Upcoming Games: February 2011

These are the games destined (if all goes well) to hit shelves next month that are really exacerbating my hypertension, in both senses of the word.

Child Of Eden
Xbox Kinect/Playstation Move

The first product to really use Kinect tech in a genuinely exciting way, CoE is an on-rails shooter slash music/rhythm game with eye-popping visuals from the makers of Rez and Lumines. If that doesn't sound particularly exciting (it shouldn't really), just take a peek at some of the screenshots below, or better yet, Youtube its demo at E3 to get a feel for how intuitive and imersive the control scheme is looking.
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/tgs-10-child-of/704571

That's not some wanker's artsy background, but gameplay, in action.

Killzone 3
Playstation 3

Things aren't going well for the ISA, their last forces on the planet Helghan are cut off, with no supplies or hope of reprieve and the Space Nazi armies are closing in. The finale of the Killzone trilogy will see you once again step into the shoes of mohawk-sporting badass Sevchenko to finish off the Helghan menace once and (hopefully) for all. K3 promises new environments that aren't ruined urban arenas, with forays into diseased-looking wastelands and polluted forests providing a splash of much-needed colour to the series' limited palette. The brutal, context-sensitive melee kills look viscerally satisfying and with Playstation's Move compatibility, even more so. Throw in a few tweaks to K2's multiplayer suite and you have the makings of the best in the trilogy.

Also, there are jetpacks. 

Marvel vs Capcom: Fate of Two Worlds
Xbox 360/Playstation 3

Anyone who has had access to early MvC: FTW builds will tell you it's a button-masher's wet dream. The developers have even worked in a system to simplify the already accessible control scheme, the question remains whether users of the aptly-named Simple Mode will be able to hold their own against series vets and well, there's no easy way to say this, but, Koreans. The character roster is extensive, but as IGN put it, it's coming together more like Marvel featuring Capcom. The latter's entrants are fairly esoteric, with far too many from the developer's Darkstalker series. But appearances from Trish (of Devil May Cry 'fame'), Amaterasu & Jill Valentine are nice to see.

Not for the epileptic though.

Stacking
Xbox 360/Playstation 3


Stacking will see players take up the mission of finding a small boys' estranged family in a charming diorama/steam punk-inspired world. Only the boy and all the inhabitants of the world are Russian nesting dolls. The visuals are gorgeous and the gameplay excitingly puzzle-based. As the smallest doll in the family, Charlie can leap inside strangers (the developers haven't confirmed whether this constitutes rape so I'm forced to assume it does) and take control of them. Every doll has a different inherent ability, which you can use to navigate obstacles and complete puzzles. The example they gave is Charlie leaping inside a buxom female, who can use her womanly-doll charms to lead a libidinous guard away from a door. Sorry, I'm just making this game sound like it's entirely based on rape. Well at least the judges will have an ample supply of dolls to show where the offender 'touched them'.

Always end on a good joke.