Downloadable titles coming soon from Konami

Recently (relative term) I had a chance to attend a Konami event and take a look at some of their upcoming titles. There were some interesting things there (an Anime-girl themed Gradius-style shooter, a hack-and-slasher with time manipulation, a new Silent Hill, etc), but the games that captured my particular attention were some of the downloadable games for XBLA and PSN.

The first game I played was a remake of the classic arcade game BurgerTime. BurgerTime World Tour features everything that made the original great, but adds new platforming elements, a host of enemies, boss battles, and not least of all, fully 3D environments. While movement is restricted to a single plane (as it should be), the world is kind of circular and you get a good view of the rest of the level no matter where you are.

BurgerTime World Tour is coming soon for XBLA, PSN, and WiiWare.

Next up was a puzzle game for Kinect called LeedMees. Similar to Lemmings, the goal is to guide the eponymous Mees to a goal. The twist is that you achieve this by using your body as a sort of bridge. The goal is constantly moving, so you have to contort yourself into a variety of positions in order to be successful. In later levels, you also need to operate buttons and switches to help the Mees across obstacles like spike traps. There is also a multiplayer mode if you want to get a friend in on the action (Kinect games always feel a little less silly when you’ve got someone else flailing around next to you. Diffusion of embarrassment, I suppose.)

LeedMees was a ton of fun, and I’m looking forward to picking it up. Regular listeners to the podcast will note that I’ve been in want of new games for my Kinect for a long time now and this game in particular is a fresh breath of air. Details about pricing weren’t final, but should probably run you about $10 from Xbox Live. LeedMees is expected to be released early this month.

Tired of this casual gamer crap? Like zombies? Have friends? Then you’ll want to check out Zombie Apocalypse 2: Never Die Alone. A follow-up to the 2009 title of the same name (without that “2” part, obviously), Zombie Apocalypse 2 is a multidirectional shooter (think Geometry Wars) that pits you and up to three other players against a horde of the undead. The game features four unique characters, each with their own type of weapon and special “Ownage” attack. You can also throw zombie bait that will distract the mobs of undead, buying you a few seconds to collect yourself. I could explain all day, but just go ahead and watch the video.

Zombie Apocalypse is set to come out on XBLA and PSN this October, just in time for Halloween.

Finally, and probably my favorite game of the day, was Puddle, a physics-based puzzle game. The idea is fairly simple: you start with a sample of liquid that you navigate through a assortment of obstacles and hazards by tilting the stage. There are a variety of themed worlds like forest, industrial, and the human body. Levels also feature different types of liquids with distinct properties. One level I played featured a very viscous, water-like substance, while another one was a lot slower and syrupy.

While Puddle is coming out for both PSN and XBLA, the PSN version features Move controls. That’s the one I played and it feels totally natural. I’d definitely say that’s the version to get if you have the choice. Look for it in November.

I wasn’t given any definite info about pricing for any of these games, but expect to spend about $10 for each of them. Konami has the bases covered, no matter what you want: classic nostalgia with BurgerTime, Kinect shenanigans with LeedMees, fast-paced multiplaer action with Zombie Apocalypse 2, or a relaxing puzzles with Puddle. I enjoyed all of them, so definitely keep an eye out.