GC10: Retro City Rampage Just Blew My Mind

Why isn't there more buzz about this game? It looks like a flaming hot heap of freakin' awesome! I have no idea what the hell is happening in the trailer, but I know it rocks.

Retro City Rampage pays homage to tons of old school games including: Tron, Ninja Turtles, Metal Gear, Bionic Commando, The Legend of Zelda, Back to the Future, Skate or Die, Frogger, Contra, Super Mario Bros, Blaster Master, and Paperboy. I'm sure there's even more that I missed. Hidden in there are some other nods to the 80's, like Cheers, and Die Hard. 

Maybe Retro City Rampage is just an 8-bit GTA clone littered with nostalgic nonsense, but damn! It looks like 88 miles-per-hour of mad fun down memory lane. 

GC10: Knights Contract is a Tough Old Bastard

Knights Contract, a game that opened my eyes back during E3, has returned with a brand new trailer for us to salivate over. It's bittersweet, since it's all cinematic and no gameplay, but that's not turning me off. The gameplay previously shown is good enough for me to trust the action will be hot and fast, like a night in the sack with yours truly. 

This trailer seems to establish our heroes' identity in Europe during the middle ages, facing overwhelming odds against bloodthirsty beasts. The protagonist is a scarred up, grizzled old badass who grunts off cannonball-sized holes in his stomach with the surliness of a true immortal. His ladyfriend is a reincarnated witch of immense power, who he hopes to keep alive long enough to reverse his "curse" of immortality. Curse? Am I the only one who thinks being immortal would be crazy?

Knights Contract, due out on PS3 and 360 in 2011, looks like a hybrid of Ninja Gaiden, Demon's Souls, and Monster Hunter. Sounds like a great mix. I'm looking forward to seeing more in the future, let's hope this one doesn't disappoint.

GC10: Brink is S.M.A.R.Ter Than Your Average FPS

I'm just going to come out and say what we're all thinking. Dev Diaries are torture. Sure they're full of interesting and eye-opening info, but they're also heavy on the filler, padding the gaps between golden gameplay footage with talking heads. Why can't we have the devs talking over the footage? Because then no one gets screen time, and we can't have that, can we? Though we see devs as mythical beasts who work 80 hour weeks in one of the hardest and most fulfilling professions in the world, they are vain humans just like you and me.

So anyway, Brink looks awesome. This dev diary explains Brink's S.M.A.R.T. system, Smooth Movement Across Random Terrain. The parkour looks good, as does the combat aspect, if a little bland thus far. Though in a 16 player match, running on walls and vaulting over railings while nailing a headshot with a semi-automatic pistol sounds like it could create beautiful bloodshed not seen since The Opera. 

I hope developers Splash Damage can figure out a way to add some sort of third-person view, either through a chase cam or replay system. While Mirror's Edge pulled off the first person parkour well, and Brink looks to do the same, as stylish as some multiplayer kill runs are going to be, it'll be a shame to not be able to see them in the third person. 

Side note: I love the devs. Most of them anyway. Keep doing what you do! Also, what came first, the acronym or the  definition?

GC10: Dead Space 2 Dives Head First into Asskickery

Dead Space 2 could be one of the games I'm looking most forward to. The game play clips we've seen thus far have just looked crazy good. The latest clip to pop up on the interwebs may not be as intense as some of the earlier footage we've seen, but it looks dope regardless. A little zero G, a little puzzle solving, then propelling yourself through the cold expanse of space dodging shrapnel so you can successfully breach a hull with your head. Awesome.

via Game Informer

GC10: The Old Republic's Space Battles

Space battles are awesome; it's a proven fact. Space shooter sequences will give anything you throw them in instant credibility. They're fun, flashy, fast, and more times than not, pretty tricky to complete. 

The space battles thrown into the mix in BioWare's latest Star Wars offering, The Old Republic look fairly simple. You head in one direction, on rails, blowing up whatever is threatening your ship and weaving through asteroid fields. Simple, yes, but a welcome change of pace in the MMO landscape that seems to be same old thing game in and game out.

A few things I'd love to get some clarification on: How customizable your ship is, will you be able to install upgrades that affect the space battle segments, and what happens if and when your ship is finally destroyed. 

I don't know how BioWare expects us to wait until next year for this game. 

GC10: Dragon Age 2's Brutal Trailer

Fresh from EA's keynote at Gamescom 2010 comes the latest Dragon Age 2 trailer, and I gotta say it looks pretty badass. Normally I don't put much stock into the full CG trailers, but these recent ones have been too ridiculous to not make me tingle in the pants. DA2 is continuing the trend of staggeringly beautiful full motion video clips, with protagonist Hawke squaring off against a vicious horned Qunari.

When did Qunari grow horns? Is Hawke a battle mage? Will the game be any good? Can you make me a grilled cheese sandwich? These questions remain to be answered, but in the meantime, enjoy watching Hawke summon otherworldly demon hands of furious vengeance.

Dragon Age 2 will release mid-March 2011.

GC10: Is Cole MacGrath's Identity Crisis Finally Over?

The latest trailer for Infamous 2 is a little on the slow side. The camera pans through a frozen shot of a town being ravaged to the timeless sound of House of the Rising Sun; people dying, cars flying, lightning striking. Eventually the pan leads to Cole, not the Raven-haired sack of boredom character design we've seen previously, and not quite the David Beckham clone the last character sketch teased.

The new Cole looks a lot like the old Cole, which at this point I think we should just take and stop complaining about. It's not going to get any better, and I'm tired of writing about it. So fine, I'll deal with it as long as the game looks incredible and plays smoothly. So far so good, but hopefully we'll get a more exciting trailer next time.

GC10: Epic Mickey Underwhelms with Campiness

Not a big Disney guy. I was when I was like eight. These days, not so much. For obvious reasons, I had been ignoring Epic Mickey as much as possible, and I'd like to think I've done well at it. Rumblings of Disney's whiny-ass mascot have been brushed aside without a care in the world, swiftly and with extreme bias. 

Since Epic Mickey's introductory cinematic has been released, I could no longer maintain my vow of indifference. No, watching 4-plus minutes of adorable rodent hi jinx has enlightened me. Enlightened me to the fact that I was right not to think Epic Mickey would be anything world-shatteringly awesome.

Maybe not even remotely so. I don't mind Warren Spector, but he's doing his best Peter Molyneux to get the snowball rolling on Epic Mickey. Bold statements and extravagant intentions? Check. Unfulfilled promises? Maybe..

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Disney/Mickey hater, I just happen to think Disney Interactive is trying to cash in on property gamers are already wary of with a less than adequate product. Maybe you guys should just keep milking Kingdom Hearts? I guess we'll see what happens on November 18th.