Created by Chilean developer ACE team (Zeno Clash) Abyss Odyssey is a mix of Metroidvania, Roguelike, and 2D-brawler gameplay. While the game is a bit light on content, the art style and concepts will keep players hooked for the game’s short length.
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Hate Plus is the sequel to 2012’s Analog: A Hate Story. In that visual novel, players learned the terrible truth of the derelict space ship, the Mugunghwa, and what happened to its inhabitants. All that remained of the ship and its culture were it’s two A.Is, and it was up to players to piece together the events that led to the disaster that claimed the lives of its passengers. However, upon reading the log files, it was clear that the culture and society on the ship had regressed to feudal levels and traditions, where ruling families held all the power and women were treated as second class citizens. Hate Plus, beginning only a few moments after Analog ends, tells the story of the events leading up to ‘year zero’, the point when society regressed to the form seen in Analog. It’s an even more heartbreaking and gripping tale than Analog, and it will suck you right in provided you are prepared to do a lot of reading.
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Bioshock is the third (and likely final) entry in 2K/Irrational’s genre-bending FPS series. Infinite leaves the sunken dystopia of Rapture behind for the beautiful sky-island of Columbia. Players take control of former Pinkerton agent turned Private investigator Booker Dewitt as he infiltrates the island in search of a young woman with mysterious abilities. Of course the mission is anything but easy, as the island’s inhabitants and ruler Comstock exhibit the worst of early 20th century racism, sexism, and xenophobia. That’s not even mentioning the civil war taking place on the island and the nightmarish human/robotic amalgamations you’ll be doing battle with.
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Well, everyone’s favorite gun-toting raccoon and living tree are among Marvel’s newest (and most obscure) movie stars as of this weekend in Guardians of the Galaxy, and earlier this summer, everyone’s favorite mutants returned to the silver screen in X-men Days of Future Past, and what good would any movie be without the prerequisite tie-in games? Of course unlike recent movie tie in games, such as the Gameloft-Cashgrab mobile games based on Captain America 2 and Spider-Man 2, these games have no in-app purchases (it’s a rather biting commentary on mobile gaming when we’re praising games for NOT having any IAP, but I digress). The games themselves aren’t bad either.
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Remember when the Spec Ops series was just a poor man’s Delta Force/Rainbow Six? Ever since its 1998 debut, it was little more than a series of fairly solid, if forgettable, budget-priced Playstation, PC, and Dreamcast tactical military shooter games. That all changed with 2012’s Spec Ops: The Line, which was the first game in the series since 2002’s Spec Ops: Airborne Commando. You would be forgiven for dismissing it as another Call of Duty-esque military blastfest, however, if you do, you’d be missing out on one of the smartest games of this past console generation. While on the surface it’s no different from other cover-based military shooters on the market, Spec Ops is a deconstruction of the military shooter genre, a commentary of violence in video games, a look at the effects of PTSD on soldiers, and even a take on American interventionist policy.
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Halo Spartan Assault is a top down shooter that takes place between Halo 3 and 4. Taking control of either solder Sarah Palmer or Spartan Davis, you fight back against a rogue sect of the Covenant that ignored the cease fire from Halo 3. Fighting through 25 single player missions, Spartan Assault contains all the action and weapons that Halo is famous for from an all new perspective. The controls are easy to get used to, and all your favorite weapons, vesicles, and enemies are here as well. Seeing as how this was originally a mobile game, it unfortunately contains micro-transactions. Thankfully, it isn’t pay-to-win. A recent update adds new missions, new achievements, and the ability to use XP to buy certain weapons rather than currency. Spartan Assault may not be a killer app for the Windows Phone, but Halo fans will love it, and it will tide them over until Master Chief’s newest adventure hits in 2015. BTW, if you have an Xbox One and a Gold membership, you have until the end of today to download this for free.

Like Street Fighter IV two years prior, Mortal Kombat 9 (simply called Mortal Kombat) serves as a revival of everything players loved about the series even as it attracts a new generation of players. Although Midway has long since been dead as a gaming company, the original developers, under the name Netherrealm Studios, haven’t lost a beat as the most recent entry, Komplete with all the DLC characters, walks a fine line between revamped sequel and reboot.
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This spiritual successor to the Japan only Namco X Capcom brings together characters from 3 different companies to do battle in Strategy Rpg Greatness. An ancient treasure has been stolen, causing rifts between worlds, bringing together characters from several different franchises. However, the storyline is all just an excuse to bring over characters from various Sega, Namco, and Capcom franchises. It’s not just popular franchises like Street Fighter, Resident Evil, and Tekken either (although those are included) but there are characters from God Eater, Sega’s Shining Force, Sakura Wars, and even Dynamite Cop to name a few. Since you’ll probably be unfamiliar with most of the characters you’ll encounter, the in-game Crosspedia tells you everything you need to know about whoever shows up. Characters are grouped together in teams of two, with some teams containing an optional support character. When you engage an enemy in battle, it’s a side scrolling fighting game style battle sequence when you try to do as much damage to the enemy as possible before using up all your moves. You can even call in a nearby team and support character for assistance. The game is incredibly casual, as a character’s turn doesn’t end until you end their turn manually or they engage an enemy. You can move freely within your characters allowed move area, and use items as many times as you want. If a character is knocked out, reviving them is as simple as going next to them and saving them. During the game, you’ll hear tunes from each of the games represented, and you’ll travel to somewhat familiar locations. While the storyline doesn’t make any sense at times, you’ll have to much fun with the characters to care. Fans of strategy RPG games will want to pick this game up, and if you’re familiar with any of the characters represented, you’ll enjoy the game even more.