TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Here's a look at the slate of recent game releases:
AFTER WAVE: DOWNFALL
The speedboat shooter tasks you to weave in between obstacles, dispatch enemies and race your way to glory.
The silly story involves a meteorite strike that has caused a massive flood, requiring you to take to your boat in order to turn the tide.
A clever, malleable control scheme varies up the pacing, often forcing you to either slow things down or speed up in order to adjust to the challenge at hand.
Upgrade opportunities abound, enhancing your handling, firepower and defensive capabilities.
Local co-op considerably boosts the appeal, allowing you to team up with a partner to take on the challenge together. As a single-player experience, the appeal tends to quickly wear thin.
AVENGING SPIRIT
The 1991 run-and-gun Jaleco arcade game gets new life on modern consoles.
Enhancements abound on the visual and gameplay fronts, but the core experience remains true to the original.
In the vein of "Contra" and "Metal Slug," gameplay emphasizes light platforming, a stream of wild offensive projectiles and foreboding bosses.
Abounding with retro flair, the game lacks some of the wholesale online and historically reverent enhancements you'll find in other retro throwbacks, such as "Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium," making this one strictly for fans of the original.
Devotees of retro classics who have yet to give "Avenging Spirit" a try are in for a treat.
THE RIFTBREAKER: METAL TERROR
The DLC expansion "Metal Terror" considerably adds to the help of "The Riftbreaker," the mech-themed RPG that dropped in late 2021.
Donning an armored, weaponized suit, your job is to terraform the land, clear out enemies, establish a base, gather resources and establish a foothold in an unforgiving environment.
The $10 expansion adds a new story chapter with a host of new technology that changes up the gameplay experience.
Players who don't ante up for "Metal Terror" still get plenty of benefits, including a new survival and sandbox mode biome, swarms of new enemies, a considerable new weapons drop and smoothed-out gameplay.
An already-solid game gets significantly more compelling with the update, showing a sign of good faith that the game is just getting started on its ongoing mission.
NICKELODEON ALL-STAR BRAWL
Released to middling reviews in October, the "Smash Bros."-style Nickelodeon-themed slugfest continues to build its stature with regular updates and gameplay announcements.
The latest drop adds Jimmy Neutron to the fray. He joins characters from the likes of "Ren & Stimpy," "Rugrats" and "Garfield."
The gameplay is a little sluggish, and matchmaking occasionally takes too long to set up online matches. There are upsides, though.
The visuals pop and the creative attacks, specials and summons granted the characters lean hard into fan service.
If the dev team keeps pumping out in-demand characters, the upside for the fighter will continue to stay promising.
Publishers provided review codes.
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Phil Villarreal is the senior real-time editor for KGUN 9. He is also a digital producer and host of "Phil on Film" seen weekly on Good Morning Tucson, Phil moved to KGUN after 17 years with the Arizona Daily Star. He is married and has four children. Share your story ideas and important issues with Phil by emailing phil.villarreal@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
