Florida-based indie developer Developer Blacksea Odyssey and publisher Mastertronic today announced Blacksea Odyssey. Blacksea Odyssey will be a top down action shoot em up, in which the player hunts massive space monsters through procedurally generated levels. It is slated to launch for consoles and PC in March 2016.

The story of Blacksea Odyssey follows a cybernetic old man called Old Man, who enters the deadliest show of skill and daring in the entire galaxy- the eponymous Blacksea Odyssey. Four of the bravest huntsman compete in capturing bounties for the largest space creatures that exist. Only the sole champion of the competition is awarded the honor of encountering the Titan of the Stars.

Blacksea Odyssey will feature massive bosses and battles, against creatures that are often as big as five times your screen. In an era chock full of retro seeming indie games, it is making an effort to stand out.

Check out the trailer for the game below, and stay tuned for more coverage.

Game Overview:

In  Shadow Warrior, players take the role of  Lo Wang. Wang works for the company Zilla Enterprise and receives a special sword to find Nobitsura Kage. The player finds out that the sword is linked to dark forces who want to destroy civilization.

Shadow Warrior is developed and published by Mastertronic and Devolver Digital. The game is available for the PC and will also launch on the PS4 in 2014.

Check out the video walkthrough of Shadow Warrior below and let us know if you have any questions in the comments section below.

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It tells the tale of the moustachioed daemon-hunter Baron Dashforth who wants to reveal his life story on stage. He thus takes on the role as the lead actor in the “greatest show on earth”, tasked with keeping his audience happy while slapping, swatting and swiping enemies/jobbing actors in an elaborate stage show. It’s a vaudevillian tale – the game taking place in a vast theatre – with the audience displayed at the bottom of the screen, whooping and cheering with every bad guy you dispatch. Play with aplomb and the audience cheers, play safe and they will bay for your blood and boo you off, bringing down the curtain and ending your game.

Here’s the twist… there’s not a conventional health bar onscreen but an applause meter that shows how entertained the audience is. Chain a massive combo together and throw in a variety of strikes and they’ll go wild, but forget to counter incoming attacks and succumb to sucker blows and they’ll quickly tire of you and jeer.

"Diving into the main game, however, and you'll notice the rogue like factors right out of the date. You play as a piddly male or female warrior carrying a standard sword, mucking around in some pub."

Sporting a top hat and cane, Dashforth is a very dapper chap and keen to take on all manner of foes. Played alone Foul Play is great fun but team up with a friend as trusted sidekick Scampwick the chimney sweep either online or locally and things really improve. With a chum, you’re able to pull off special team takedowns and linking attacks, throw enemies towards one another and string together huge combo chains.

The gameplay is about as simple as it gets. Drum buttons to attack, launch enemies into the air and string combos together. A handy lightning bolt icon indicates when enemies are about to strike, giving you ample time to counter and parry. Get in the groove and you’ll sometimes be able to pull off a Showstopper move, which boosts the audience approval rating for a time limited time.

"Diving into the main game, however, and you'll notice the rogue like factors right out of the date. You play as a piddly male or female warrior carrying a standard sword, mucking around in some pub."

The 22 Acts take you on a trip through the highlights of the good Baron’s life, set across the globe in locations as varied as Cairo, Atlantis and London. Several challenges can be completed in each stage, such as finishing a section within a strict time limit or killing enemies in a certain order, all of which keeps you on your toes and makes the game a lot trickier. With the points and challenges come charms – little trinkets that are unlocked and add to your abilities, making life a little easier.

Besides the run-of-the-mill enemies, big bosses occasionally lumber on screen wielding huge weapons and requiring a large health bar to deplete before they’re vanquished.

Visually, everything looks suitably vintage and theatrical. Admittedly it’s a bit weird to see the shaky scenery constantly change as you wander across a never-ending scrolling stage while the audience remains static; an odd effect but to run the entire game on a stationary stage wouldn’t really have worked either. Despite this idiosyncrasy, the gameplay is solid albeit a little repetitive and buttonmashy.

There’s a nice instrumental soundtrack with an orchestral feel to it – but sadly there are no voiceovers, just lots of grunts and “ums” and “ers”, combined with plenty of pop up captions. It seems a bit of a shame.

No matter. Despite its repetitive nature, stepping into the shoes of the famous demonologist Dashforth to slap actors and stagehands is entertaining, especially when you’ve got a friend along for the ride. Offering several hours of gameplay, Foul Play is unique, charming and fun.

This game was reviewed on Xbox 360.

Billed as a remastered edition of sorts for its Steam debut, publisher Mastertronic brings some new additions to this 20-year old machine, as well as some tweaks to the control scheme and enhanced visual options. I say “enhanced” loosely here, as all enabling the option does is add this shiny, unappealing smoothing option. You’re honestly better off sticking to the default classic look, even though the game itself isn’t much of a looker despite its neat steampunk clothing.

You have the option of selecting six different kinds of characters, their corresponding play-styles, and a kick-ass pixelated portrait to boot. These characters are as follow: the Navvie, Thug, Brigand, Mercenary, Gentleman and Preacher. Some characters will be able to deal more damage than others (Navvie and Thug), while others will have access to more special abilities (Gentleman and Preacher). For every two levels in a World that you complete in (four Levels with four Worlds), the cash you obtain can be used to upgrade your stats, weapons and abilities.

"There’s a bit of satisfaction that comes with mowing down enemy after enemy, which can also lead into frustration if you’re not being careful."

The gameplay is mostly comprised of you and your partner (either controlled by the competent enough AI or a buddy), walking from area to area, gunning down mutated frogs or soldiers… all the while searching for keys or killing enough enemies to trigger an opened pathway to the next area. Once you’ve nailed all the nodes in a level, you’ll be able to pass through a usually nearby exit. All this, with a studious narrator to give a few short-liners whenever you’ve destroyed a node, respawning back from the grave, or activating a special ability.

There’s a bit of satisfaction that comes with mowing down enemy after enemy, which can also lead into frustration if you’re not being careful. As it turns out, simply running and gunning towards the next node won’t cut it. You’ll have to tread carefully, as enemies have a tendency of respawning where you least expect it. Ninja Commando on the Neo Geo, this ain’t.

Part of this frustration is because of your controls. New to the digital re-release is the 16-directional movement, which allows for you to shoot diagonally. It’s a welcome addition, but doesn’t change the fact that you’re still moving rather sluggishly. Even while using a speedier character or buffing your stats, there’s definitely a level of smoothness that you’ll miss from more iconic examples in the genre.

"Once you’ve invested in enough upgrades and lives, The Chaos Engine can definitely have its sweet spots."

And once you’ve finally run out of extra lives, you’ll have to restart the level again. You won’t be able to purchase additional lives at the upgrade screen at will. So if you’re a cheap crock like me, you’ll use cheat codes for getting more. Unfortunately, there’s no way to go in solo, as you’re always with a partner and there’s no way to share resources with each other.

Once you’ve invested in enough upgrades and lives, The Chaos Engine can definitely have its sweet spots. While there are no boss fights save for the (spoilers!) final encounter, its cool enough to try and investigate every nook and cranny just to see what items or gold you’ll find along the way. Its a lot more “retro” in the traditional sense aside from simply looking the part, as its now dated feel will rarely latch off. If you’re willing to look past that, and have a friend to join the ride, you may find some nostalgia yet.

This game was reviewed on the PC.

Developer Digital has announced that Serious Sam 3: BFE will be releasing on the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade. It will be available for 1200 Microsoft Point, and people can start downloading the first person shooter starting October 17.

“Ever since we announced Serious Sam 3: BFE our fans have asked us to bring the game to Xbox LIVE Arcade,” said Davor Hunski, Chief Creative Guy at Croteam. “Boom. Done.”

The new campaign extension of the game, along with the co-op, the multiplayer (in its entirety) and, of course, the base campaign itself, will all be available on launch itself, with no extra charge attached.

The game will feature 25 Achievements, leaderboards and local split screen co-op too.

“Awesome, now I can go from getting absolutely annihilated by some loudmouth with a mouse and keyboard to getting annihilated by some loudmouth with an Xbox 360 controller,” said Fork Parker, Devolver Digital CFO. “Damn these silky smooth thumbs.”

Stay tuned for more updates.

An entire carrier sinks. Cool.

The game will be releasing for the Xbox 360 and PC on September 28th. Stay tuned.

Carrier Command: Gaea Mission offers a breathtaking combination of action game with strategic elements. As a battle-hardened member of the United Earth Coalition, Lt Myrik is put in command of an armed vehicle carrier. By traversing the seas and establishing a network of island bases, he sets out to hunt down the Asian Pacific Alliance and conquer the Dead Zone on the planetoid Taurus.

Mastertronic  has today released the  action adventure The Cursed Crusade for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.

The stunning action adventure fuses established historical myth with a new demonic twist. Set against the backdrop of the majestic Old World, The Cursed Crusade’s cooperative third-person action-adventure tale of damnation and deliverance will consume you. Centred around a pair of cursed warriors fighting to save their souls, The Cursed Crusade marries the beauty and wonder of medieval Europe with thrilling adventure and dark fantasy.

The Cursed Crusade is available now to purchase in the UK for PlayStation, Xbox 360  and PC.

Mastertronic have  released the cinematic prologue for The Cursed Crusade.

The prologue sets the scene for what is set to be an epic adventure, revealing the cleverly intertwining narratives that make up The Cursed Crusade’s central storyline. Beginning with Jean De Bayle, the prologue goes on to introduce central character Denz de Bayle and his companion in arms, Esteban Noviembre.

Mastertronic’s Product Director Neil McKenna said “This Cursed Crusade prologue trailer uses incredibly impressive cinematic cut scenes to begin telling Denz de Bayle’s story of his quest to find his father. One of the exciting things about the prologue is that it starts to reveal the intricate layers of storyline that run parallel to one another to make up the game’s complex and dramatic plot. dtp excel in creating high quality storylines alongside incredibly impressive artwork, and this trailer goes to show they’ve set the bar even higher this time.”

The latest trailer highlights the  fighting techniques available within the game, with over 100 different attacks and over 100 finishing moves. Players will be able to utilise a vast array of weaponry including swords, axes, spears and shields. They will also be able to fight using objects:  barrels, buckets, wells and more, can be used to dispose of enemies. Also revealed in the latest trailer are brutal finishing moves that players will be able to perform by working with friends in the game’s co-op mode.

Mastertronic’s Product Director Neil McKenna said “The latest trailer shows some of the brilliant fighting techniques that fans can use to battle their way through The Cursed Crusade. There’s an impressive range of weaponry and fighting techniques available to bring enemies to a brutal end. The latest trailer also shows that players will be able to use objects within levels as weapons. So, as an alternative to running your enemiesthrough with a sword you can smash them over the head with a barrel or simply push them down a well.”

The Cursed Crusade is scheduled to be released in the UK 2011 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

The official trailer has been unvieled for May’s Mysteries: The Secret of Dragonville.

It looks a bit too much like a Professor Layton clone for my liking, but the trailer’s worth a watch if brain teasers are your thing.

The game is set for an August release on DS.