October already promises to be a huge month for the PlayStation Vita, and today the lineup only grows even larger as two of the system’s quirkier digital downloads have received confirmed PSN launch dates.
Before Halloween arrives, you’ll be able to download and play GungHo Online Entertainment America’s side-scrolling puzzle adventure, Dokuro, and XSEED’s music-based real-time strategy hybrid, Orgarhythm, on your Vita handheld.
The two will release one week apart: Dokuro launches October 16th for $19.99 and Orgarhythm follows on October 23rd for $29.99. Those dates cover the North American PlayStation Store. (In Europe, GungHo will release Dokuro later in the winter.)
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Multiplayer in God of War? I know, it still doesn’t sound quite right. But Sony Santa Monica has revealed its competitive ambitions for the next PlayStation 3 mythological adventure, and here you’ll find the first screenshots showing teams of Kratos wannabes fighting for the right to slay a giant cyclops.
Not to be outdone, Activision came through with the completely expected news that Call of Duty: Black Ops II is exploding onto the gaming scene this fall. The near-future Cold War premise with horseback riding and unmanned drones turned into an army of robot invaders? Now that stuff wasn’t so predictable.
For mascot kart racing fans, new screenshots for Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed and LittleBigPlanet Karting crossed the finish line this week. Bethesda also dropped off a screen-grab six-pack for awesome-looking first-person action game Dishonored and, proving once again that games are art, Giant Sparrow presented its beautifully abstract first-person painting adventure game, The Unfinished Swan. Just one more artsy PlayStation Network exclusive to watch out for, folks.
Other new screenshot galleries to check out this week include: Persona 4 Golden, Orgarhythm, Ragnarok Odyssey, Mario Tennis Open, GT Academy 2012, Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy, The Last Story, Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles, Hitman: Absolution, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection Vita, Ys Origin, Pokémon Conquest, Ms. Splosion Man, The Testament of Sherlock Holmes, Unchained Blades, Warlock: Master of the Arcane, Starvoid, Blood Bowl: Chaos Edition, Salem: The Crafting MMO, Enclave: Shadows of Twilight and Free Realms third birthday celebration.
God of War: Ascension (PS3):
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Call of Duty: Black Ops II (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
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Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed (PC, PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Vita):
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LittleBigPlanet Karting (PS3):
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Dishonored (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
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The Unfinished Swan (PS3/PSN/PS Move):
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Persona 4 Golden (PlayStation Vita):
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Orgarhythm (PlayStation Vita):
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Ragnarok Odyssey (PlayStation Vita):
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Mario Tennis Open (Nintendo 3DS):
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GT Academy 2012 (PSN/PS3):
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Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy (Nintendo 3DS):
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The Last Story (Nintendo Wii):
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Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles – The Avengers Table (XBLA, PSN for PS3 and Vita):
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Hitman: Absolution (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
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Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (PlayStation Vita):
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Ys Origin (PC):
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Pokémon Conquest (Nintendo DS):
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Ms. Splosion Man – Splokour Challenge Event (XBLA):
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The Testament of Sherlock Holmes (PC, PS3, Xbox 360):
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Unchained Blades (PSP, Nintendo 3DS):
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Warlock: Master of the Arcane (PC):
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Starvoid (PC):
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Blood Bowl: Chaos Edition (PC):
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Salem: The Crafting MMO (PC, Mac, Linux):
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Enclave: Shadows of Twilight (Nintendo Wii):
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Free Realms – Third Birthday Event (PC, Mac, PSN):
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Acquire and Neilo, a studio formed by Takashi Hirai who has worked on classic music games like Space Channel 5 and Rez, have collaborated to produce one crazy video game genre crossbreed best described as rhythm real-time strategy.
Orgarhythm is the name of this bizarre PlayStation Vita-exclusive game, and it’s coming to North America later this year courtesy of the odd niche publishing ducks at XSEED Games.
In the game, players will assume the role of the God of Light and command an army of red-, yellow- and blue-colored elemental soldiers against the forces of the God of Darkness using rhythmic touchscreen taps and swipes in sync with the rock, club and tribal music thumping in the background. Different attacks occur on different beats and finger swipes lock in formations. Basically, Pikmin and Patapon got sloppy drunk and hooked up for a one-night stand without contraceptive. Orgarhythm would seem to be their bastard love child. That paint a disturbing enough mental picture for you?
Additional info plus announcement trailer and screens are posted below.
Rhythm and sound act as the user interface in Orgarhythm, giving players control over their armies. Each unit type is based on one of the three elements of Earth, Water and Fire. Each elemental troop has a “rock, paper, scissors” relationship with the other elements: Water is strong vs. Fire, Fire is strong vs. Earth, and Earth is strong vs. Water. Units are rhythmically deployed with three taps to choose the unit and attack type, then a swipe of the finger across the screen to choose position and formation. Using the same interface mechanic, players can also unleash their divine powers to boost attack, defense and healing or slow down enemy troops.
Four attack types—each type requiring a certain number of beats to use—can be employed strategically in battle. As more units enter the battle, the game music expands with additional musical layers as attacks pulse with the beat.
The game features twelve maps, which never play the same way twice as the game’s AI remembers how a map was previously played and adjusts its attack strategies accordingly. The game’s multiplayer has both versus and co-op two-player modes via online play. In co-op mode, control of the God of Light’s soldiers is shared, and in versus mode one player commands the forces of the God of Darkness—the last god standing wins!
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