Posted in: Recent Updates, Video Games | Tagged: Bound by Flame, Dragon Age II, entertainment, God of War, God of War Collection, Hakuoki: Stories of the Shinsengumi, playstation 4, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation3, Spiders, Steam, Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure, video games, Xbox 360

Live(ish) From The Games Shop: God Of War Collection, Bound By Flame, Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure, Hakuoki: Stories Of The Shinsengumi

Published Tue, 06 May 2014 23:30:00 -0500

by Hannah Means Shannon

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By Jared Cornelius

Welcome back to Live(ish) From The Games Shop. Did you enjoy last week's haul of new video games? Good, because we're back to slim pickings! Looking into my video game crystal ball we do have some quality titles being released this month, but for this week, set your expectations to niche. We take a look at a handheld rerelease, a sword and sorcery fantasy game, an adventure game that got moved, and a dating simulator.

God of War Collection, is the handheld version of the PlayStation 3 compilation of games. Spartan Warrior Kratos is tasked by Ares to lead his armies to conquest until betrayed by the god of war. After he's betrayed, Kratos decides to cut a swath of destruction through Greek mythologies greatest gods and monsters until he gets his hands on Ares. Both critically and commercially successful over their lifespan, the God of War games redefined 3rd person hack and slash for an American audience and featured some of the most brutal combat ever featured in video games. God of War Collection features complete HD remasters of God of War and God of War II. Not much in terms of extras but if you want God of War on the go this is could be a good purchase. God of War Collection was released Tuesday for PlayStation Vita and is available via the PlayStation Network Store.

Bound By Flame, is a 3rd person sword and sorcery game in the same vain as Dragon Age II or The Witcher. Your cast as a mercenary possessed by a flame demon, who's been tasked with fighting off a white walker style army of "Ice Lords". Bound By Flame features multiple combat styles, including fighter, ranger, and pyromancer. You'll also get Mass Effect style companions who aid you in combat, and serve as potential romance interests or flat out leave based on your choices. So yeah there's also a morality system, but developer Spiders claims that it's not binary good or evil. I haven't heard too much about Bound By Flame, but I'm interested, the French developer has been responsible for the cult favorites, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack The Ripper, and Of Orcs and Men. Bound By Flame launched Tuesday on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Steam.

It got mysteriously held up for two weeks, but Tesla Effect: A Tex Murphy Adventure is available Tuesday on Steam. The crib notes version is a noir detective has to solve the mystery of his own wiped memory in dystopian future San Francisco. Old school adventure game fans, get your point and click on with full motion video acted cut scenes.

This week's most bizarre game is Hakuoki: Stories of the Shinsengumi, a very Japanese dating simulator. The anime adventure game puts you in the role of pretty anime lady Chizuru, in feudal era Japan, with six pretty boys vying for your affection. Honestly I thought this was yaoi until I looked into it. The game features different endings, other unlockable stories, and nicely animated anime cut scenes. If you like clichéd anime love stories look no further, on the bright side it does come in a deluxe edition with some interesting extras if you're so inclined. Hakuoki Stories of the Shinsengumi is available for PlayStation 3 Tuesday.

The May releases for PlayStation Plus have been announced with The Puppeteer, Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 and Skullgirl Encore free for PlayStation 3 owners. Playstation Vita get Surge Deluxe and Limbo, and PlayStation 4 will get the fantastic Ryan North penned Stick It To The Man! Xbox Live gold members get Dust an Elysian Tail free till May 16^th followed by one of my favorite games of all time, Saints Row The Third!

That's all for this week, I've been slacking on my video game time with it being nice out and all. I've honestly been doing more reading than anything else, I know I'm probably late to the party on this, but Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo is really good, I just wish the trades were a little easier to find. If you haven't picked up Rick Remender's Fear Agent you should read that too, the only person who does time travel better than Remender is the Doctor. Please keep your eyes on Bleeding Cool for my other regular article Typing on The Dead: Bleeding Cool's Walking Dead recap. I've also been doing a series on Valiant Comics so check that out if you've been interested in a smaller press series. You can keep up with me on Twitter @John_Laryngitis.

Jared Cornelius is some guy from New Jersey's coast who's ready to have to look up the spelling of yaoi. If you'd like to help him with his Japanese contact him on Twitter @John_Laryngitis

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