While many are diving into the much anticipated Star Wars Battlefront, the PS4 and Vita also received the re-release of Super Star Wars from the SNES. Check out our first 20+ minutes of gameplay to see how the remaster handles!

Lara Croft made quite the comeback in last year’s reboot of Tomb Raider, a gritty origin story showing how Lara went from being inexperienced adventurer to a hardened survivor. However, as superb as the reboot was, Crystal Dynamics hasn’t alienated old fans of Lara entirely. Returning this December, Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris (the sequel to the hit downloadable title, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light) will be releasing on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. After testing out a demo of the upcoming title at a Square Enix press event, is it as engaging as its predecessor or has it lost its appeal?

During my demo of the game, I was playing through it entirely with 3 other people, introducing the 4-player co-op addition that wasn’t available in the predecessor. Controlling Lara Croft (voiced by Keeley Hawes, whom was Lara for TR Legend, Anniversary, Underworld, and Guardian of Light), I was able to acclimate immediately to the controls, as everything remains the same as before. Movement is as smooth as ever, and aiming and shooting with the right analog stick feels familiar and effective. One new element is the ability to wield a torch. Now, there are certain areas or puzzles to solve that will require you to pull out a torch and light something up. Conveniently, you will have easy access to this by simply pressing a button.

The cast of characters joining Lara is quite interesting. Carter Bell, a rival treasure hunter, has to come to grips and work alongside Lara, while gods Horus and Isis from Egyptian mythology also get caught in the mix, forming an overall unexpected alliance. All the characters have specific abilities that pertain to them and aid one another when playing co-op. Like its predecessor, the game is designed for co-op but should you play solo (which is still a ton of fun), the environment will be catered for that as well. Co-op is certainly the recommended way to go to take advantage of the teamwork aspect required to advance. For example, one scene had all four of us standing on switches located on each side of the room while a towering eye statue shot a projectile at us that needed to be shot back at. This scene would handle differently should you play solo. If you’re the exploring type and trying to find everything in every corner, make sure your co-op partners have that similar play style as you. After all, it wouldn’t be Tomb Raider if there were no exploration elements, finding secret artifacts and relics.

Just like the predecessor, there are 10 hidden red skulls to collect in each level, as well as hidden upgrades. Also as mentioned, the artifacts and relics that boosted (or reduced) your stats also return. Naturally, as you progress, these will only boost your attributes without having any sacrifices or cons towards your stats. There was even the submachine gun to acquire as our first sub-weapon in the demo, which utilizes ammo (represented by the blue bar under your health). You will notice a relic forming around your health bar as you collecting gems and take out foes, as long as you don’t take damage. Once filled, you will score double points multiplier and dish out double damage as well. Should you take a single hit, you’ll lose that reward and have to build it up again.

Towards the end of the demo, a massive creature chased us on a bridge that was littered with more traps than you can imagine. The chaotic nature of four of us all rushing to escape was intense but very engaging. Reaching the end, I even saw our last teammate having a hard time reaching the top platform as the bridge was collapsing and the creature was right behind them, so I quickly latched my grapple to them to save them from falling to their death. After all, don’t want to leave anyone behind. It’s moments like this though where the game truly shines as a rewarding and memorable co-op experience. Surprisingly, even with 4-player co-op, it has a controlled chaos aspect to it where the game doesn’t feel overwhelming with more players on-screen.

Throughout this hands-on, I’ve mentioned numerous times that the game has elements or familiarities to its predecessor. However, this is a great thing, as everything returning from the first game is very much welcome and worked brilliantly. After my 20-minute demo of the game, I couldn’t be more excited to get my hands on the full version. December 9th can’t come soon enough…

At the Square Enix press event prior to NYCC, I had the pleasure of meeting Ollie Sykes, Game Director of Hitman: Sniper. After meeting him, I was able to demo the first level of this new IP from the Hitman franchise launching on IOS and Android devices this Winter. Back in 2012, Hitman: Sniper Challenge was a mini-game bonus that was offered when you pre-ordered Hitman: Absolution. It amazingly created its own fan-base that still has an active daily user count of 50K players. Eidos saw this fan-base and decided to create a game solely on this type of mission. I took control of an iPad Air and began my unique experience into the dark world of assassinations.

Your mission starts in Montenegro, at a mountain top mansion surrounded with bodyguards. Visually, I was impressed that a handheld title was running so smooth and console like. If I had to compare the visuals to the rest of the franchise, I would say it has the visuals of 2005’s Blood Money, with the animations of 2012’s Absolution. When combined, it makes a great looking handheld title. The set up for the demo was straightforward; kill as many targets as you can with little detection. In the beginning, you don’t have many choices for sniper rifles or custom ammo and scopes. As you progress and gain money, you will have access to more powerful arsenals. Using your fingers to zoom in and out are simple and effective. Tapping once at the target will fire the rifle. You also have options for slow-mo and a multiple target system ala Hitman: Absolution, depending on the rifle you use. There will always be a primary target that must be killed in order to complete the mission, but there will also be secondary targets that can be killed in order to rack up more money. The amount of kills you pull off without being detected will multiply your final score. This final score with be uploaded to the online leaderboards that will create a high level of competitiveness with your fellow online community.

Additionally, you can cause accidental deaths by shooting certain objects that will cause kills. For instance, shooting a glass wall that two bodyguards happen to be leaning on will cause the glass wall to shatter and the bodyguards to fall to their deaths. You will have successfully gotten rid of two enemies, and hid the bodies, which will multiply the points. You feel a sense of Godlike power zooming in and out observing numerous different enemies and innocents in the level; with you choosing who lives, and dies. Enemy AI reacts realistically to the noise of bullets whizzing by them as well as when their fellow AI is dying in front of them.

Lastly, I must say in my playthrough with Director Ollie Sykes, I realized the amount of replayability and fun the title has is astonishing. Trying to outscore your friends through the online leaderboard system will have many replaying the same levels literally hundreds of times. In addition, the laughs you will get (YES, the laughs) from play Hitman: Sniper will be equally fun. Shooting one enemy off the roof and sending him landing onto a bodyguard three floors below is hysterical as that bodyguard then proceeds to fall onto a car, setting off the alarm and a gas tank explosion. One kill has now become a triple chain affair of murder and high score multipliers, while also becoming hilariously satisfying to see it play out. 

Hitman:Sniper will be releasing sometime this Winter on Android devices and IOS. This will be a free-to-play game, which only adds to the excitement of this already promising looking handheld title. Special thanks goes out to Mr. Ollie Sykes for giving us the time to check out his latest project.