Posted in: Games, Movies, Recent Updates, Video Games | Tagged: Donkey Kong Country, entertainment, Helldivers, La-Mulana EX, OlliOlli 2, Resident Evil: Revelations 2, video games, white night

Sweet Release! – OlliOlli 2, Resident Evil Revelations 2, White Night, Helldivers, La-Mulana EX, Donkey Kong Country, March's Free Games

By Jared Cornelius

Welcome back to Sweet Release!  Bleeding Cool's look at the new video games hitting consoles and PC's this week.  Every now and then themes seem to pop up on the release calendar.  Last week we had a huge influx of Eastern influenced and anime games, with Dragonball, Dynasty Warriors, and a few smaller titles appearing out of nowhere.  This week we also have a theme, in indie focused games.  A couple of big names make the list this week, but by and large it looks like this week, and maybe a good chunk of March will be indie-centric.

Video game skateboarding is back this week with developer Roll 7's OlliOlli 2: Welcome To Olliwood.  The 2D pixelated skateboarding game uses a similar mechanic to the endless runner genre, but plays in a level with a set start and finish.  The trick system uses the X, shoulder buttons, and an analog stick, making it simple to use, but difficult to master, with an emphasis on precise timing and skill.  While the formula's been largely kept the same, Roll 7 didn't just make an expansion as they added, "Five new worlds, 50 new amateur and pro levels and 250 new challenges to tear through, along with the return of the much loved Daily Grind, Spots Mode and RAD Mode."  It's about the closest thing you'll get to a Tony Hawk's Pro Skater before Activision reveals how they've Frankensteined that franchise back together this E3.  OlliOlli 2: Welcome To Olliwood released this Tuesday on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita.

It's the second week of Capcom's first foray into episodic content with Resident Evil Revelations 2: Episode 2.  The 3rd person survival horror game, is throwing off the action shackles of Resident Evil 6's bombastic action, in favor of a more traditional slower paced horror game.  The series continues where it left off from last week with more spooky adventures with Claire Redfield, Moira Burton and  Barry Burton.  No spoilers, but the response to episode 1's been largely more favorable than the response to Resident Evil 6, so fingers crossed that Capcom can make it to the end without screwing up.  Resident Evil Revelations 2: Episode 2 released Tuesday on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC.

This next game flew under my radar until this week, but White Night, by developer, OSome Studio, might be the noir adventure you've been looking for.  With a sharp two tone black and white art style, White Night's a survival horror/adventure game that has you play as a detective seeking out a woman he may have struck and killed in a creepy mansion.  Use light to expose shadows and clues, while avoiding ghosts.  There's not a whole lot out about this game right now, but the art style is really striking in motion, and has a real detective noir sensibility that a lot of games can't get right.  It looks like Murdered Soul Suspect done right.  White Night released Tuesday on PlayStation 4 and Steam.

Get ready to murder your friends with Arrowhead Game's Helldivers.  The up to four player duel joystick shooter has a team of "Helldivers" elite soldiers who protect, "Super-Earth" from intergalactic threats.  Players can select from a variety of weapons and support before they're dropped into procedurally generated levels for an unforgiving battle with intergalactic threats.  Be warned Helldivers is so unforgiving that friendly fire from co-op partners is the default setting.  Helldiver's has gotten a bit of a reputation at trade shows and previews for its difficult nature, but for fans of duel stick and co-op squad shooters, it might be worth a look.  Helldivers is available Tuesday on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation with cross buy functionality. I also love the concept of "Super-Earth".

If you took Metroid, Indiana Jones, and Spelunky, and threw them in a blender, you'd get the PC hit La-Mulana from developer Nigoro.  Hitting PlayStation Vita's this week in La-Mulana EX, but the 2D platformer is more than just Metroid by way of Dr. Jones.  Taking place in the ruins of the titular  La-Mulana, you play as an archeologist in search of, "Secret Treasure of Life".  Whip your way through monster infested caverns and solve the ruin's deadly puzzles.  Nigoro hasn't rested on its laurels and just ported the game, they've tweaked the original and included a monster manual, improved translation and puzzles, and opened the world so the entire game world is accessible from the start.  La Mulana EX is available on PlayStation Vita on Tuesday, with the original available on PC and Wii U WiiWare.

In the late to the party section, last week Nintendo dumped out almost every Donkey Kong Country game in their back catalog on Virtual Console and the DS e-Shop.  If you're of a certain age you no doubt remember it was one of the last big game series for the Super NES, and led to the Nintendo 64's ill-fated DK Rap.  In all seriousness, Nintendo's done a much better job with these game in recent years with Tropical Freeze and Returns.  However if you're feeling nostalgic the Virtual Console has Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest, and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble.  The e-Shop got Donkey Kong Land 1, 2, and 3.

If you subscribe to Xbox Live Gold, or PlayStation Plus a new month means new games available for download. Unfortunately at the time of writing, Sony hasn't seen fit to reveal their March games. Expect an update from our very own Patrick Dane sometime this week.

Xbox Live Gold subscribers only get one game on the Xbox One, but it's a modern day classic, Ubi Soft's fantastic 2D platformer, Rayman Legends.  The sequel to 2011's Rayman Origins, Legends run's players thorough a series of wacky fantastical levels with hidden secrets and challenges.  It's got a great soundtrack, is well animated, and has a ton of character.  Fans of the New Super Mario  games should download immediately.  Xbox 360 users get an equally good spread with Square Enix's 3rd person re-boot of Tomb Raider free until the 15th.  After that Ken Levine's 1st person shooter opus Bioshock Infinite closes out the month.

That's all for this week folks, but maybe go check out the interview I did with prolific, "good girl artist" Adam Hughes from my local shop, Conquest Comics in Bayville New Jersey.  We talk about his Spider-Gwen variant covers, as well as inspiration, pizza, and being from New Jersey.  You can also check out my other regular column, Typing on The Dead, where I break down the latest issue of The Walking Dead.  Why not check out some other neat stuff on Bleeding Cool, like my colleague Christine Marie's Geek Shopping.

Jared Cornelius is some guy from the Jersey coast, who doesn't care about what color that stupid dress is. If you'd like to talk about something more productive, contact him on Twitter @John_Laryngitis

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