Space mercenaries have it made, don’t they? Flying around the uncharted cosmos, getting is dogfights with rivals mercs, taking odd jobs to earn small fortunes, and not giving a shit about anyone but themselves. Well rejoice, Han Solo wannabes, because Fusion: Genesis for the Xbox 360 lets you live out your space adventurer dreams.
A newly released Xbox Live Arcade shooter, Fusion: Genesis combines the action of dual-stick shooting with the upgrading of RPGs. I felt there was a bit too much emphasis placed on the managing of ships and upgrades and not enough focus on the action, but this is still a good title that lets you live out your space mercenary dreams.
What’s going on here? Two tower defense mash-up games for the Xbox 360 in one month? And they’re both pretty darn good to boot? Coming hot off the heels of Orcs Must Die! is Trendy Entertainment’s Dungeon Defenders, a combination of the tower defense and action RPG genres. With an emphasis on hacking and slashing through foes instead of strategically placing towers, Dungeon Defenders places you in the middle of the action as hordes of enemies storm your castle.
Treasure has the right idea: rereleasing critically-acclaimed and hard-to-find classic games for a new generation of gamers with updated HD visuals and a much friendlier price tag. Last month saw the release of side-scrolling shooter classic Radiant Silvergun, and Treasure once again delivers sweet nostalgia in the form of Guardian Heroes. A beat ‘em up in the same vein as Double Dragon or Final Fight, Guardian Heroes first met praise on the Sega Saturn for its satisfying action and multiple branching paths. Fifteen years after its initial release, Guardian Heroes still retains some of that charm although the shine is starting to tarnish.
After having a grand time with Orcs Must Die!, I decided to delve even deeper in the genre that is tower defense and downloaded Dungeon Defenders for the Xbox 360. Another tower defense/RPG title, Dungeon Defenders has a focus on multiplayer co-op and grinding out levels as you would in a game like World of Warcraft. Well, a game with this many comparisons has to be somewhat decent, and not surprisingly it is. Check out the videos and see for yourself.
The tower defense genre has always been a desktop game to me, something that I would play through an internet browser between classes, and certainly not something I’d consider a full fledged videogame. In my mind, while these games were always fun, there just wasn’t enough content to justify paying for a physical copy of a tower defense game. So when I heard about Orcs Must Die! at PAX East this year, I was a bit skeptical: a tower defense game that combines third-person shooters with RPG elements? Much to my disbelief, Orcs Must Die! is easily the best game I’ve played in the genre, and it brings a handful of welcome additions that make the game entertaining, difficult, and satisfying.
Mercury Hg for PSN, Orcs Must Die! for the Xbox, and an on-sale downloadable board game make up this week’s new games.