Dive Kick
The game is called Dive Kick. It stars Dive and Kick. The only two buttons in the game are dive and kick. And it’s the most intense, satisfying, elegant fighting game I’ve ever played.
Seriously.
No, seriously.
On the surface, Dive Kick is a joke; Uncle Sensei is not
only a character, he’s the mentor of Dive and Kick. But right below the surface
is a very simple, but incredibly tense fighting game that will have you playing
for hours. Here’s how it works.
20 second rounds, one hit kills. The dive button will jump,
and pressing kick while in the air will send you on a diagonal path to the
ground. Kicking the ground will jump you away from your opponent. Each
character has a special which does seemingly minor things, but in a game of two
buttons, they are quite powerful. And that’s really it, other than a few
boosters. Here’s a quick video showing off how it’s played, though it should be noted this was the first build of the game and the upcoming release will look far better:
Now I know. I know. It looks like a joke. But it’s not. It,
no sarcasm intended, is one of the best fighting games I’ve ever played. There
are fighting game pros who figure out some strange priority combo that can
reduce their opponent’s health by half if they land the first blow and send
them into a combo for 10 seconds, not knowing exactly what’s happening. In Dive
Kick, there’s never a time in which you’re not in control of your player, and
you always know what your opponent can do. There’s no secret moves, no weird
combos nobody knows about. If you lost, it’s your fault. There’s no mystery to
winning or losing and it’s wonderful.
Dive Kick is the game I’m most excited about from PAX
East. It’s a chance to meet minds with
someone on an even playing field where nothing is secret and all cards are on
the table. This truly is the most well-balanced and intense fighting game
experience I’ve ever had and it’s coming from a title that everyone thinks is a
joke. The dichotomy of this game is just the best.
I got to interview Adam, the creator of Dive Kick, and he’s
just as excited about this game as I am. Listen to the full interview here.
Release Date: Spring
2013 (so close!)
Platform: PS3, Vita,
PC
Elder Scrolls Online
If you’re anything like me, the prospect of an online Elder Scrolls game both excites and worries you. Will it be more like Elder Scrolls? Will it be more like an MMO?
Well, it’s both, but unfortunately, it’s more MMO than
anything. Don’t get me wrong, the environments are strictly Tamriel. From
looking at any of the scenery, you can just tell it’s an Elder Scrolls game.
The MMO part comes with most everything else. The number-key skills system, the
third person over-the-shoulder camera, the “kill four boars” quests: all mostly
MMO staples. That’s not a bad thing, necessarily. Tons of people love MMOs, and
if you do, you’ll probably love this game. Even better if you’re a fan of both
ES and MMOs – then you’re in heaven or wherever Talos is. The problem is when
you’re expecting something like Skyrim but online. This game simply is not that
and I don’t see that changing over the development cycle of this game.
Some interesting things to note about this game are that you
and your friends can be in the same area staring at the same city and depending
on your choices in your game, the two can look completely different. Maybe you
chose to let the city burn instead of save it. If that’s the case, you’ll see
the town in shambles, whereas they’ll see the town as being fine. That means
that no matter what level or what part of the game your friends are at, you can
join up with them and that adds a level of accessibility needed in MMOs for
playing easily with others.
So if you’re looking for a new Elder Scrolls game, but not a
new MMO, you might want to skip this one. Though it’s still going to be
interesting to check out and see how it evolves, I wouldn’t expect it to be
replacing your Skyrim time anytime soon. But if you’re ready to see Tamriel
through a completely different perspective in all its HD-rendered glory and you
like MMOs, this game is going to be a godsend.
Release date: Mid to
late 2013
Platforms: PC and MAC
Heroes and Generals
Free-to-play WWII FPS games up your alley? What about if you could also use strategy to influence a huge war taking place in real time across the world? Then Heroes and Generals is for you.
You start off by picking a side on the war, Axis or Allies,
and then you’re presented with a map of the war. Each side is fighting for
control over land and in order to win that land, control points within each
sector must be taken by one team or another. To do this, players must send
their resources to each town. If they are met with enemy opposition, combat
breaks out and the FPS part of the game comes in to play. You can spawn in one
of many companies depending on what resources have been sent to each battle. If
no vehicles have been sent, you’ll be hoofing it. Or maybe using a bicycle.
That was radical.
You can spawn as different classes with different weapons
depending on what style you like. As you face off against the enemy for
control, you have to gain control of control points. When the battle is done,
the frontline of the battle is redrawn to give that territory to the victor.
And the maps are huge. The wars last not on the order of
hours or even days, but weeks. As one group of players goes to sleep, another
is just waking up and starting to push the frontline. It’s incredible to watch
these things go.
The only bad thing about this game is that you have to
unlock almost everything and if you want to unlock it sooner, you need to pay.
It’s definitely a microtransaction game and that starts off with a bad taste in
my mouth. Only time will tell whether it’s Pay-To Win, but at the moment it
seems fairly balanced. Also, the FPS controls are a little weird and kind of
stiff. Think Call of Duty 2 but prettier.
Overall not bad, definitely an interesting experience. And
you can’t beat free!
Release date: No date
yet, but it’s in open beta
Platforms: PC
And that’s PAX East 2013 in a bag. The titles from both
indie developers and AAA publishers alike came together to wash over the gamer
masses with a deluge of goosebumps and excited squees. Oddly, the games I’m
most excited about are indie titles with Dive Kick and Transistor leading the
pack. Though Watch_Dogs, Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix, and Saints Row IV are all
highly anticipated titles and high up on my priority list, it was the indie
developers that really caught my eye. What’s that? You want a top 5 list of
games I’m most excited about from this PAX East? Oh, you don’t? Too bad, here
it is anyway:
- Transistor
- Dive Kick
- Watch_Dogs
- Rain-Slick 4
- Heroes and Generals
The future is looking pretty bright for gamers. Or dark but
lit by the warm, familiar glow of a TV screen/monitor. Either really.
