Steam Quickies #3

Chivalry: Medieval Warfare

Torn Banner Studios
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Think of Chivalry as a medieval Call of Duty. For many, that alone is enough to justify the purchase. All of the familiar FPS multiplayer options are included. If you want full-on warfare, join a team deathmatch. If you're tired of getting stabbed in the back, switch to singles duels. The combat is intense albeit clunky. If you want serious competition and an untarnished loss column, look elsewhere. Chivalry is for those who don't mind regularly getting their heads lopped off.

Nidhogg

Messhof

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Nidhogg is akin to a 2D Bushido Blade. Quick and slick fencing controls support a tug-of-war system in which fatal thrusts yield a player more time to push back their opponent's respawn location. It's almost too basic, but this one is all about quality over quantity, from the brilliant graphics and soundtrack to the precision in the combat.

Steam Quickies #2

World of Diving

Vertigo Games

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Vertigo does an exceptional job simulating the diving experience with or without the Oculus VR enhancement. It may even be too realistic; I looked forward to exploring a seemingly endless ocean floor like in Ecco the Dolphin or Treasures of the Deep to a lesser extent, but World of Diving offers a more organized, site-specific experience. With only a few maps to explore at this point, this will be another test for the Early Access development machine.

Race the Sun

Flippfly LLC

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It's not just any endless runner featuring procedural generation, it's the best looking one. Race the Sun is sure to captivate the minimalist genre's die-hard players, but the rest will move on quickly after its cosmetic appeal subsides.

A Return to the Golden Age

Double Dragon Trilogy

Dot Emu (originally Technos Japan)

Steam (2015, originally 1987-1990)
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If you're an avid player of the brawler genre (yes, we still exist) Double Dragon Trilogy is a no-brainer. For $5.99, young gamers can also now experience the history of the virtual mean streets during the late 1980's. The old school can even meet the new school online for cooperative play. What else do you need?

Not much. Double Dragon was never complicated: street punks kidnap girlfriend, must get girlfriend back. This simple premise was flawlessly presented with no dialogue at the start of the original in a matter of seconds. Ass-kicking ensues thereafter.

There’s been plenty of sequels, remakes, and reworks over the years, and none of them were too shabby (save for the terrible one-on-one fighting entry that was Double Dragon V). With Trilogy, you should expect more arcade faithful versions of the original three, rather than the fondly remembered and popular NES ports. I’m sure we can all agree that Double Dragon II for NES is the superior version, but the original was a great game in its own right.

The very best in the series, Double Dragon Advance, incorporated skills from previous entries like the headbutt, spinkick, hyper knee and uppercut, mount, stomp, wall jump, grab, and parry to name a few. These powers complimented each other for a furious festival of flowing fists and feet. You won’t find such a diverse arsenal of moves in Trilogy- only the simplistic fighting styles that graced arcades back in the golden age.

That being said, don't assume the most recently released homage, Double Dragon Neon, is the superlative entry. While it did wield an impressive move list and an insider's nostalgia, it never felt quite like a Technos game. For those looking for the genuine experience starring their beloved super-deformed characters and pick-up-and-play controls, Trilogy is the way to go, even if the platforming has aged beyond rationality by today's standards.