Download Episode

Download Episode

A strong mix of steampunk and WW1 European military aesthetic oozes from this game with early 1900s style armored mechs roaming throughout the countryside in the art stills from the game. Everything feels lived in and believable. This what if scenario is described by the developers as:

“After the Great War, farmers found a plethora of unexploded ordnance, barbed wire, weapons, shrapnel and bullets while ploughing their fields. They called it the (Iron Harvest).”

In battles, giant bipedal armored units lumbered across the fields, crushing fields of wheat and wooden fences. Rocket and riflemen walk aside the large mech units. An awe inspiring scene for sure. Buildings and structures break and crumble based on how they’re hit. Smash a corner of a brick house and that part of house will get damaged. The developers informed me that destruction is dynamic which gives a greater sense of immersion and also interesting tactical options not seen in other RTSes.

I stopped and zoomed in to admire the detailed animation of all the units when I had a breather. This game definitely has an extreme level of detail, the care and time put into the overall experience shows.

The soundtrack is equally fitting. The musical score crashing and blasting through my headphones. It’s what you’d expect, loud and bombastic with your typical drums, brass and strings. Less tense moments have more mellow instrumentation but still very good compositions and pulled me more into the game world.

As far as the gameplay goes, the devs were quick to point out that this game is emphasizing strategy over APM (actions per minute) saying that their game is less Starcraft II and more an RTS that you can take your time with. That’s not to say that there are not bouts of fast-paced action and urgency on the battlefield. In my play-through, I went through two varied missions. One in which I had to take over control points on the battlefield to win the skirmish. The other was an escort mission where I had to protect a steampunk inspired locomotive armed with a large shell cannon from one end of the battlefield to another.

On foot units are controlled within small groups; you can move them behind cover, flank and fortify your units within buildings and structures. One of the things this game emphasized is strategy and positioning over a rock, paper, scissors unit match up. Sending a swarth of units straight on frequently ended in death for my foot soldiers. Soldiers can also change their function as items are scattered across the battlefield which you can equip to turn your riflemen into rocketmen or engineers or any of the other included skills. Larger mech units provided a much needed punch of extra power with their mounted guns putting holes into the enemy. A combination of foot units as well as mech units is key. Each type has their own strengths and weaknesses and matching up the appropriate unit against the appropriate enemy type as well as proper positioning proved very effective.

Iron Harvest plays out over an extensive single player campaign and multiple coop campaigns. Random skirmishes are also available against the CPU or online versus human opponents. You can choose to play one of three factions: the Polonia Republic, Rusviet and the Saxony Empire. Rest assured that each faction will play differently, each with unique characteristics and units says the developer. I was only able to play as one faction during my play, but if the level of detail that was put into the animation and gameplay, they should most like feel distinct.

Iron Harvest is slated to come out for PC, Xbox One and PS4 on September, 1st 2020. The demo I played as on a PC with mouse and keyboard. It will be interesting how they incorporate a typical mouse and keyboard setup into a modern controller interface.

Download Episode

In Ghostrunner, you are a cyborg assassin who can run, slide, wall jump and slow down time as you dodge enemy fire as one hit can kill you. Armed with your ninja blade, you need to make your way through massive tower on the way to reveal the mystery of a ruined civilization.

As you progress further other arsenal becomes available. In my play through, a grappling hook became available which opened up new approach and traversal opportunities. The development team says other weapons and items will become available like throwing stars for distance attacks.

Gameplay felt strong and polished. It did take a little to get used to the slow down/dash mechanic but after a bit I felt in control. Paths are fairly clear and obvious, knowing when to wall jump, dash or slide felt like second nature and slicing enemies felt satisfying.

Ghostrunner is shaping up to be a strong single player experience. With amazing visuals draped in a dystopian cyberpunk future and a soundtrack to match, this game certainly impresses. Ghostrunner will be available PC, Xbox One and PS4 later this year. Checkout the official gameplay trailer below.

The early 90s are in full swing regarding the visuals and soundtrack. Beautiful hand drawn characters and deep dance and house music complement the head smashing, gut punching action. Numerous nods to the original can also be seen from the storefront signage to level locations to the street thugs the game throws at you.

The Playable character count has been upped to five with three new combatants joining veterans Axel and Blaze. Cherry Hunter is a guitar wielding battler, who can dash about the stage with speed and use her quickness to her advantage. Floyd Iraia, who is half cyborg with his metallic arms (think Jax from Mortal Kombat), can grab people from a distance extending his arms and bringing foes closer and deal massive damage and perform ground shaking throws and slams. And rounding out the new cast is Adam Hunter. Adam can do flashy tastumakis and jumping ground punches. He felt a bit like a slicker Ryu from Street Fighter in style and moveset.

Each character felt distinct in their look and moveset. Lighter folks can perform a dash maneuver to close the distance where heavier characters can execute more grabs and deal more damage per hit. Floyd has his distance grab unique to him. All characters have special moves that fit their persona in theme and deal massive damage across the battlefield. Something new is that weapons can be held while grabbing enemies, a nice quality of life feature and battle mechanic that fits the action well. When asked about if team up attacks would be returning from the original, sadly that was something that was left on the cutting room floor.

Four player local co-op and two player online play will be available which is a welcome addition to the beat-em up series. Refreshing to see the couch co-op experience alive and well in this current generation of online heavy games. As for additional modes of play, we are not aware of any outside of the core story game though the game will offer multiple difficulty modes and has the aforementioned five unique combatants.

While overall the game felt very polished and fun to play, if there were any criticisms to give, some of the character animations could use a little bit of work. With the addition of some extra frames of animation and some slight tweaks to the combo chains, it would improve the overall feel of the game. We expect some minor tweaks to the overall presentation to come before the final launch though.

Physical editions are something here at Rated G that we just simply adore. Earlier this year it was reported that Limited Run Games will be doing a physical release for this game which feels very fitting and we suspect will come with a pretty slick special edition with some cool extras.

So for fans of the original and new players who want a fun fast paced street brawler, look for Streets of Rage 4 out this Spring 2020 on PC, Xbox One, PS4 and Switch.

Download Episode

Download Episode

Download Episode

Download Episode