Posts Tagged ‘Reef Entertainment’
Newest Extreme Sports Game
The nineties saw skateboarding evolve from a passing fascination into a full blown phenomenon. Names like Tony Hawk could be dropped in casual conversation without a need to explain yourself. Snowboarding also shot up in appeal, likely because of the overall similarity between the two ‘extreme sports’. As with all fads however much of the ‘extreme sport’ fascination died down and while the events are still televised they’re watched these days more by die-hard fans than the general public. Though the appreciation of the skill involved in executing a daring mid-air maneuver is still there, the ‘ooh’ novelty has long since faded.
Recently though a new sensation has begun sweeping across the public consciousness. Parkour, or free running, no matter what you call this particular combination of strength, acrobatic prowess and sheer guts, it’s incredibly impressive to watch. It’s been featured in some films; briefly in the newest Die Hard film, the action-packed beginning scene of Casino Royale and heavily in French action film District B-13, which is a must-see for anyone and everyone.
Mirror’s Edge was one of the first games to feature this style as a central focus of action, though games like Prince of Persia and the recent NInja Gaiden titles have incorporated elements of it without doing so, but recently a game was released in which pulling off cool tricks and complex maneuvers is the central focus. It’s from Reef Entertainment and bears the accurately descriptive yet boring title Free Running. Originally released for the PSP and PS2 its success has garnered it the honor of being brought to the Nintendo DS, Wii and PC in Europe later this year. They’re retooling the game a bit to take advantage of the processing power and unique control scheme of each system.