Blade Kitten

 Platform: PlayStation 3/Xbox 360/PC (Windows)
Genre: Platformer
Developer: Krome Studios
Publisher: Atari
Release: 22 September 2010
Rating: Teen
Price: $10

Blade Kitten is a side-scrolling platformer based on a webcomic of the same name. It's mostly standard stuff, but there are two twists to make it different: the protagonist Kat can climb walls and ceilings, and her weapon can move independently of her. These ideas don't quite mesh, but manage to create an interesting experience.
The levels are mostly linear, but there is a bit of Metroidvania*-style exploration via the two aforementioned features, so you can find hidden items and money. Unlike most games of that style, there's no real backtracking, which keeps the levels fresh.
The control can be rather floaty at times, and you're going to want a gamepad for the PC version, but it's not bad enough to be deal-breaking. The game is also really easy: Kit's health regenerates when you're not fighting, and there's no limit to your number of lives (unlimited lives is always an appreciated feature, though).
While Blade Kitten is very hit-or-miss, it's amusing, and it tries some new things in an industry that's become increasingly stagnant in recent years.
The game is available in the PlayStation Store, Xbox Live Arcade, and on Steam, for $10.Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.

--Kotaro

*For those uninformed, the term "Metroidvania" refers to the exploration-heavy gameplay style of the Metroid series and the Castlevania series (post-Symphony of the Night).

Review Schedule

My computer is currently being repaired, so I am unable to review the game I wanted to this week. Reviews will continue once I have my computer back up and running, and in the meantime, here's a list of the next eight games I will look at:

Blade Kitten
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
Portal
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
Neverwinter Nights 2: Platinum
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Braid
Silent Hill 2

This month's "Pennypincher's Corner" will be looking at the indie darling Knytt Stories and my next Top Ten list will be the "Top Ten Greatly-Improved Sequels."
See you all soon!

--Kotaro

Sonic Mega Collection Plus

Platform: PlayStation 2/Xbox/PC (Windows)
Genre: Platformer
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: Sega
Release: 2 November 2004
Rating: Everyone
Price: $10-13

Sonic the Hedgehog is one of gaming's Long Runners, and like his rival Mario, Sonic himself is immediately recognizable to most. While the series hasn't been relevant in years--most likely due to horrible game after horrible game--the original games remain classics. They're all very flawed, but are still worth playing, if for no reason other than their enormous place in gaming's history. Personally, I hold that most of the games up through Sonic Adventure were quite enjoyable*, and many of them are collected here. The original Sonic Mega Collection contained seven Genesis (or "Mega Drive" if you're outside the United States) titles:

• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• Sonic the Hedgehog 3
• Sonic & Knuckles
• Sonic 3D Blast
• Sonic Spinball
• Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (which was actually Puyo Puyo, given a Sonic-themed "makeover" for its release outside Japan)

A decent collection, though it was missing many titles, keeping it rather incomplete. However, there is the updated Sonic Mega Collection Plus, which adds six more Game Gear games:

• Sonic the Hedgehog (Game Gear version)
• Sonic Chaos
• Sonic Drift
• Sonic Labyrinth
• Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (Game Gear version)
• Sonic Blast
  

There are also other, unlockable games that are unrelated to Sonic (such as The Ooze and Comix Zone) which make a nice bonus.
While still incomplete, this updated collection is still an excellent value (containing both the gems and the crap) and since Sonic Gems Collection holds most of the missing games, the Sonic Mega Collection Plus is a worthwhile part of gaming history.
Over a dozen games on one disc for a price of $10 on the PC or PS2, or $13 on the Xbox makes this an excellent deal.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.

--Kotaro

Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders

Platform: PC (MS-DOS/Mac OS)
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Developer: Raven Software
Publisher: id Software
Release: 23 December 1994
Rating: n/a*
Price: $5

Doom remains one of the most well-made first-person shooters of all time, and thus, its engine was used in other games for years afterward. Heretic is one of them, and as such, its gameplay is heavily derived from Doom itself. So if you like Doom, you'll enjoy Heretic.
That's not to say that Heretic is a carbon-copy of Doom. It's in a fantasy setting (with weapons to match), and has several features that Doom does not, namely interactive environments, inventory management, the ability to look up and down (that may not seem like much today, but in '94, it was a big deal), and limited flight.
There isn't much else to say about Heretic, so I'll talk about its sequels instead:
Heretic was followed by HeXen: Beyond Heretic, which itself was followed by HeXen II. Both take the basic gameplay of Heretic and add features of their own. A class-system was added in HeXen, with the original Heretic character filed under the Mage class. Fighter and Cleric are also available. Each class was given a unique set of weapons, and different physical stats. HeXen II increases the number of classes to four, with an entirely new set (Paladin, Crusader, Assassin, and Necromancer), and layers RPG-elements on top of that. In addition, HeXen and HeXen II added multiplayer co-operative modes.
This is one of the few cases where talking about the sequels is appropriate, since not only can you buy Heretic (complete with DOS emulator so it can run on Windows) from Steam for $5, or all three games for $10. Either way, it's an excellent deal.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.

--Kotaro

 *Heretic was never rated by the Electronic Sofware Ratings Bureau, as the ESRB was only three months old when the game was released, and at the time, it was impossible for them to rate every game.