Welcome to Gamescape, our new regular games blog, created to gather the week’s greatest games releases and the latest industry news and gossip.
Set immediately following the events of the movie, which no one has seen yet so we won’t reveal too much, The Amazing Spider-Man video game is now available to buy or rent for your Xbox, PS3, DS and 3DS, in store and online from blockbuster.co.uk. Players take the mantle as web-slinger Spidey as he sweeps Manhattan free of hordes of genetically spliced mutants, among them the likes of Rhino and Scorpion, as well as legions of pesky Oscorp robots that likewise need to be taught a lesson.
The feature that made us immediately fall in love with this grand, good-looking game is that it delivers unto us the awesome open world of New York City as only a Spidey game can, racing up buildings and swinging from mighty web strands as we see fit. What’s more, as the game camera sticks intimately close to Mr Peter Parker every step, jump and swing of the way, we get to experience the vertiginous thrills from the ever-changing perspective of the wall crawling wunderkind.
Beyond which, the game features a cracking new mechanic called Web Rush, where at any stage in your travels or combat, the camera zooms to a first person view. Use this to strategically choose your destination and the game will automatically guide you with a stunning display of acrobatics. Use it in combat, and either stealthily or with full-on force, the game sends you hurtling right the middle of the action. To our minds, The Amazing-Spider Man is the best Spidey game we’ve seen in years and even compares favourably to all-time 2004 classic Spider-Man 2.
Elsewhere in the gaming universe, last week saw the release of fellow superhero effort, LEGO Batman 2: DC Superheroes. This time around, Lex Luthor and The Joker have joined forces to take down the Dark Knight and fellow do-gooder Superman. Two features new to LEGO gaming stand out, the first of which is that players get to explore Gotham City as an open world, the second being the long-overdue addition of a voice cast.
How great it is that the mumbles of the past have now been replaced by little LEGO folk screaming to be saved while the heroes and villains of the game trade quips as well as punches. Featuring a full roster of characters including the entire Justice League as well as many of their respective arch enemies, LEGO Batman 2: DC Superheroes is lively, enthusiastic and rip-roaring fun. Buy or rent it now on all your favourite formats, in store and online from blockbuster.co.uk.
Also available in stores and online is Spec Ops: The Line, a third-person shooter set in a modern Dubai ravaged by sand and war. Set six months after a colossal sandstorm decimates the great city, the game sees American soldiers helping survivors evacuate the chaos. With Dubai all but buried beneath the desert, a mysterious radio signal catches the ear of a Delta Force Team whose mission is to infiltrate the city and find the source. Needless to say, they discover far more than they ever expected, battling for control of the city with well-armed, evil forces. Built with a game engine that makes make the terrain both unpredictable and hazardous as sandstorms continue to rock the city, the game delivers fire fights that are both visually stunning and interesting to play.
That lot should keep you busy for a while. On the news front, SEGA recently announced that their game Anarchy Reigns, which will soon be released across Asia, will not be available in the West until next year. Although the game’s developers deny knowledge of this development, insisting it’s ready for a worldwide roll out, we’re just going to be patient and wait a while longer for this promising beat ‘em up.
