I’d made up my mind to skip the Xbox One and get a PlayStation 4, but Werewolf News reader Gothic Guido has just informed me of an Xbox One launch title that might make me reconsider. Earlier this week at E3, Microsoft announced that the classic SNES / arcade fighter Killer Instinct is being revived by Double Helix Games. From the official announcement on Double Helix’s blog:
The announcement showcased three completely redesigned characters already familiar to fans of the franchise. Jago, clad in shredded tapestries and ropes that evoke his monastic background, went head to head with an all new Sabrewulf, bristling with hypodermics, but free of the cybernetic augmentation he sported in past installments. Also making an appearance was Glacius, the cold-blooded alien who can create deadly constructs of water and ice.
In an interview with Kotaku, Microsoft producer Torin Rettig described the updated Sabrewulf:
…Sabrewulf is a man and beast in constant conflict with each other. If you look at Sabrewulf, he’s got like the torn jeans and everything, but if you look at his idle animations, he’s got a twitch. He’s basically a mad scientist trying to cure himself.
And here’s some gameplay footage showing Sabrewulf wiping the floor with Jago. Listen to that sound design! I half-expected Sabrewulf’s breath to fog up my screen.
There’s been some confusion over the pricing and configuration of the game, but the latest on Shoryuken.com and MTV’s gaming blog describe a standard “buy the game, get the game” model, accompanied by what amounts to a generous, upgradable demo.
I was a Sega kid in the 90’s and I didn’t have access to arcades, so I missed the whole Killer Instinct craze, but this certainly has my attention!
