Yep, Super Time Force still exists (and here's a new trailer for it)

Is it me, or have we been waiting for Cabybara Games' Super Time Force for an eternity?

OK, so that's a bit of an overstatement. Still, we've been waiting for it for a long time--or at least I have.



Anyway, here (er, above) the latest trailer for this curious-looking--due to the time-bending element--XBLA title:

Sadly, the game still is without a release date--well, other than "before the year is out."

Oh, hey, Capybara Games' Super T.I.M.E. Force is still a thing?

I hate to admit it, but I lost track of Capybara Games' Super T.I.M.E. Force long ago. As such, I was surprised to see a thread about this upcoming XBLA release pop up on NeoGAF this morning.

That NeoGAF thread promised nine minutes of Super T.I.M.E. Force gameplay, by the way, and, boy, did it deliver. Here it is, in case any of you are interested:



The game kind of recalls the great Gunstar Heroes--or even that Konami classic, Contra--with a curious time-altering element thrown in for good measure, don't you think?

Sadly, I can't seem to find a release date (or even a release window) for Super T.I.M.E. Force at the moment, so I'm guessing the folks at Capybara Games have yet to share one.

Here's hoping it hits XBLA sooner rather than later--and with a not-too-steep price tag attached to it.

Not-So-Mega Man

Those of you who regularly troll (I mean that in a good way here, I swear) this blog's comments sections may have come across the username "gsilverfish" once in a while.

Well, it appears that gsilverfish is more than just your average blog commenter--he's also a really talented developer of games (including the XBLIG title, Astroman) who goes by the real-life name of Michael Stearns.

Speaking of Michael and his games, he's currently working on getting a rather awesome looking game called Tiny Barbarian DX off the ground via Kickstarter.

Rather than blather on about Tiny Barbarian DX and what it will offer gamers should they succeed in backing the project (which ends in 16 days), I thought I'd just point you to its Kickstarter page and also share this gameplay trailer:



Looks cool, right? I especially like the looks of the game's combo/juggling system, which for various reasons makes me think of a few of Treasure's classics (like Gunstar Heroes and Guardian Heroes). Oh, and of course I just like its looks, too.

Anyway, should you also like the looks (in all manners of speaking) of Tiny Barbarian DX, may I suggest heading over to the game's Kickstarter page sometime between now and 11:30 am EST on Dec. 19?

If you need to hear a bit more about Michael and his in-the-works game before deciding to financially back it, you may also want to check out this recent--and rather interesting, if I do say so myself--interview over at the Erratic Gamer blog.

Any game that 'looks like someone tried to port Gunstar Heroes to the Atari 2600' sounds like a winner to me

I can't take credit for the quote that appears in the headline above, by the way. That honor belongs to NeoGAF user Fine Ham Abounds.

Anyway, I so completely agreed with what Fine Ham Abounds had to say about an upcoming, tantalizing-looking game that I couldn't help but quote him in this post's header.

As for the game he compares to a 2600 port of the Treasure classic known as Gunstar Heroes: It's called Super T.I.M.E. Force and it will be released at some as-yet-unknown date and on some as-yet-unknown platform (or, more likely, platforms) courtesy of the folks at Capybara Games.

I know, the lack of info in regards to the game's release date and platform(s) of choice stinks, but it stinks a lot less (or more, if you're a 'glass half empty' kind of guy/gal) after you watch the following teaser:


Super T.I.M.E Force - First Peek from Capy! on Vimeo.

I'm not at all sure what's going on in the trailer above, to tell you the truth, but I like what I see all the same--especially the part where the little soldier dudes and dudettes leap from missile to missile.

Anyway, here's hoping the Capybara crew loosen their lips soon and let all of us slobbering fools know when and where we can expect to play what looks to be a fabulously frantic title.

Oh, and one last thing: If you're looking for a good chuckle, check out Capybara's official description of the game here.

10 video games that made my life gayer (#5): Gunstar Heroes

I've never been much of a fan of run-and-gun games. You know, games like Contra, Ikari Warriors and Metal Slug.

In fact, the only run-and-gun game I've ever enjoyed is Treasure's Gunstar Heroes. I've enjoyed it a lot, though, so I guess that kind of makes up for my lack of love for the genre as a whole.

I can't imagine I'm alone in my admiration of this Genesis/Mega Drive classic, released in both Japan and North America in the autumn of 1993. After all, it's pretty darn accessible as far as side-scrolling shoot 'em ups are concerned, and it's also less realistic and violent than most of its genre cohorts.

That's not why Gunstar Heroes put a big, stupid grin on my face back in the day, though--and why it still does so today. No, for that I can thank the game's beautiful sprite work, creative level design, mind-boggling boss encounters and unique weapon system. Oh, and it has a wicked (in the good sense) soundtrack.

Was Gunstar Heroes my one chance at finding true love with the run-and-gun genre? I'm starting to think so. That's OK--as Alfred Lord Tennyson once said, "'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

See also: all of the previous '10 video games that made my life gayer' posts