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Play More Games: BloodRayne, Seriously

BloodRayne: Betrayal

It may still be unseasonally warm out, but you only need one glance at this month’s release lineup to see that Fall is officially here. As we talked about in Episode 18, the next few months are packed with tons of new games and we’re scrambling to even talk about all of them, let alone play them! With that in mind, here’s the first of several Lightning Round editions of Play More Games where I’ll spotlight a game or two we think are significant and then do a quick run through of the rest so you can hurry up and get back to your couch.

This week’s featured game, astonishingly enough, is not just download-only, it’s also a BloodRayne title. Yes, you read that right. BloodRayne: Betrayal is a dramatic departure for the vampire actioner whose two previous-generation outings were met with general apathy. (And let’s not mention the Uwe Boll film.) Abandoning its 3D roots, Betrayal is a 2D action platformer in the style of Castlevania or Strider. As the half-human, half-vampire Rayne, you unleash all kinds of bloody violence upon your enemies in a combat system that I was surprised to discover requires more attention and technique than I was expecting. It all made sense when I saw the game was developed by WayForward, creators of the excellent–albeit somewhat sadistic–Contra 4. While BloodRayne is much more forgiving (especially with its blood-sucking mechanic), don’t expect to just waltz through it Bela Lugosi-style. It’s also got some stylish, 2D sprite graphics and a soundtrack that wouldn’t sound out of place in a Castlevania game. If you’re still not intrigued, check out the demo on PSN or Xbox Live Arcade, or watch the trailer that originally shocked us that we were suddenly looking forward to a BloodRayne game.

Other games out this week:

Resistance 3 – The latest installment of Insomniac’s alt-history World War II FPS is getting a surprising amount of early praise, but is it special enough to weather the imminent shooter storm of Gears of War 3, Battlefield 3, and Modern Warfare 3? At the very least, Olly Moss’s incredible box art will look fantastic on your shelf.

Dead Island – The buzz around this open world, zombie survival game seems to have been steadily declining as people discovered the actual game doesn’t quite live up to the poignancy of its much-discussed debut trailer. Also, early reports are saying that–in addition to all the zombies–the game’s tropical island setting is infested with glitches and questionable game mechanics.

Starfox 64 3D – Following the success of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, Nintendo’s counting on another N64 revival with this 3D space dogfighter. Admittedly, I never played much of the N64 original so I’m looking forward to spending time with this, although the lack of online multiplayer means I’m not exactly rushing out to get it.

The Impossible Game – The silly iOS/Android diversion comes to your PSP this week! It’s actually a lot of fun if you’re into games that are equal parts twitchy reflexes, level memorization, and constant dying. No, really. I enjoyed it.

Uncharted 1 & 2 Dual Pack – Still haven’t played either of the Uncharted games? Better pick up this compilation before Randy shows up at your door to have a word with you. There’s still plenty of time to get caught up with Nathan Drake before Uncharted 3 hits in November!

And that’s it for week one of the Fall onslaught! Are you picking up any of these (or maybe a game we didn’t even cover?) or are you saving up for the next few months? Let us know in the comments!

For a full list of this week’s releases, check out Tech-Gaming or Amazon.com.