On the Download: July 29-August 4

It is sad to see things to slow down this much on the downloadable front.  I can expect it from the retail side of things, but there has been a relentless slew of new quality downloadable games all competing for our hard earned cash as of late.  It is rather sad to see things slow down this much.  There was not even any new games released for the 3DS Virtual Console as part of their 8-Bit Summer initiative or a Game of Weekend deal on the eShop as well.  I am still hoping either Pushmo and/or Dillion's Rolling Western to get discounted a few dollars one of these weekends.  Even with the lack of noteworthy downloadable games being released at this very moment, there are a couple noteworthy ones that people should consider pre-purchasing.  You can pre-purchase Symphony, a very interesting musical shooter that I have actually picked up, on Steam for 8 dollars (20% off the regular price) or Sound Shapes, a platformer where the actions make the music, on PSN for 15 dollars (12 dollars if you have PlayStation Plus) both of which come out next week.  Also the first piece of Skyrim DLC, Dawnguard has been released for PC for those PC Elder Scrolls fanatics that have been waiting what to them must seems like ages for this big add-on.  This week there might not be a lot of games releasing on the downloadable side of things, but next week looks to shaping up to be one big week for downloadable games.  Might be big enough to warrant another two part edition of On the Download.  We will have to wait and see.  Before we can get to next week, we still got to take a look at the lone downloadable offering from this week, Deadlight.

Microsoft's Summer of Arcade continues with the release of Deadlight.  Deadlight is a puzzle platformer much like Limbo and Shadow Complex, which both debuted in one of Microsoft's Summer of Arcade promotions from years past.  Set in 1986, the world has been ravaged by a zombie plague.  Deadlight casts you as Randall Wayne, a survivor of this perilous plague.  After his wife and daughter go missing during the beginning of the outbreak, Randall sets out for Seattle to possibly find refuge and hopefully, if they are still alive, find his family.  Each enemy encounter in the game plays out like a puzzle.  You have to expertly use the environment to your advantage in order to get by zombies and other obstacles.  While you are given access to weapons such as an axe and guns to combat the zombie horde, the best solution is to avoid combat unless it is absolutely necessary.  It seems like every other game that releases nowadays has zombies in them in some shape or form and it is getting very tiresome.  While Deadlight is yet another game set in a zombie apocalypse, it looks to be an unique enough experience to make it standout among the horde of zombie games.  If you are interested in Deadlight, you can download from XBLA for 1200 Microsoft Points.

On the Download: June 24-30 Part 2

On the Download continues with a look at the console and PC downloadable games released this week.  I will get to the meat and potatoes of this post, I would like to highlight two other downloadable games/DLC.

First, the second episode of Telltale Games Walking Dead adventure game was released this week for XBLA, PSN and Steam.  The second episode, called Starved for Help, continues the story from where the first episode, A New Day, left off.  You are able to find Starved for Help as an individual download for 5 dollars on XBLA or PSN or you can pick up the Season Pass and get the entire series when each subsequent episode is released.

Next piece of business is a piece of free DLC for Mass Effect 3.  When the game came out in March, there was a lot of backlash around the game's ending.  While I did personally enjoy the original open-ended ending, it did bring up a lot of questions that got most fans that could not connect the dots themselves angry.  This Tuesday, BioWare released the Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut DLC.  The Extended Cut DLC does not change the ending of the game, it adds more scenes to the final 30 minutes of the game in order to help gamers get a better understanding of the Mass Effect 3's ending.  By better understanding, I mean BioWare basically lays out every single little detail for those gamers who could not do it themselves.  Hopefully this DLC does satisfy some of the haters, but no matter what BioWare does there will always be a core group of gamers that will hate the ending of Mass Effect 3 no matter what.  If you have Mass Effect 3, download the Extended Cut DLC as it is absolutely free and gives a better understanding of the game's ending.

The next piece of DLC I am going to talk about is for the biggest RPG of 2011, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.  The first big expansion to the world of Skyrim is called Dawnguard.  In Dawnguard, the vampire lord Harkon has returned.  Harkon seeks the power of the Elder Scrolls in order to accomplish his goal of blanketting Tamriel in eternal darkness by blocking out the sun.  As the hero of Skyrim, you must choose between joining Harkon in his dark goal or the collective of vampire hunters known as the Dawnguard in stopping Harkon and his vampires.  Which faction you choose to join will affect the perks you receive, your homebase (Castle Volkihar for the vampires and Fort Dawnguard for the vampire hunters) and some other bonuses exclusive to each faction such as being able to transform into a vampire lord or hiring Armoured Trolls.  Dawnguard also adds new combat options and weapons such as the crossbow and mounted combat, new shouts, new quests, new skill trees, new dragons and other enemies and the ability to alter your appearance at anytime for a price of 1000 septim.  At the moment, Dawnguard is only available on XBLA for 1600 Microsoft points because Microsoft paid Bethesda for timed exclusivity for the DLC.  Dawnguard should be coming to PSN and PC sometime in the near future.

Penny Arcade Adventures: On a Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness has been on a long hiatus.  The first two episodes in this episodic series were created by Hothead Games, but in 2010 the developer discontinued production on future episodes to focus on DeathSpank.  Back in late 2011, Zeboyd Games, the makers of indie RPG hits Cthulhu Saves the World and Breath of Death VII, announced they would pick up where Hothead Games left off and make the third episode in this series.  The most striking difference between Episode 3 and the first two episodes of Penny Arcade Adventures is the 16-bit inspired graphics that are very similar to RPGs from the SNES.  Episode 3 is completely inspired by RPGs from the SNES era as the combat and presentation are very similar to past RPGs mixed with modern design sensibilities.  Episode 3 is suppose to last 8 to 12 hours with more content to be added with free updates.  Currently Penny Arcade's On a Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 is only available for PC through Steam, but it will will be released for XBLA, Mac, Android and iOS at later dates.  If you do have Steam, you can pick it up for 5 dollars and buy it before July 2 to get Cthulhu Saves the World and Breath of Death VII for free.  Three indie RPGs for 5 dollars that is a great deal.

Launch Station: Dragon's Dogma

For this whole console generation, Capcom has tried its hand at introducing new intellectual properties that they could possibly lead into bigger franchises.  Capcom has seen success with both the Dead Rising and Lost Planet while also experiencing complete failure with Dark Void.  In 2012, we have already seen Capcom try their hand at one new IP with Asura's Wrath back in February.  Today, sees the release of Capcom's other big new IP, Dragon's Dogma.

Dragon's Dogma is an action RPG published and developed by Capcom to compete with the action RPG giant The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.  In the opening few minutes of the game, a dragon raids your home village.  During the raid, the dragon tears out your heart.  Missing your heart, you inevitably die only to be revived as an Arisen.  As an Arisen, you have been chosen as the hero to find and kill the dragon that stole your heart.  From the outset of the game, Dragon's Dogma offers tons of customization options in order to make your own personalized character.  From your appearance to your gender to your class, you are given the freedom to make whatever character you want.  If you do not like the character you made, you can retool them and change classes at any point in the game.  One of the main features in Dragon's Dogma is the pawn system, which governs the AI that controls the player's party.  These party members referred to in Dragon's Dogma as pawns, fight independently, learn skills on their own, actively converse with the player and give helpful information on enemies.  The player is also able to give pawns orders if you need them to do something in particular.  In Dragon's Dogma, you are able to grab onto anything from enemies to objects to even NPCs.  The grab can be used to grab onto to giant enemies like a griffon and scale them much like what you do in Shadow of the Colossus.  It makes the player feel like you are actually fighting a giant monster rather than chopping at their shins like you do most games.

Dragon's Dogma has a lot of stiff competition to compete with.  The comparisons with Skyrim will no doubtfully come up and most likely be used as a negative point against the game all due to Capcom's huge lack of promoting Dragon's Dogma.  While I was never interested in the game, it was very hard to tell how good or bad the game would be from the trailers or previews.  There is the demo, which I have not tried yet due to how busy I have been lately.  The reviews have been all been very positive so it will be interesting to see how well Dragon's Dogma sells.  If there are gamers out there looking for another high fantasy action RPG much in the vein of Skyrim, Dragon's Dogma should satisfy your needs.

Hump Day Music: Sons of Skyrim

With everything that went on last week, it was a little too busy to put up  a new edition of Hump Day Music.  For those who missed not having Hump Day Music to help them get over the hump, I hope this week's edition makes up for it.  While by now, you know my love for another game with Sky in its name (one hint, it is not Skylanders), I have to give credit to another game with Sky in its name, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.  Over the past two months, the land of Skyrim has captured the hearts of many gamers.  I have not personally played it yet, but I hope to eventually.  Probably when Bethesda releases the Game of the Year edition with all the expansions or the 5th Anniversary edition with some Behind the Scenes content.

Even though I have not played it yet, one aspect of Skyrim has already impressed me.  That aspect is the game's epic orchestrated soundtrack.  If there was a way to get the soundtrack for Skyrim and many other games on CD or iTunes, I would definitely purchase them.  The track I am sharing with you today is one I cannot stop listening to and even try to sing along with, but fail as it is in another language.  It is Skyrim's main theme, Sons of Skyrim.  If you have seen the Official Gameplay Trailer for Skyrim, you have heard the song and quite possibly tried to sing along with the incredible male choir for the chorus.  It is a song that gets your heart pumping.  As I associate the song with the game, it makes me feel like I want to grab an axe a slay some dragons.  So before you go pick up your axe and slay some dragons, take a few minutes to one of the best pieces of music from 2011.