New PC games bring golfing worms and garbage dump heroes

By Peter Muench Feb 5, 2012, 3:06 GMT

Hamburg - PC players will have a choice in February between their old favourites and a host of new heroes as they decide whether to embark on an action adventure, a strategy game or a round of golf involving exploding sheep.

Lovers of tactical missions can look forward to Renegade X: Black Dawn or Jagged Alliance: Back in Action, while serious adventurers can focus on the Lost Chronicles of Zerzura, set during the Inquisition. Or, if you like your games sporty with a little silliness, wait for the return of the world's strangest worms in Worms Crazy Golf.

In Deponia, from Daedelic Entertainment, players are taken to unknown planets in a faraway galaxy. Done in comic style, it focuses on Rufus, who lives in a garbage dump. Always ill-tempered, he dreams of a better life in a city above the clouds. His life is thrown upside down when he meets Goal, who comes from that city and mistakenly lands in the dump.

Deponia's developers have promised a game with unexpected twists and turns, during which players have to solve multiple puzzles. The game's numerous unique characters are all hand-drawn. Recommended for players aged 6 and up, it sells for about 29 euros (38 dollars).

Also with a fair share of humour, Worms Crazy Golf from Rondomedia sees the crazy worms returning. However, this time, the worms aren't attacking each other: they're playing golf.

Players have to pick the right swing and can influence the arc of the ball with implements like parachutes. Exploding sheep and thieving moles add some challenges to the three different courses, each with 18 holes. A multi-player mode allows several players to attempt the same hole one after another. Worms Crazy Gold costs 15 euros and is recommended for players starting at age 6.

Renegade X: Black Dawn has an unlikely development cycle behind it. Developed by fans as a successor to the shooting game C&C: Renegade, from Totem Arts, it was then released as a modification of Unreal Tournament 3 and is now available as a free download.

Many of the familiar elements of the Command & Conquer series can still be recognized, with the battle for Tiberium still central. This time, the player doesn't lead his troops from a bird's eye perspective, but steps into the skin of the elite commando Havoc, experiencing Havoc's perspective as he runs or pilots vehicles through the battlefield.

The fans who developed the game were trying to merge shooter and tactical elements. For now, Renegade X: Black Dawn is only available as a single-player game, though a multi-player version is expected later in the year. It's available at www.renegade-x.com.

Unlike Renegade X, the adventure The Lost Chronicles of Zerzura from dtp Entertainment isn't set upon a futuristic battlefield, but in 16th century Barcelona.

The puzzle game focuses on two brothers, Ramon and Feodor, and the mysterious oasis city of Zerzura in the Nile Valley. Across 50 scenes, the players meet more than 50 characters during the course of the game, solving puzzles the whole way. The hand-drawn backgrounds help enhance the mood. Adventure fans know the game's developers from their previous release, Black Mirror III. Zerzura is recommended for players aged 16 and up. It's out now and costs about 34 euros.

Distant banana republics, tough mercenaries and tactical shoot-outs - that's the stuff of Jagged Alliance: Back in Action. From bitComposer Games, the game will hit shelves with its mix of tactics, strategy and action on February 9.

Unlike its predecessors, the game is no longer round-based, but runs in real-time. If people want to stop and catch their breath, there's also a Plan&Go mode that lets players stop the fighting and plan the moves of individual players into the future, laying out complex tactical manoeuvres.