Review: Skydive: Proximity Flight (PS3)

Do you remember that your PlayStation 3 controller features Sixaxis motion controls? I thought about as much; thoughts of Lair still send shivers down my spine to this very day and I’m glad that most developers ignored the Sixaxis controls thereafter.

Gaijin Games’ Skydive: Proximity Flight laughs in the face of those awkwardly flying dragons because it knows something that those scaly monsters don’t: wingsuits are much better for flying with Sixaxis controls. Base jumping might not be a mainstream sport, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t good fun when put into digital form. Jumping off a clifftop and falling with style in close proximity of cliff faces and rock outcroppings might be something of a nightmare for most people, yet for a few extreme sports enthusiast, it’s a good fun, even if the risk of going splat is very real. Take away the risk of life and limb and the sensation of free flight in a virtual environment might not offer up the intense adrenaline rush as a real jump might, but it does still offer a unique and fun gameplay experience that’s worthy of taking a dive into. [Review Score: 3.5/5]

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Review: Floating Cloud God Saves the Pilgrims in HD (Vita)

Floating Cloud God Saves the Pilgrims was originally a PS Mini title for the PSP, and one that was held in high acclaim. It was a unique horizontal shooter in the same vein as The Game Atelier’s Flying Hamster, but wasn’t quite as much fun as, in my view, the controls were less than ideal. Dakko Dakko has brought the title back once again as a native Vita title in HD, and the Vita’s second analogue stick rectifies those control issues in the process.

If past PSP titles like Patapon and LocoRoco fit your appeal, then Floating Cloud God is right up your alley. The colourful aesthetics are pleasing to the eyes and radiate the game’s playful nature, and the upbeat soundtrack fits right into place. Like the titles mentioned above, the game holds a certain zaniness that gives it a style all onto its own, but I’m sure the name alone gave that part away. [Review Score: 4/5 Stars]

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Jonathan Blow: ‘making a profit with The Witness is not our top priority’

In reflection, it still surprises me to think that the philosophical thinker and independent developer, Jonathan Blow, played a major hand in Sony’s unveiling conference for the PlayStation 4.

His confident quip “how am I going to follow up all of those explosions?”, as he walked onto the stage and into the spotlight to show off his upcoming open-world puzzle game, The Witness, has seemed to reverberate throughout the industry in the following months, because Blow’s time onstage was one of the highlights of the showing – the indie market is truly become a major player in the gaming industry.

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WRC 3 FIA Word Rally Championship skids to PS3 and Vita this Spring

Just over a month ago we brought you the news that Namco Bandai Games was bringing Milestone’s MUD – FIM Motocross World Championship to North America on February 26^th, but apparently the developer wants to keep us driftin’ through the mud this year with its upcoming rally racing title, WRC 3 FIA World Rally Championship. Releasing in the Spring of 2013, WRC 3 will bring the breakneck speeds of rally racing back once again, challenging players to overcome all types of terrain in some of the world’s most notorious rally locations.

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Review: Urban Trial Freestyle (PS3/Vita)

In 2008, RedLynx released Trials 2: Second Edition on PC, bringing the tough-as-nails “Trials” action that we enjoyed in previous Flash-based games into a full-fledged release.

It went on to release multiple Trials titles exclusively on XBLA over the next few years – improving the formula with each new release. Many have tried to recreate RedLynx’s formula, but none have succeeded… until now. Tate Multimedia has entered the mix with its PSN title, Urban Trial Freestyle, and not only can it stand proudly beside RedLynx’s Trials series, in some aspects, it even races ahead of it. [PS3 Review Score: 4.5/5] [PS Vita Review Score: 4/5]

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Interview: The Game Atelier: “The PlayStation Vita has been good to us”

The Game Atelier is one of those indie developers that punches well above its weight. Starting out with the PlayStation Minis and iOS environments, the company has since become a full-fledged PlayStation Vita developer with some gorgeous HD titles, like SunFlowers and Flying Hamster. It even publishes games now.

Digitally Downloaded’s Chris Ingram had the good fortune to sit down and chat with the driving force behind the budding company; Fabien Demeulenaere, Producer, and David Bellanco, Lead Developer. He spoke at length about the team’s confidence in the PlayStation Vita, the challenges in supporting the emerging platforms such as the Ouya, and the emerging opportunities in moving from a dedicated developer, to act as a digital games publisher as well.

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Editing and intro written by Digitally Downloaded’s Editor-in-Chief, Matthew Sainsbury. 

Review: Labyrinth Legends (PS3/PSN)

A Nintendo-like roguelike crawls its way onto the PlayStation Network.

Creat Studios is no stranger to PSN. In fact, they’ve got so many titles on Sony’s downloadable service that they’ve got their very own shelf within the digital store. FromSmash Cars to Mushroom Wars, they aren’t afraid to tackle new genres. With Labyrinth Legends, they’ve brought a cutesy top-down dungeon crawler to the service that brings a Nintendo-like offering along with it. While it definitely would fall under Nintendo’s “Seal of Approval,” it’s a few missteps short from the quality of Nintendo’s first party titles – meaning there’s still enjoyment to be found in these dark and err…charming dungeons. [Review Score: 3/5]

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The 24 Games of Christmas! Day #11: Papo and Yo

Holidays are a time of reflection, a time for family and a time when we make plans for the things we’d like to change as we embark upon a new year. In this sense, Papo and Yo is one of the most fitting titles to sit down and play over the coming weeks.

Here, we find a young boy named Quico, who has escaped into a fantasy land inside his own head – escaping the reality of the life he lives in. What is this life – you ask? It’s a depressing life filled with pain, because of an alcoholic father.

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Retro City Rampage just got even better (than it already was)

 Even after an extensive development cycle spanning over a time period of ten years, there’s still no rest for Retro City Rampage creator and sole developer, Brian Provinciano. Even after the game’s release, he’s been listening to fans’ feedback and has implemented a number of improvements and adjustments to make the experience even better than it already is. If you haven’t already, you can find our 4.5/5 Star review for Retro City Rampage through this jump.

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Swimming with papercraft sharks; An interview with Different Tuna’s founder, Gordon

 

Here at Digitally Downloaded, we recently got a chance to sit down with Different Tuna’s founder, Gordon, to talk about his charming indie title that recently made a splash on PSN, Derrick the Deathfin. We had ourselves a good ole time swimming around in the world’s very first underwater papercraft title and awarded it 4/5 Stars in our review. But inquisitive minds must know more and we’ve stirred up a few questions of our own for Different Tuna in the hopes to learn a little bit more about our toothy friend that lives under the sea.

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