NEWS: Crazy Taxi: City Rush Revealed

New Crazy Taxi game is to his iOS and Android devices later in the year.

SEGA has uploaded a trailer revealing Crazy Taxi: City Rush - a free to play game, offering similar gameplay experienced in past titles. 

Creator of the original Crazy Taxi, Kenji Kanno, has developed the game alongside Hardlight - the SEGA mobile development studio.

To celebrate the game's announcement, SEGA are offering the first Crazy Taxi to download free of charge on Google Play and the App Store, but only for a limited time with no mention of when the offer will end.

The official blurb describes various features expected in the game:

"Crazy Taxi: City Rush will launch with a wide variety of adrenaline-fueled missions, wild challenges - and unique areas to unlock, explore, and master as you progress through the campaign."

"Customize your cab to increase its power and visual appeal with a wide variety of over-the-top upgrades. Take your friends for a ride and blaze a trail through the city, sidewalks, and alleyways for special rewards."

Check out the announcement trailer below.

RETRO REVIEW: Thunder Fox

Thunder Fox might be one of the most under-rated gems in the retro scene.

Arcade | MegaDrive/Genesis | Xbox | PS2

[Please note: this review is based on the console port]

Originally an arcade game, Thunder Fox was ported to the Mega Drive / Genesis and whilst it doesn't hold up to the original release, it's worth playing due the sheer amount of fun to be had.

In a world now full of terrorists who's mission it is to destroy all peace, it's up to two men simply known as Thunder and Fox to bring a sense or order back to civilization. To do this, they must take on violent enemies wielding all types of weapons ranging from simple knives to gigantic tanks and helicopters.

Honestly, there's not much to the narrative, but it doesn't really matter - games like this don't need a strong storyline to push the player forward. It's purely fast-paced action with an intent on giving the player a good time through addictive and often-challenging gameplay.

The first level, showcasing the machine-gun and some
 of the more easier to kill enemies.

You have the option to choose between Thunder or Fox - it doesn't matter who you pick, there's no real difference except the colour of their clothes. Essentially, Thunder Fox is a side-scrolling shooter with hints of platforming - as soon as you start the game, you're put straight into the action - wielding just a knife you must take on hordes of enemies coming from both sides of the screen, much like Kung Fu on NES.

An encounter with Gonza, a pike-wielding
boss who gives you no mercy.

The knife is the only weapon that you can use throughout the entire game without having to worry about ammo, although it would be nice to give players the option to throw the knife instead of using it as purely a melee weapon, which can often be dangerous as you have to go (extremely) close up to an enemy to effectively stab them.

However, every level offers various guns at some point, whether it be from an enemy drop or hidden in a wooden box - these weapons include a machine gun, a flamethrower, a rocker launcher, and grenades. Each weapon has its advantages, for example the machine gun's bullets can travel far, making it easy to dispose of those pesky shooters hiding behind cover, whilst a blast from the rocket launcher will easily blow up a group of enemies.

Escaping an exploding "Air Fortress" - lots of
explosive sprites included.

All weapons come with a certain amount of ammo, so it's advised to tactically use the bullets when you really need them - it's not worth wasting ammo on one-hit enemies that could easily be killed with your knife or jump attack. The jump attack is actually an extremely effective way of getting through the game - during a jump, you become almost invincible for some reason, making it easy to plant your feet into the face of terrorists whilst taking no damage what so ever.

With a total of six stages, Thunder Fox is generally short, and it's to be expected considering it was originally an arcade game. Each stage is accompanied with a boss battle including a helicopter, a tank, a spear-wielding maniac, and so on - each subscribe to a certain attack pattern, which when memorised, can make these encounters fairly easy to overcome.

You'll have a lot of fun playing this game, and if you're up for a real challenge, it's worth cranking up the difficulty to the max - no matter how you play, Thunder Fox offers gameplay that resembles a combination of Contra and Altered Beast. This is one of those games that didn't get much attention when released due to other more popular titles taking up the limelight, but it's certainly worth playing - you won't regret it.  retroreview

7/10

NEWS: New NBA Jam Game Becomes Highly Possible

Very brief details regarding a new NBA Jam has emerged from EA.

EA Sports has tweeted today requesting users to retweet if "you're ready for a new NBA JAM!", with no indication if the game will be another reboot or a remake of the original arcade game.

Originally released in 1993, players competed in 2v2 matches and would become one of the first basketball games featuring fully licenced teams and players.

In 2010, EA Canada published a reboot of the game using the same name; NBA Jam - since then, an enhanced version of the game known as the On Fire Edition, which included improved graphics, gameplay, and audio.

NEWS: Dead Island Epidemic Beta Begins Soon

Deep Silver has confirmed the beta will start soon but with no specific date mentioned as of yet.

Players are encouraged to sign up now if they want to gain access to the beta, which is to start shortly - sign ups are taking place at the official website.

Dead Island Epidemic takes a departure from the last two games, which had players taking on hordes of Zombies using first person mechanics - instead you'll be tackling the undead from a top-down point of view with a more arcade style and overall feel.

The official blurb says "Dead Island Epidemic is a fast-paced action game where players will duke it our over supply points, using an arsenal of crafted weaponry, a bevy of devastating powers, and good old-fashion teamwork."

Deep Silver seems to be proud to introduce a new genre in the industry too, known as the ZOMBA - Zombie Online Multiplayer Battle Adventure. This will introduce various features including Battle Royale, in which 3 teams of 4 must work together in order to gain supplies, holding down particular areas of the map, all whilst gunning down oncoming Zombie hordes.

The game is to be PC exclusive and is to release through Steam, there is no release date as of yet - if you want to take part in the upcoming beta, be sure to sign up now as places could be limited.

NEWS: Strider Remake Release Date Announced

Download-only game will hit virtual shelves February 19 on consoles and PC.

Capcom has revealed the official release date of Strider - a remake of the 1989 arcade classic sporting the same name (or was that too obvious anyway?). When first released, the game became one of Capcom's most successful games and would go on to be ported to the likes of Sega Genesis / Megadrive, Amiga, Atari ST, and so forth.

On February 19, you'll be able to get your hands on the digital-only remake, which will release on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, and PC. This time around, you'll be able to access two challenge modes known as 'Beacon Run' and 'Survival Mode'.

Beacon Run is described as "a speed run-style racing mode that challenges players to get from checkpoint to checkpoint in record time, slashing their way through enemies all the while."

Survival Mode will "test your combat skills", whilst "taking on progressively difficult waves of enemies while equipped with different ability loadouts."

Other new features include various costumes and a global leaderboard - check out all the latest screenshots on the official blog.

NEWS: Killer Instinct - Orchid and Spinal Confirmed

Returning fighters Orchid and Spinal have been seen in a recent gameplay video, making them the sixth and seventh characters in the reboot.

A gameplay video released through IGN reveals Orchid as another playable character in the upcoming reboot - she appeared in the first Killer Instinct back in 1994 and is known to utilize her legs and twin tonfa's to take care of her enemies.

Whilst the video primarily focuses on the reveal of Orchid, at the end we get a glimpse of another series favourite; Spinal - a Skeleton warrior who is seen holding his trademark sword and shield, unfortunately no gameplay was shown.

Killer Instinct (2013) is set to release November 22 as part of the current Xbox One launch titles. The game is Xbox One exclusive, with no plans to expand to other consoles. Watch the teaser video below.