Tech News
Snow acrobatics, street football and monsters: new console games
By Christoph Lippok Mar 4, 2012, 3:26 GMT
Berlin - One advantage of computer gaming: you're not tied to the seasons. Thus, this season, gamers can look forward both to snowboarding and football thrills with new editions of SSX and Fifa Street, pulling one season up a little bit and stretching the other out a bit longer.
Another bonus: if you wait long enough, your favourites will eventually appear together. That means fans can also finally expect to see the fighters from Street Fighter and Tekken face off against one another.
And those aren't the only options, with Mario Party 9 expected for family gaming fun and the eighth version of Silent Hill for fans of horror games.
After a long pause, Electronic Arts is bringing out a new version of its snowboarding game, SSX. For the first time, players are no longer required to keep their break-neck adventures on set paths. The game's various mountain landscapes were crafted with the help of satellite images and the US space agency NASA.
There are many new challenges, like the Survive It mode, in which snowboarders are pitted against Mother Nature, who pelts them with avalanches, snowstorms and other natural threats.
The SSX series has traditionally had little basis in reality. Laws of physics are routinely set aside here. But the system for performing tricks has been reworked to make it easier for beginners to pull off flips and spins. SSX is available for the Playstation 3 and XBox 360, costing 60 euros (80 dollars).
Fifa Street displays a little more realism as a sports simulator. But this game isn't just about the results, but also showmanship. Daring kicks and dribbling are part of the game. Players can choose between 35 playing fields, including dusty courtyards and proper arenas, where they can opt to play futsal, a variant of football.
A career mode allows solo players to enjoy the game for longer, but multiple player games are also available, either in person or via the internet. Thanks to original player licensing, well-known players from various professional and national teams can be called up. Fifa Street will be released on March 15 for the Playstation 3 and XBox 360, costing 65 euros for each.
Street Fighter X Tekken allows fans of two popular fighting games to finally have a go at each other as it brings together two fairly different fighting systems.
Technically, the game is based on the engine of Street Fighter IV. As has been the case in past versions, fighting is conducted by two-man teams, meaning switching back and forth between the characters is part of a successful strategy.
There will be multiple game modes for both online and offline playing. It also comes with a Gem system, which will allow players to create their own characters. Street Fighter X Tekken is set for a March 9 release for the Playstation 3 and XBox 360 and will cost about 55 euros.
Mario Party 9 represents the next collection of mini games for the Wii. Up to four players can compete. The winner will be the one who collects the most stars.
That means Mario, Dasiy, Yoshi, Bowser and other Nintendo favourites will have to travel by car through another colourful world. A different character takes the wheel for each level, which determines which challenges lie ahead.
The whole thing is set up like a board game. There are mini-games that let players compete against one another. Others require an individual to take on a team of three. Yet other versions rely on cooperation between all players. Packed with seven board game scenarios and more than 80 mini-games, Mario Party 9 will cost about 45 euros.
Silent Hill Downpour from Konami goes in a completely different direction. Released simultaneously with the Silent Hill HD Collection, which brings together parts two and three of the series, the new game hits shelves on March 15. The eighth part of the series is full of violence and shocking scenes, meaning young players or those of a delicate disposition had best avoid it.
Murphy Pendleton, the hero, starts out as a prisoner who escapes from a doomed prison transport and finds himself stranded in the city of Silent Hill. As he walks the city's misty ways, he is repeatedly forced on horror trips as he is confronted by his past. He encounters various horrible creatures and has to figure out several difficult puzzles.
