Gravity Rush 2

There’s some insane creativity at SIE Japan Studio, and that’s no more apparent than in Gravity Rush 2. Developed by the Team Gravity division, the world is larger, livelier and more destructible than its predecessor. But it’s the sheer imagination, in gravity-defying encounters to exploring Kat’s mysterious backstory, that lent the game its own unique charm. Despite good reviews and the developer’s pedigree, Gravity Rush 2 averaged roughly 103,000 copies in Japan during its launch month. Its online service was subsequently discontinued in July 2018.

There were some issues with the server when the game came out so I was unable to check out the game, but having played for a decent amount of time – I’d say that it’s executed well and is a lot of fun. It’s quite impressive coming from 5TH Cell who have never created such sort of games before. There’s a lot of positive things in this game, but considering it’s limited in scope due to being an arcade game, the content seems a bit lacking for people who generally spend a lo tot times playing such games in the TPS genre.

Thankfully, you are asked a standard price of an arcade title, and the content seems fair for what you’re paying. There are 10 maps here, which seems a lot, but they’re fairly quite small and there’s not a lot of differences when you directly compare them when it comes to the level design. I would have liked a bit more creativity here, which would have made this game much better than what it is currently. The maps are the lifeblood of any multiplayer shooter and they really should have put a lot of effort here.

That’s not to say they’re rubbish, there’s still a lot of fun to be had here. The small size is understandable considering it’s just 3 vs 3, and the great thing to come out of this is that, it really provides some fast paced tactical gameplay. If this is what the studio was trying to achieve then they have succeeded big time here.

The setting is quite interesting with two factions – Humans and Aliens – battling each other over Dark Matter named the Paladins and Variants respectively. If you are expecting some Aliens vs Predator style look then you will be sorely disappointed as there’s not a lot of difference between these two sides, even when it comes to abilities and other thins.

Dark Matter is something that ties together the Universe and is supposed to be invisible – something like it’s there but we don’t know it yet. Using that as a concept in this game is quite hilarious but hey they probably weren’t serious with the story either. The netcode is generally good and I haven’t encountered that much lag or any other network related issue in the game.

When it comes to the actual gameplay, Hybrid shines, and you may think that the controls will be clunky and rigid but it’s not. It’s actually fun to maneuver and shoot things but there is a slight learning curve requiring you to master the gameplay mechanics before you truly know what you’re doing. The other disappointing thing is that people die very fast in the game, including you. This can really become a chore and I kinda feel that Gears of War style health system does games like these a lot of justice.

There are seven  modes here, including your standard multiplayer fare you see in just about any other shooter out there. You can unlock helmets and weapons after leveling up but if you don’t want to deal with all that you can always unlock them with Microsoft Points.

There are also killstreaks and the likes which you can use to completely decimate your enemies, so overall Hybrid is a game that is designed to be played for a long time, but will it actually survive that long is up for discussion.

Hybrid allows fast paced, tactical gameplay, along with unique gameplay mechanics, but it’s something that will enthral players in short bursts and doesn’t feel like something that will stand the test of time.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

This Contest is now closed. Thanks for participating!

It’s time for another contest at GamingBolt and this time we have two codes of Hybrid XBLA to giveaway. Hybrid is a cool Gears of War style shooter developed by 5th Cell – the developers behind Scribblenauts.

But there’s a twist here, there are jetpacks and the combat is quite different than what we’ve seen from games like these.

These are PAL codes, and to win them, all you have to do is to leave a comment below stating why you want to play the game. The contest ends on Friday 17th August, so what are you waiting for?

Winners will be announced after the contest ends and the post will be updated with their names. Don’t forget to leave your e-mail addresses below your comment so that we can contact you easily! Format: abc (at) hotmail.com.

In case you want to check out more information on the game, you can do so here. Hybrid came out exclusively for XBLA last week.

Winners are: Brian and Steve. Check your inboxes soon!

Hybrid which is part of the XBLA Summer of Arcade is now out on XBLA. The game runs at 60 fps and is a solid cover shooter with unique gameplay mechanics. It’s a tactical 3rd-person multiplayer shooter that pits players against one another in fast-paced 3-vs-3 air and ground combat matches across a massive online world war.

“We’re excited to finally release Hybrid, 5TH Cell’s latest game, which continues its tradition of injecting new, innovative gameplay into the industry.” said Jeremiah Slaczka, Creative Director of the project. “Hybrid brings a unique twist to the shooter genre merging fast-paced gameplay with a persistent online world war where every battle matters.”

Hybrid features character customization through upgradeable weapons, abilities, and upgrades with over 10 different maps and 6 unique game modes, and an offline practice arena. The game is available exclusively for the Xbox 360 and is priced at 1200 MSP.

You can check out the launch trailer below.

The action looks like plenty of fun too, and it’ll be cool to see how the community grows around it. And you can’t possibly go wrong with guns and Parkour.

Based on Valve’s Source engine, 5th Cell’s Hybrid will be available for XBox Live Arcade on August 8th 2012.

Check out the new trailer for this Kinect game announced by Microsoft at Gamescom.

Microsoft has announced Steel Battalion Heavy Armour for Kinect, which uses hybrid controls.