Video Game Quick Hits 3/18/14

Did everyone enjoy their day of potatoes and Guinness yesterday? Forget the green beer, Guinness is the real (black) gold at the end of the rainbow.

Since Friday’s edition of VGQH, several upcoming indie titles for Sony platforms were confirmed:

  • Final Horizon” is an intergalactic tower defense coming to PS4 and Vita from Eiconic Games “soon.”
  • Heart Machine is releasing an 8-bit adventure in the form of “Hyper Light Drifter.” Also coming to Vita and PS4 “soon.”
  • Another “soon” title, this one for PS3 too (and 3way cross-buy), is “Race the Sun” from Flippfly, a speed-based flight sim.
  • The 2012 PC survival horror, “Home,” from Benjamin Rivers, Inc. comes to PS4 and Vita later in 2014.
  • Zen Studios is releasing “CastleStorm: Definitive Edition” and “Kickbeat: Special Edition” in “the coming months.” More Marvel, Star Wars, and Plants vs. Zombies are also coming to PS4’s “Zen Pinball 2.” (Also coming to XB1.)
  • Again PS4 and Vita, “Aztez” from Team Colorblind is an action game, “brutal, bloody, expressive, difficult, and replayable.” Guess when. Soon.

The fifth, and final, character for “Ultra Street Fighter IV” has been revealed. Decapre is one of M. Bison’s brainwashed double X army who made a brief, nonplayable appearance in “Street Fighter Alpha 3.” From the press release:

Although a partial mask hides a giant burn mark located on this Russian beauty’s face, challengers will be scarred by her quick and elusive scramble moves as well as her psycho power infused attacks, which allow her to share her pain with her opponents.”

The digital upgrade ($14.99) or stand-alone title ($39.99) is coming June 2014.

As “Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes” releases, fans are heartaching for a release date on the full release “Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.” A solid date is still elusive, but it has been noted that during registration of “Ground Zeroes” there was a single screen suggesting you return in Early 2015 for “downloadable content” that surely must be tied to “The Phantom Pain.” Or so we think. This is the work of Kojima, an obvious fan of practical jokes.

So how big of a world can we expect in “Batman: Arkham Knight?” Rocksteady isn’t being specific yet, but a few screenshots “leaked” over the weekend. For your contemplation:

Arkham Knight

 A picture of a massive Gotham? Seems like a good place to end. That’s this week’s early edition. Come back Friday for the rest of the week’s stories. I’m going to wander back to Ys for now, try to collect some more memories.