Most Anticipated in 2011 – Retro/Grade
Posted by Eric G on January 10th, 2011 | 0 Comments | Tags: 24 Caret Games , Most Anticipated 2011 , Retro/Grade
Do you own a PS3? Do you frequently check the PlayStation Network Store for hot new releases? How about for Call of Duty map packs? Is it the year 2011? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need to know about some of the upcoming PSN titles that will blow your mind out in a car (with exxxtreme enjoyment). We, the editors at PSNStores.com, know about said titles. Here’s one of them:
Retro/Grade
Going to PAX back in September was really cool. It was the first time that I had the honor of wearing a media badge and being able to check out some excellent upcoming PSN titles. As Chris mentioned on our podcast, there was one game in particular that I was repeatedly drawn to throughout the weekend. That game is Retro/Grade. My PAX impressions article is still live on the site, buried somewhere in our archives, and it’s a fine place to start if you haven’t heard anything about Retro/Grade. The game plays like no other game out there. It’s a rhythm game whose main focus is the fact that it’s a shmup played in reverse. I’ll try to break it down into simpler parts. You play as Rick Rocket, a man in a spaceship who wants to save his condo. To do so, you must fight off an alien invasion from its finish to its start. You’re in a ship, and the game looks like a side scrolling shoot-em-up, except for the fact that time is moving backwards. Shots that you’ve fired in the past are coming from the right of the screen, and it’s up to you to make sure you’re in the correct lane and press the fire button when the shot reaches your ship. In the same confusing vein, enemy fire is approaching from the left of the screen. You must dodge enemy fire while making sure to absorb your own shots. Watch the trailer; it’ll clear up the confusion.
What the trailer doesn’t fully showcase is how hypnotizing the music is. Like I said before, this is, at its core, a rhythm game. That means that your shots are being absorbed to the beat of the song. Each level has a different techno/electronica track, and each song is more head-nodding than the last. With headphones on and an unhealthy forward-lean, it’s safe to say that I was in a trance while playing Retro/Grade at PAX. With a plethora of difficulty levels, this game will appeal to newcomers and rhythm masters alike. I can’t wait to experience every level that this game has to offer on the highest difficulty I can manage. How else do you think I got my name in the credits?