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Heroes Over Europe
Fans of arcade-style flight sims are in a bit of a dry spell these days, which is something that Heroes Over Europe aims to fix. The game includes more than 40 real-world planes from the World War II era and has missions based on historical events, too. Playing as Canadian, English and American pilots, players will get to knock tons of German and Japanese pilots out of the sky. Missions aren’t just limited to dogfighting though. In some, you’ll have to root out German pilots who have infiltrated Allied formations with decoy planes. Others will have you do things like bomb the wall of a jail where resistance fighters are being held to facilitate their escape. It’ll also support 16 players in online dogfights, which sounds like a fun, chaotic time.
Heroes Over Europe has a pretty cool gameplay mechanic, too. You aren’t equipped with guided missiles or other anachronistic technology. Instead, you can make ace kills. If you keep your target reticule highlighted over an enemy long enough, a meter will fill around that target. Once it reaches a certain point, you can trigger ace mode. Time slows down as long as you have juice in the meter, and vulnerable parts of the plane in your sight are highlighted in yellow. With a steady hand you’re able to take out the pilot, wings or other vulnerable spots, downing the enemy aircraft in a single shot. It’s not an instant win button though, since they’ll try to evade you the whole time. Skilled pilots can chain multiple kills together in a single sequence, earning bonuses. Heroes Over Europe definitely lives up to its arcade-action billing, and it’s something that thrill-seeking flyboys (and girls) should watch out for in 2009.
Ready 2 Rumble Revolution
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing is pulling itself up from the mat on a nine count—nearly the number of years it’s been since it was last seen. When Ready 2 Rumble 2 came out, the Dreamcast and Nintendo 64 were still alive and well and the PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance were shiny and new. Technology has obviously changed, and the next installment in the arcade boxing series is coming out exclusively on the Wii—with all the motion-sensing bells and whistles.
Players take on AI opponents or their friends by punching in the air with their Wii remotes and Nunchuks. Moves like uppercuts, hooks and jabs are made by swinging in the appropriate fashion. Those punches can be charged up for a more powerful version, but be careful. If you telegraph your moves too often, you can expect to have your blow parried and be forced to watch helplessly as your stunned boxer takes a beating.
I played a few rounds and found the same hectic action that I remembered from back in the day. Successful punches fill up the familiar Rumble meter, which can be used to unleash devastating combo attacks. Pugilists have their own unique moves that draw from a variety of influences—such as kung fu, wrestling and other martial arts. Kaiser Kong’s Rumble attack flings his hapless opponent high into the air and out of the ring, for example.
The controls weren’t completely precise in the version I played, but even if I release an uppercut when you meant to jab, I was still throwing some kind of punch. The original was a bit of a button-masher, and Ready 2 Rumble Revolution has that same overall feel. If you want to practice your moves, there are a handful of minigames based on various boxing skillsets, like jumping rope and working the speed bag. In addition to honing your gaming skills, you can also use them to upgrade your custom-created boxer in the all-new championship mode.
I only got to see a glimpse of the character roster, and it’s filled with celebrity parodies. There’s action hero Kaiser Kong, extreme-sports star Red Dermato and Dewey Streudal, a washed up B-lister with tan lines who bears a passing resemblance to the star of a certain show about lifeguards. The boxers start off as fairly grotesque caricatures, and the bruise-inducing matches don’t help their looks (that’s a compliment). I was a bit surprised that Afro Thunder, the series’ de facto mascot, wasn’t shown anywhere during our demo. Maybe he’s in training.