Chasm

When Shiren the Wanderer and Koppa took me on a journey to the Lair of the Golden Condor back in 2008, little did I know the lasting effect it would have. Since then, I've become a complete Roguelike nerd, geeking out at the mere mention of permadeath, procedurally generated dungeons and gold-plated +5 katanas. So, when I found out about Chasm - a Roguelike/platformer in early development from Discord Games - I couldn't help but sit up and take notice.

Taking its inspiration from classic Roguelikes and games such as Diablo and Castlevania, Chasm has its heart in the right place, while the crisp, pixelated visuals have already set my heart aflutter.

The plan is to release the game on Windows, Mac and Linux, with the possibility of a XBLIG release to follow. It's not going to be out in the wild anytime soon, but I plan on keeping my peepers on Chasm as it goes through development.

Visit the official Chasm site to check out the latest news about the game and you can show the game a little love over on Steam Greenlight.

Radio the Universe

I’ve been on something of a crowd funding crusade of late, throwing my hard-earned cash around as if it were Monopoly money. That said, it has been an incredibly exciting few months, with some fabulous looking projects on the way, including Sui Generis, Maia, Richard & Alice, Ouya and the cheeky little scamp that is Spud’s Quest.

As if all this wasn’t enough, I’ve was tuned into Radio the Universe just before Christmas – a dark and brooding title which, according to developer 6e6e6e, takes its inspiration from games such as Zelda, Dark Souls, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Hotline Miami.

The mere mention of Dark Souls is enough for me to part with my cash instantly, but a quick glance at Radio the Universe’s screens actually brought to mind the overlooked and quirky DS RPG Contact – albeit with a darker edge.

The game hit its Kickstarter target of $12,000 within hours and has now reached all of its stretch goals, which promise to expand the game world, add secondary weapon systems and double the amount of cut scenes.

Head on over to Radio the Universe's Kickstarter page to find out more and see the game in action.

La-Mulana - WiiWare

Aside from the fact that it's a remake of a six-year-old PC game, I don't know a great deal about forthcoming side-scrolling platformer La-Mulana.

What I do know is that it looks like the bastard offspring of Rick Dangerous and Castlevania - and that can only be a good thing, right?

The game is due for release in Japan later this month, but no European or US date has been announced. Maybe next week's E3 conference in LA will bring more details.

In the meantime, feast your eyes on this trailer.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - DS

The Castlevania franchise has been one of my favourites since the game’s fourth outing appeared on the Super Nintendo in the early Nineties.
    The series highlight thus far was the PlayStation and Xbox Live Arcade smash Symphony of the Night, and while Order of Ecclesia doesn't match that exceptional title, it's still an excellent game.
    Taking control of female lead Shanoa, who has sworn to find and destroy Dracula, the player undertakes another epic action adventure, this time on the DS. The series' iconic weapon, the whip, is gone, replaced instead with a variety of useful weapons. To get your hands on these, Shanoa has to absorb glyphs which in turn grants the player access to these rather special new weapons.
    Instead of being confined to Dracula’s dark castle, you'll get to experience different locations, such as villages and twilight forests. The free-roaming nature of previous titles is also gone, and instead Konami have split Ecclesia into more traditional levels.
    Castlevania has always featured memorable boss fights, and Ecclesia is no different. However, many players will be put off by these extremely difficult encounters, which can be infuriatingly difficult.
    Visually, the game ticks all the right boxes and boasts lovely sprite animation and detailed backgrounds, and in typical Castlevania style, the soundtrack is rousing.
    Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia might not be the best place to start for newcomers to the series, but grizzled old vampire killers are definitely in for a treat.