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PSN Store Update: Final Fantasy 14, Trials Fusion, FIFA World Cup
It's football, fantasy, and FMX in this week's line-up of PlayStation Store additions for North America, starting with the full launch of Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn. PS4 players can hook up with the subscription MMO for $40, or $60 if they fancy some in-game items from the Collector's Edition. You can also transfer a PS3 copy across to PS4 - Amazon has the PS3 version going for $25. Next it's FMX: RedLynx's next attempt to break your controllers is Trials Fusion, and it's the first in the series to arrive on PlayStation. The PS4 game - also available on Xbox One, 360, and PC - adds freestyle tricks to the trademark mix of motocross and puzzle-platforming. The regular game is $20 but if you're wheelie keen for the upcoming DLC, a Deluxe Edition is $40 and comes with the season pass. Speaking of puzzles, the PS4 also gets a few brainteasers this week. Pure Chess and Backgammon Blitz are $8 each - you can get a game-pack stuffed Deluxe Edition of Pure Chess for $15 - and finally, That Trivia Game will set you back That Ten Dollars. Onto to PS3, and football - the rounder, kickier kind. The catchily titled 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil is only on PS3 and Xbox 360, and you can score it as a $60 download on the former. Meanwhile, Beyond: Two Souls has been out for a while, but it's also now on PSN as a $60 download. Don't forget, this week's PS Plus freebie is the new Castle of Illusion, and that comes bundled with the Genesis original as a nostalgic bonus. Finally, the Vita has plenty of new releases including Conception 2 ($40, also out on 3DS) and Cross-Buy portable versions of Dead Nation ($8) and Ethan: Meteor Hunter ($10). For the full list of new releases, sales, and Plus discounts, head over to the PlayStation Blog. [Image: Ubisoft]
Ethan: Meteor Hunter chases space rocks to Vita on April 15
Following the announcement of a Vita version of Ethan: Meteor Hunter earlier this year, developer Seaven Studio has unveiled an official release date: April 15. Ethan: Meteor Hunter centers on a rat who strayed too close to the sorts of falling heavenly bodies that can cause a mammal to develop special abilities, specifically the telekinetic power to stop time and move objects. Now, Ethan uses these powers to hunt down more meteorites, in his ultimate quest to take revenge on the fiend who destroyed his house. It's not Dostoevsky (or even Stan Lee), but the premise does offer ample reason for players to hop through Ethan's world. New to the Vita game are optional touchscreen telekinesis controls, though otherwise it's identical to the game currently available on both PC and PlayStation 3. On debut, Ethan: Meteor Hunter will bear a $10 price tag. [Image: Seaven Studio]
Timey-wimey platformer Ethan: Meteor Hunter is coming to Vita
Ethan: Meteor Hunter is a tricky PS3 and PC platformer with time-stopping mechanics, and it was made by the self-described "bastards" at Seaven Studio. It was only in December the French team was lamenting some woeful sales numbers, so it's good to see it's persevering by bringing the game to Vita sometime "soon," in addition to Steam on February 7. Seaven credits Reddit with getting the game past Greenlight, after users there backed it in the wake of the dispiriting sales. As for the Vita version, one change-up is that players can use Ethan's telekinetic powers to move objects in stasis using the front and rear touchscreens, a feature that Seaven's Olivier Penot said "just made sense." No word on a release date for Vita, but Seaven is nonetheless ramping up the platformer's second coming with plenty of promos. PS3 users can try out a demo this week, with that version on sale at $7, or $5 for PS Plus users - the game will be Cross-Buy, so getting it on PS3 will unlock the Vita version when it arrives. Meanwhile, the Steam version will be 20 percent off at launch, coming in at $8. [Image: Seaven Studio]
Ethan: Meteor Hunter post-mortem laments poor sales, Greenlight woes
Ethan: Meteor Hunter is a punishing 2D platformer made by the "bastards" at Seaven Studio, and has been available for just more than a month on PC and the PlayStation Network. During this time, the game sold just 127 units on PC. A post-mortem on the Seaven Studio website cites issues with Steam Greenlight, translating the game into too many languages and that "good value and focus on gameplay are not appealing." The post also notes that releasing the game a month after the release of GTA5 - one of the best-selling games of all-time (probably) - and a month before the PS4 launch and Xbox One launch - which were also two of the highest-selling console launches - might have contributed to the game's lack of sales. The game is also not yet available on Steam, having only recently gotten 96 percent of the votes it needs to break into Greenlight's top 100. The post asks if gaming is in an "indie bubble where one-good-but-normal-game ([i.e.] not Stanley Parable) can only sell with sales and bundles, not full price." It also asks commenters to voice their reasons why they didn't buy the game so that "next time, if we manage to have a next time," they don't make the same mistakes.
Ethan: Meteor Hunter, telekinetic mouse, ensnares a release date
Tricksy puzzle-platformer Ethan: Meteor Hunter lands on PlayStation Network and PC on October 22, a day later for PS3 owners in Europe. Both versions come in at around the $10 mark - for some reason the PC one is a whole 9 cents cheaper. Should that push you over the edge, you can nab it via developer Seaven Studio's website. The game is built around rodent hero Ethan's telekinetic powers - he's able to pause time and move objects around in stasis. I went hands-on with a preview build recently, and found it a much more challenging proposition than it looked at first. Check out my extended thoughts here, as well as the story of the French indie outfit behind the game.
Ethan: Meteor Hunter - The super-tough PSN, PC game made by 'bastards'
"If there's one thing you have to know about this game and us, it's that we're bastards." So said Seaven Studio Producer Olivier Penot as I died again in his 2D platformer, Ethan: Meteor Hunter. Penot didn't seem a bastard as we chatted, smiley enough in the midst of a four-day public expo. Then again, his game looked friendly, too.
Ethan: Meteor Hunter follows the trail to PS3 this summer
French indie outfit Seaven Studio is working on Ethan: Meteor Hunter, coming to PS3 this summer. In this puzzle-platformer, titular star Ethan is hunting down meteorite fragments across 50 levels spanning three different worlds. Ethan is no ordinary bipedal mouse – he can freeze time and manipulate objects through telekinesis, thanks to being struck by a meteor himself. Ethan: Meteor Hunter is also vying for a Steam launch through Greenlight right now. Though it may be the studio's first game, Seaven Studio's seven employees originally worked at Hydravision Entertainment, helping to produce Obscure, Obscure 2 and the Wii and PS2 ports of 2008's Alone in the Dark reboot.
