All Articles: PAX East 2011
Toy Soldiers recruit the Real American Hero
Toy Soldiers went marching home on the Xbox Live Arcade last March. Today, Signal Studios announced that the game will be all it can be on the PC this Summer as well as revealed an Xbox Live Arcade sequel, Toy Soldiers: Cold War.
As you may have guessed from the logo, Toy Soldiers: Cold War has been inspired by The Real American Hero, G.I. Joe. While the fight won’t involve laser rifles and a centuries old cult of snake worshipping mutants, the game will definitely harken back to Saturday morning fun for a lot of Xbox 360 owners:
The Cold War ignites when ‘80s era action toys come alive and wage war! Toy Soldiers: Cold War delivers hours of intense combat combined with addictive action strategy gameplay. Superpowers collide in this playful homage to ’80s action toys and films. Command the powerful Cold War arsenals of the USA or USSR armies! Control base turrets, modern combat vehicles, fighter jets, attack helicopters, and commando action figures. Whether lighting up the Toy Box alone or jumping into the fray with your friends, battle in campaign, co-op, or competitive modes. Fight for the high score in the addictive mini-games, and while you’re at it, don’t forget to BLOW EVERYTHING UP!
Toy Soldiers: Cold War doen’t have a release date yet, but Signal plans to bring a playable build of the game to this weekend’s PAX East.
If you can’t make it down to the show, hit the jump for a look at the first trailer and a Toy Soldiers: Cold War feature list. (more…)
The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile slicing up XBLA April 6, first demo at PAX East
The sequel to Ska Studio’s 2009 sidescroller hit will be coming on April 6 when The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile releases for Xbox Live Arcade. With 13 campaign levels, 50 challenge levels, and stereoscopic 3D, this game is a pretty good deal at 800 MS Points.
The full game will also be available at PAX East this weekend in Boston, featuring the entire game’s campaign, co-op, and arcade modes to check out. You’ll be able to find Ska Studios at booth 607 in the Expo Hall.
BioShock Infinite’s ‘Columbia’ to be detailed at PAX East
Ah, PAX. It’s so close! But announcements like these make it seem so far away. The first public discussion of BioShock Infinite will be taking place this Friday from 5-6 PM in the Manticore Theatre at this year’s Penny Arcade Expo (East). Irrational Games’ Creative Director Ken Levine, Art Director Nate Wells, Lead Artist Shawn Robertson, and Senior Effects Artist Stephen Alexander will sit down to discuss the highly imaginative setting for Bioshock Infinite, the floating city of Columbia. The team will be spilling the beans on the creative process, how they arrived at a floating city, and inspirations for the game. I’d imagine they’d be taking questions as well.
If you want to be heard, be sure to line up early as this one’s expected to fill up almost immediately. You can also stop by the Irrational Games booth in the north lobby of the convention center (they might just mean near the 2K section, which is 950 and 936 at the Expo Hall) to get yourself some free swag, talk to the devs, and get them to sign your stuff. From 10-11:45am on all three days you can enter a raffle to win one of three splicer masks. It’s certainly going to be a special event, but if you ask me, floating cities are so 90’s Final Fantasy.
Fallen Frontier blazes a trail to PAX East
Moonshot Games was founded by three former members of Bungie back in 2009 and since then they’ve been hard at work on Fallen Frontier. Now, they’re ready to show off their side-scrolling shooter with a new trailer and a playable demo at this weekend’s PAX East event.
Using cartoonish characters against realistic backgrounds, Fallen Frontier looks a little like a cross between Contra and Bionic Commando. Not only does it resemble the classics of yesteryear, but the game checks all the boxes with two-player co-op and a wide variety of weapons.
Moonshot calls Fallen Frontier “an engaging film noir style mystery” about a jaded lawman travelling across the stars to seek vengeance. While it doesn’t have a release date or even confirmation of what platforms it’ll land on (though Xbox 360 button prompts are seen in the trailer), I’m very excited.
Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Kid Icarus playable at PAX East
The launch of the 3DS is less than three weeks away and Nintendo plans to woo the public with some big playable demos at this weekend’s PAX East event. The console maker plans to showcase playable demo stations for six launch day titles:
- Dead or Alive Dimensions
- Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
- Nintendogs + Cats
- Pilotwings Resort
- Steel Diver
- Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition
That lineup is great and all, but Nintendo is also pulling out the big guns with playable versions of Kid Icarus: Uprising, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D and Capcom’s Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D.
If you’re in the Boston area, I’d suggest getting in line now.
Skullgirls tearing up PS3 and Xbox 360 this summer
If you’re a self-proclaimed “geeka” down with The Mary Sue site Senior Editor Nicole Kline mentioned in today’s Daily Scoop (or just a fan of arcade titles), you might want to keep an eye out on a new PSN/XBLA downloadable game. Autumn Games and Reverge Labs today announced Skullgirls, a 2D fighter with a brilliant comic-esque, “Dark Deco” art style. Players choose from eight deadly chicks to take on a series of opponents in order to claim the Skull Heart and become known as the Skullgirl (misleading title, there can be only one!). With contributions by comic artist Alex Ahad and tournament champion Mike Z Zaimont, the game has a variety of single and multiplayer modes, and even includes YouTube and Facebook support to allowing you to instantly upload your exploits and claim bragging rights.
The game certainly looks insane, with some great features to boot. Skullgirls will be available this summer on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and you can expect some more details soon (or you can check it out on the PAX East show floor).
Robot Entertainment announces first original game, declares ‘Orcs Must Die!’
Many of you may recognize Robot Entertainment as formerly Ensemble Studios, creators of Halo Wars and the legendary RTS series Age of Empires. They’re still supporting those titles, but today have announced their first new IP, Orcs Must Die! As you may have guessed from the title, this game invites you to slaughter as many of the green fiends as you can. The game combines elements of tower defense and action games, as you set traps to wipe out oncoming waves, or jump into the action yourself.
“Robot exists to make great games that our fans love. Orcs Must Die! is our first original title, and we’re counting on players to do what must be done: drive the orcs into oblivion!” demanded Robot CEO Patrick Hudson.
Orcs Must Die! will be showcased at PAX East in Boston from March 11 to 13, so expect more information here on Warp Zoned. The game is scheduled for a summer downloadable release on PC and consoles.
Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon buzzes into stores July 5
15 years ago Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum used a Mac to take down an alien invasion in Independence Day. This year, D3 Publisher will be asking gamers to take down another extraterrestrial threat during our nation’s birthday as Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon has been given a July 5th release date on the PS3 and Xbox 360.
While that doesn’t quite fall within the previously announced “Spring 2011” release window, gamers in the Boston area will get to take up arms with the EDF very soon. D3 Publisher is bringing a playable demo of the game to PAX East, which is scheduled for March 11th through the 13th.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to stock up on Raid.