Fifth Cell just launched its first HD console title Hybrid on Xbox LIVE as part of the Summer of Arcade, download the game for 1200 MSP, the launch trailer looks inviting.

by Alan Danzis

Not long after E3, we got our hands on the hot trailer for an XBLA summer title called Mark of the Ninja. Check it out below:



From Klei Entertainment, Mark of the Ninja is a unique 2D stealth platformer. It’s the first time I’ve ever heard of stealth in a platformer, and from the looks of the trailer, it looks like it relies a lot on darkness to maintain stealth. (Think like The Darkness franchise.)

According to the press release, “you are a ninja who bears the mark – a tattoo whose ink bestows heightened sense, but at a terrible cost.”
It looks fairly intuitive to control and the violence is indeed a bit bloody, but in a cartoonish way.

You can learn more at www.markoftheninjja.com. It definitely looks like a great title for XBLA this summer.



About the author: Alan Danzis is a senior PR professional in video games among other industries as well as a passionate media enthusiast. You can follow him on Twitter @adanzis.

While we received some leaked info previously, today Konami confirmed the existence of Battle: Los Angeles in an official press release. The game will be released alongside the movie which drops on March 11th.

Battle: Los Angeles will not be a retail release however and make its way to gamers via PSN, XBox LIVE and Steam as well as other 'select' digital distribution outlets.

The movie tie in will have players take control of Corporal Lee Imlay and fight alongside other characters from the film.

Here are some more details taken from the press release:

Developed by Saber Interactive and powered by the Saber 3D Engine, Battle: Los Angeles is a high-end fast and frantic first-person shooter game that will take players through a single player campaign that mirrors the upcoming feature film. Players will assume the role of a Marine fighting against a worldwide alien invasion that has the city of Los Angeles as the major battleground and focal point for the game. Players will battle unique and varied enemies, using an arsenal of weapons throughout the game like an assault rifle, sniper rifle, rocket launcher, frag grenades, and a turret gun as they navigate the streets of Los Angeles avoiding fierce and relentless attacks. Aside from high-caliber fire fighting combat, destructible environments have been included using the Havok Destruction Module, which will allow players to destroy scaffolding structures, vehicles and overpasses to eliminate enemy forces. With unlockable content, trophy support, and 5.1 surround sound, Battle: Los Angeles will pull players deep into the heart of the battle to save mankind.

The week of GDC always holds cool stuff for gamers and at the very end of yesterday's events, Double Fine announced their third downloadable title which will be published by Microsoft for the XBox Live platform. The game is called 'Trenched' and has some serious mech fighting in it. We have the announcement trailer for you right now with more info coming later.

The Quake franchise is almost 15 years old now. It has had unrelated sequels and countless unofficial ports. Next to Doom, Quake is an incredibly well known series. Sometimes, just saying the word "Quake" brings upon a nostalgia that can only be described as unforgettable. Countless weapons, characters, and maps create a gaming experience that is second to none. Frag after frag, Quake's death count rises. And this title is another successful notch in Quake's belt of games.

Upon starting up the game, you are welcomed with a menu screen that gives you the basic options. To my surprise, I found a single player mode. I laughed. Who would play a Quake Arena game by themselves. I dismissed it, and clicked on Multiplayer. Then, I waited... and waited. After countless retries, and restarts, I gave up trying to enter into a game. I thought it has to be a glitch, or at least a server issue. But, I researched online and noticed there were roughly 1,500 registered downloads of Quake Arena. So, that explains the lack of multiplayer gaming. Sort of depressing.

I was forced to quit the multiplayer attempts, for now. I backed out of the menu and, against my initial hesitance, clicked on the single player mode. Ugh. Quake Arena... single player.
The single player game is setup into what looks like a progression tournament. You start at the beginning arena and defeat your opponent. After you win, the next arena unlocks and you repeat the cycle until you arrive at your final boss fight. Which I guess isn't a tournament at all. Each arena along the way allows you to personally change the difficulty. When selecting an arena you can use the LB and RB to change the difficulty from a 1-5 scale. From what I've noticed, the AI reacts the same way on all difficulties. The only change is their firing accuracy. On level 1, they have a very nice spray. They seem to have a 15% accuracy rating. While on level 5, it seems to be a 85% accuracy rating. This becomes problematic considering the speed of the game gave me no other option, but Spray and Pray.

Speaking of gameplay, the game is very simple. Frag the enemy, win the arena, progress. This is much easier said than done. Quake games are known for being much faster FPS by comparison. It is by no means as fast as Unreal Tournament. But, if you are fresh from playing Halo, or Doom, then be prepared to lose focus of many, many things.

The enemy AI is something else of an annoyance. I haven't played a FPS that wasn't multiplayer for quite some time. So, I was treating the single player, too much, like an online match making game. I expected the AI to confront me when we spotted each other. I expected much more human characteristics from it. I was wrong on all assumptions. The AI seems to progress on a path. All around the arena. I had to be in a pretty close proximity for him to want to shoot me. I found that odd. Also, the AI opponent never, EVER took his focus off me. He stuck to his path, continually look directly at me. That was a little too creepy. He would watch me as he took perfect corner turns, traveling in and out of doorways, circled to grab armor and ammunition. Just not real.

After I got annoyed enough with the single player, I eventually made my way back to attempting a multiplayer game again. To my surprise, I found a match very quickly. After it started, the gameplay was smooth, I could anticipate my opponent actions a little better, because they were real people, not AI. There wasn't any lag, no complaints at all. So, if you are going to play Quake Arena, play online. Exactly how it was intended.

Quake Arena Arcade is 1200 Mega Space Pennies. That is a very steep price for what you get. The single player is very repetitive, and the online mode isn't large enough to guarantee a game. This game will be great if you have two of three other friends to convince and buy it. But, that comes with the territory of every online multiplayer game.

Score: 6 / 10

Quake Arena Arcade was developed by Pi Studios Id Software and published by Microsoft for the Xbox 360 on December 15th, 2010. A copy of the game was provided to us by Bethesda for reviewing purposes.