ONE OF the biggest Kinect games of the year comes from LucasArts, and invites fans to race, fight and rampage their way through iconic Star Warslandscapes.
There are five different gameplay modes, with players able to smash buildings as a Rancor monster, take part in lightsaber fights, pilot pod racers across iconic Star Wars locations and, erm, dance with their favourite characters.
“It is a game for anybody that is a Star Wars fan. It’s not The Old Republic, it’s not a game for core gamers. It is for people who want to jump in and feel what it is like to be
XBOX LIVE ARCADE
AWAY FROM retail, there’s a ton of unique IP coming to Xbox 360 over XBLA.
Diabolical Pitchand Wreckateer are two titles that use Kinect. The first asks users to throw baseballs at zombies in a carnival to save a girl. It’s due out April 4th. Meanwhile, the latter challenges
players to detroy 60 goblin- infested castles by using a magical ballista. For the more adult fans, there’s the side-scrolling horror platformer Deadlight, which is a narrative- driven game set in a post- apocalypic 1980s that has been devastated by a zombie epidemic.
There also a violent hack and
slash title named Bloodforge, which mixes melee, ranged and magical attacks.
The final new IP on the list is first person puzzler Quantum Conundrumby Square Enix, which has been created by Portalco- creator Kim Swift.
a Jedi or a Rancor,” says senior product manager Glenn Gregory. “It is also a great experience for people who love Star Warswho want to share it with their families.” “In the Star Warsuniverse there is a lot of physical stuff happening. When you look at the Jedi in Episode 1, or how Luke does combat in Episode 6, they are not just waving their wrists around. There’s full body combat. Sure there are lightsabers but they are also using force powers and being acrobatic. And using the full body to recreate that experience is a really fun thing to do with Kinect.”
Released: 2012
But there are some big sequels and brands coming to Xbox Live Arcade, as well as Fable Heroes (see below). There’s the Xbox version of hit PC game Minecraft, plus Trials Evolution, Joe Danger: The Movie, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Tony Hawk HDand South Park: Tenorman’s Revenge.
Released: April 3rd, 2012
NEW FABLE GAMES
FABLE returns in two different takes on the series. Fable: The Journeyis a Kinect RPG with fans travelling around the land of Albion via horse and cart.
This title is a full retail game and will be the last title in the series by series creator and legendary games developer Peter Molyneux. The second game is Fable Heroes (pictured right), a new four-player XBLA game. The title plays a bit like a side-scrolling Gauntletand will target a wider audience than your usual Fable.
It arrives shortly before The Journeyand players will be able to connect the two games.
“I have no doubt in my mind that anyone who has loved Fableis going to enjoy Heroes,” says Ted Timmins, lead designer at Lionhead Studios. “Also, if there is anyone out there who has got young kids and felt previous Fableswere a too adult for them, they can play this. We’ve added a family mode that means that rather than competing, you all share one score. You can play it with your boyfriend, girlfriend, mum, dad. They don’t have to feel they are the best in the world. But at the same time we have hard mode, where you will be punished and taken to an inch of your life. We have tried to cover as much as possible.”