Remedy has recently announced that they are pulling down Alan Wake from Xbox Live, Steam, and all other digital stormfronts and recalling it from storeshelves on Monday May 15 due to licensing issues. If you played the game you already know the game contains music from David Bowe, Depeche Mode, and Old Gods of Asgard (Poets of the Fall). Because music is such an integral part to the experience, Remedy can’t simply remove the songs from the game. Remedy is looking into re-licensing the songs, however it’s unknown when of if it will be possible. If you haven’t played this classic yet, Steam has it, its DLC, and the side game American Nightmare on sale with the entire collection available for $4. It should be noted that this does not affect American Nightmare, as it will still remain on the storefront. Also, if you already own the digital copy of the game, be it on Steam or Xbox Live, you can still download it after next Monday. If you haven’t played this game, now is the perfect time to do so. It’s a highly underrated game that didn’t get the attention that it deserved.

Are you sick of sim heavy games like WWE 2k and Fire Pro? Are you wishing for a return to the simple, yet fun era of wrestling games? Do you still play on your N64 emulator? Well, check out Pro Wrestling X, a title that has been in development for over a decade, and is now on Steam early access, meaning that while you can purchase the game, It’s not complete, but you can submit feedback and suggestions on the game’s development. More often No Mercy than not, developers abuse this practice to ship half-assed games they have no intention of completing. However, Wrestling Gamers United, PWX’s developer is dedicated to delivering their game, informing fans of new updates almost on a weekly basis. As for the game itself, it looks impressive so far. Although animations are lacking, the characters are large and well detailed, and there is a nice variety of moves available along with a rudimentary create-a-wrestler. Hopefully it won’t be much longer before this leaves early access.

I’m sure many of us remember those Saturday Afternoon Kung-fu flicks. It’s difficult to look at films like Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon, Dance of the Drunk Mantis, and Five FIngers of Death and not see the inspiration for modern day fighters such as Tekken and Mortal Kombat. Hell, look at Fei Long and all the other Bruce Lee look-alikes you see in various fighters. Kings of Kung Fu and Shaolin vs Wu-Tang is a pair of fighters from jae Lee productions that pay tribute to these old movies. For a pair of independently developed fighting games, these aren’t half bad.
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Ever since the end of the 16 bit era, Sega has been making it’s back catalog of Sega Genesis titles in any way they can, starting with the Sega Smash Pack on Dreamcast, compilations on PS2, Xbox 360, and PS3, re-releases on digital platforms such as android, iOS, and Xbox Live, and more recently Steam. Speaking of Steam, the genesis re-leases were simply bundles of titles with not much of an interface. It was pretty lacking compared to say, Sonic’s Mega Genesis Collection. However, this changed as of a few weeks ago thanks to D3 entertainment. If you own any of Steam’s Sega Genesis games (which include everything from Comix Zone and Streets of Rage to Eternal Champions and Crackdown), you now have access to SEGA Genesis & Mega Drive Classics collection. Upon firing it up, you’ll find yourself in a 3-D room full of 90s Genesis memorabilia, including a couple of issues of Sonic’s comic book. You can adjust any of the options and launch a title by picking it off your shelf. The room’s day and night cycle is controlled by your clock. Not to shabby. However the real treat is that SGMDC now supports the Steam Workshop, Steam’s mod database. That’s right, now you can legally romhack Genesis games. You’ll find everything on the workshop from versions of Sonic featuring Mario and Kirby, Japanese versions of certain games, and what may very well be the greatest Sega mod of all time, “Streets of Rage II except enemies make weird Tim Allen noises when they die”. There is already a selection of Sega games on Steam right now, hopefully this means we’ll see more. Maybe even some Sega CD games, or even Sega Saturn titles!

Several games in the recent past have used Africa as a backdrop. Far Cry 2 had you stepping in a war between 2 warring African powers, Far Cry 3 had you trying to escape an island near Africa that was ran by a homicidal cartel of human traffickers, Resident Evil 5 had you gunning down infected villagers in war torn shanty towns, while Call of Duty (along with other military FPS games) had you gunning down enemy insurgents in similarly war-torn villages. All of these games of course have something in common; you’re basically the one-man army out to kill every bad guy in sight in decrepit war-torn lands. Then again there are Cabela’s hunting games, but who plays any of those? Africa has a rich mythological and spiritual history that makes it ripe for gaming. Not only that, the continent itself has a vibrant gaming scene full of young and hungry developers eager to make their mark upon the world. Kiro’o Games, one of these developers, has tapped into Africa’s rich culture with its debut action rpg, Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan.
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Spooky’s House of Jump Scares is a freely available horror game available on Steam. At first, it seems cute, almost like Eversion. You’ll wander the first few floors, encountering cardboard cutouts. However, like Eversion, it uses its own charm to turn things on it’s head. You’ll find yourself being chased by freaky and disturbing enemies, and without a way to defend yourself, all you can do is run through the floors as fast as possible. If you get caught, you’ll witness some very disturbing visuals. You’ll encounter the floor designs over and over in the game, making the game somewhat repetitive. However, this design quirk helps players memorize the rooms quickly. The game turns into pure nightmare fuel in short order. The game is free, but for $5, you can purchase the Karamari Hospital DLC, which adds even more disturbing levels to the game. If Five Nights at Freddy’s is too soft for you, you’ll want to check this out. Подготовка участка к зиме

Created and narrated by David Werden, who also created The Stanley Parable, The Beginner’s Guide is yet another entry whose unique form of storytelling takes precedence over any gameplay. However, the game takes a different approach to storytelling than the Stanley Parable did, and it also takes a different tone to boot. The Beginner’s Guide clearly isn’t meant for everyone, but those who approach it with an open mind will find a whole new experience. Narrated by Dave, The Beginner’s Guide is a collection of games created by a friend of his named Coda. Many of the games are seemingly incomplete and broken, and it was clear that they were never meant to be released to the public. So why did Dave release these games? Is he trying to learn more about his friend, or is there a deeper meaning to them? You’ll have to play it and see. While many will dismiss this as yet another ‘Walking Simulator’, those that play it will experience more of Werden’s unique style of storytelling, complete with a twist people won’t see coming.

This past April, Running with Scissors released the Paradise Lost expansion for Postal 2 – 12 years after the game’s original release.

It’s a great time to be a fan of old school games, even if the game is only a decade or two old. Every other week seems like there’s an HD remake, dlc expansion, spiritual successor, compilation, or plain old re-release of a classic game on the horizon. Take Postal 2 for instance. This past year, developer Running With Scissors released Paradise Lost, an expansion for Postal 2 which sees the Postal Dude returning to his hometown, which has been reduced to a radioactive wasteland. Along with Postal, four other games from the late 90s and early 2000s are receiving new content this year. Read on to see what’s new with your favorite modern day classics.
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