gas-masks to scour the old ruins of Moscow, it was exquisite, highly detailed, eerily atmospheric and the threat of something detriment to your health lurking in the corner keeps you on your toes. It will suck you in.

Even the tunnels were a sight to behold on their own. Going through thick spider webs just gave this spine-tingling chill knowing something or someone might catch you without any warning. The moments where you get to see how the metro-dwellers live below the surface of a ruined Moscow shedding some light on their underground world. Life goes on after a nuclear blast and sex still sells.

There are a couple of problems to be found here. ‘Ranger Mode’, a higher difficulty level which also removes the HUD is day one DLC. Yeah, because everyone loves day one DLC.

Second, the combat balancing differs a great deal from the original that it might piss of some fans of 2033. The combat is easier and faster while stealth proves to be way more effective this time around. I don’t have a problem with that but fans might think differently.

I recommend Metro: Last Light if you have lots of extra cash lying around. If not, definitely keep this on your wishlist and wait for it to get a little cheaper so that you can get Ranger Mode without feeling too ripped off. The developers have done an incredible job to deliver an atmospheric and visually stunning shooter on par with its big budget older brothers. Especially incredible considering they work in really shitty conditions.

There will be no manual login, you can login with voice commands like “Xbox, On” and access features by saying things like “Watch TV”.

Snap mode allows you to use various features simultaneously like using Internet Explorer while watching a movie.

The Assassin’s Creed movie starring the awesome Michael Fassbender is slated for a May 22 release in 2015 according to Box Office Mojo.

It’s a movie about “a man who learns his ancestors were trained assassins after he is kidnapped by a secret org with ties to the Knights Templar, and sent back in time to retrieve historical artifacts,”

Let’s hope it doesn’t get screwed up. Well, at least Uwe Boll is nowhere near this so that’s a good start.

Source: Box Office Mojo

Recently, EA said that they are currently not developing any titles for the Wii U and that their annual franchises like FIFA and Madden will not be making an appearance on Nintendo’s home console.

A software engineer from EA Sports was caught badmouthing the Wii U in a series of now deleted tweets.

“The WiiU is crap.Less powerful than an XBOX360.Poor online/store.Weird tablet.Nintendo are walking dead at this point,” tweeted Bob Summerwill.

“Nintendo are still operating like it’s 1990.They should have “done a Sega” and offered Mario/Zelda as PS4/Durango exclusives.

“It is an utterly intentional decision to focus our resources on markets which actually matter … like mobile, and Gen4.

“One more . Nintendo platforms have always been very poor revenue-wise for third parties.Only Mario and Zelda make money.”

We wonder is he going to be another Adam Orth.

Source: GoNintendo

From now until the end of May, Amazon wants to take all your money. Whatever that’s leftover from Mother’s day anyways. There’s too many to list but here’s what we think is worth checking out:

• Bastion – $3.75 (75% off)
• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier Deluxe Edition – $11.89 (66% off)
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution Augmented Edition – $7.49 (75% off)
• Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition – $7.49 (75% off)
• Mass Effect 3 Digital Deluxe Version – $8.99 (70% off)
• Metro 2033 + Nail’d + Risen 2: Dark Waters + Risen 2 DLC + Risen – $17.49 (79% off)
• Civilization 5 Gold Edition + Civilization 4 Complete Edition + XCOM: Enemy Unknown – $19.99 (83% off)
• Borderlands GOTY + Duke Nukem Forever + The Darkness 2 – $9.99 (90% off)
• Bioshock + Bioshock 2 + Spec Ops: The Line – $9.99 (89% off)
• Bioshock + Bioshock 2 – $4.99 (89% off)
• Dead Space + Dead Space 2 – $7.99 (80% off)
• Battlefield 2 Complete Edition + Battlefield Bad Company 2 + Bad Company 2: Vietnam + Battlefield 3 – $19.99 (71% off)
• Dead Island GOTY + Saints Row 2 + Saints Row The Third: The Full Package + S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky – $17.49 (82% off)
• DEADLIGHT + Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet + Iron Brigade + Mark of the Ninja + Toy Soldiers – $9.99 (86% off)
• Fable: The Lost Chapters + Fable 3 + five Fable 3 DLCs – $9.99 (87% off)
• Bully: Scholarship Edition + GTA: San Andreas + GTA: Vice City + Max Payne 2: The Fall of Payne + Midnight Club 2 – $29.99 (50% off)
• Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY + Batman Arkham City GOTY – $11.49 (77% off)

Add some more games to your Steam library this weekend with discounts for Borderlands 2, Mass Effect 1 + 2; and its free-to-play title is Counter Strike: Global Offensive which you can install here.

• Borderlands: Game of the Year – $7.49 (75% off)
• Borderlands 2 – $13.59 (66% off)
• Mass Effect – $4.99 (75% off)
• Mass Effect 2 Digital Deluxe Edition – $9.99 (75% off)
• Mass Effect Collection – $14.99 (75% off)
• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – $7.49 (50% off)
• Hitman: Absolution – $12.49 (50% off)
• Postal 2 Complete – $3.74 (75% off)
• Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood – $2.49 (75% off)
• Retro City Rampage – $7.49 (50% off)
• BIT.TRIP Collection 2012 – $11.98 (75% off) (Individual games also on sale)

That changed today when the official Sony PlayStation 4 site was updated with some very big news.

Sony has let the cat out of the bag and has announced that the Sony PS Vita is going to have the capability to run Sony PS4 games completely remotely, on the go.

This means that if you have a Sony PS Vita and a Sony PS4, you will be able to run your PS4 games and play them wherever you are.

The Sony quote from the official site states, “Play your favorite PS4 games on your PlayStation Vita’s beautiful 5-inch display using Remote Play.”

Sony has yet to confirm if every single Sony PS4 game is going to support this feature, chances are that they will not.

The only game that has been confirmed to support the remote play thus far is Killzone Shadow Fall, as the game is featured in the image Sony now has of the PS4 game running on the PS Vita.

This is huge news as it really will give the Sony PS Vita new life, and give Vita owners a real reason to smile.  Playing Sony PS4 games on-the-go could open up a whole new world of possibilities for the console and handheld.

The Nintendo Wii U released just past fall to a lot of criticism due to its price tag, its slow performance from an operating system standpoint, and its weak launch line-up.

This built on throughout the holiday shopping season as the Nintendo Wii U never really managed to get any momentum going right up through the big shopping period.

Once the new year hit, the system has completely bottomed out, selling far less than even its predecessor, the Nintendo Wii.

To make matters worse, early adopters have been completely abandoned, with no real quality releases since launch outside of a port of Need for Speed Most Wanted, and Lego City Undercover.

Now, Electronic Arts has confirmed that they are completely pulling out of the Wii U scene.  They confirmed to Kotaku that “We have no games in development for the Wii U currently.”

This is a huge blow to NIntendo fans as this means that EA will not be bringing any of its huge franchises to the platform.  This is not good news considering the state the Nintendo Wii U is in.

Source: Kotaku

Online Passes, that little thing publishers do to earn some money from second-hand games sales is seeing one of its originators going away from the program.

EA has decided to kill its Online Pass program partially due to player feedback. “Yes, we’re discontinuing Online Pass,” EA senior director of corporate communications John Reseburg told VentureBeat. “None of our new EA titles will include that feature.

“Initially launched as an effort to package a full menu of online content and services, many players didn’t respond to the format. We’ve listened to the feedback and decided to do away with it moving forward.”

In a statement made to Kotaku, EA’s head spokesman Jeff Brown said, “We’re not talking about that layer of people who complain about a lot of stuff like paying for games and all that stuff, god bless them. It became pretty clear that mainstream consumers didn’t like them.”

Source: VentureBeat, Kotaku

Groupees’ Be Mine 8 bundle is now live with all but the last bonus activated.

Pay a minimum of $1 and get Patrician 4 – Steam Special Edition, Patrician 4 Rise of a Dynasty DLC, Slam Bolt Scrappers, Fairy Bloom Freesia, Paranautical Activity, RADical ROACH and three music bonuses.

A minimum of $5 will also net you Blood Bowl: Legendary Edition, Constant C and Drakensang with another two yet to be revealed titles.

The last bonus is the remake of the classic beat’em up, Karateka.

Source: Groupees

Super Metroid released for the Super Nintendo console back on April 18, 1993 and was met with critical acclaim.  Super Metroid was a long time coming as it was a game that took nearly two years to complete, a very long amount of time back then.

If you look at all of the review scores for Super Metroid, it has been consistently ranked as one of the greatest video games of all time.

The game was directed and written by none other than Yoshio Sakamoto, and produced by Makoto Kano.

Super Metroid follows Samus Aran who is on a mission to get back the Metroid, which had been stolen.

Nintendo has released Super Metroid as the fourth highly discounted game on the Nintendo Wii U Virtual Console.

Super Metroid follows the release of Kirby’s Adventure, Punch-Out!!! Featuring Mr. Dream, and F-Zero.

The game will be just 30 cents for a period of 30 days, until Yoshi releases on June 12th.

This follows the highly-successful launch of the full-blown Wii U Virtual Console, which hit the Wii U just last month.

Sony Computer Entertainment issued a press release today to announce that the sixth entry into the historic Gran Turismo franchise is coming to the Sony PS3.

The ultimate racing simulation franchise will be hitting store shelves this upcoming holiday shopping season.

Gran Turismo is celebrating its 15th anniversary, and this announcement was made to coincide with this big anniversary date for the franchise.

The Sony PS3 has been developed using a brand new racing engine that has been built from the ground up.

On top of that, the game is going to feature over 1,200 cars and over 70 different tracks for you to race on.

There is also going to be the ability to xpand upon the game via downloadable content, meaning you can buy more tracks and cars.

Gran Turismo 6 is expected to be on full display at E3 this year and will really turn heads.  Gran Turismo 5 sold over 10 million copies and was a massive success for Sony.  Gran Turismo 6 could topped that if the hype train continus.

To shoot or not to shoot, that is the question. This week sees the release of Metro: Last Light, you know, the sequel to that game that uses bullets as its currency. Free-to-play shooter Dust 514 as well as indie god game Reus joins the list to make this week not as sad as last week.

Metro: Last Light: The sequel to the excellent Metro 2033; Metro: Last Light – developed by 4A Games – is a post-apocalyptic first-person survival horror shooter set in Moscow. Humans now live beneath the ruins of Moscow and those exposed to the poison in the sky have mutated into unhealthy threats for the remaining survivors. A power struggle is also brewing that could result in a civil war, promising to wipe out whatever remains of human civilisation. It’s available for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.

Dust 514: A free-to-play online first-person shooter developed by CCP Games for the PlayStation 3 and is directly linked to EVE Online. Dust 514 will directly impact the EVE universe and will affect EVE Online. Characters can be customised and online battles will support up to 48 players. While the game will feature microtransactions, CCP has promised it’s not pay-to-win.

Reus: A god game by indie developers Abbey Games. It’s presented in a 2D art style unique for god games that are easy on the eyes. Manipulate your surroundings through the ancient giants you control but you are unable to control mankind however, only nature. Strike a balance so neither nature nor humans will overpower the other.

Other Releases:

• Sanctum 2 (PC)
• Star Wars Pinball (PSN)
• Manhunt (PSN)
• Anomaly 2 (PC/Mac)
• Borderlands 2 – Psycho Bandit Pack DLC (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
• Dishonored – The Void Walker’s Bundle (PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
• Metal Gear Rising – Blade Wolf DLC (Xbox 360)
• Bad Bots (PC)
• Thunder Wolves (PC)
• Mega Man 5 (Nintendo eShop)