Games: The Binding of Isaac: Wrath of the Lamb Add-On

'The Binding of Isaac' is one of my favourite games of recent years, if not because of its huge replay value, then for its all-out random weirdness! Of course, just because I love it, doesn't mean I'm good at it and those of you that play the game will see by the heart above that I haven't made it past Sheol yet D:  Anyway, my failures aside, the new download content / add-on - 'Wrath of the Lamb' - was released yesterday and, following a short wait of about 5 minutes to download and install, much pact-making, blood-splattering, crying at monsters fun ensued! I don't want to say too much about the DLC since it only just came out and I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone who wants to play it, so I'll just give a general overview and accompany it with a bunch of random screenshots that Madame Luciel and I took earlier :D

Jesus Juice! One of the many new items in Wrath of the Lamb

The pack costs £1.99 from the Steam Store and you also need to have the base Binding of Isaac game as well, which is 60% off until June 3rd (it's £1.60 at the moment; usually £3.99). The new content includes a new, unlockable playable character, loads of new achievements and items, new 'passive' power-ups called "trinkets", a Challenge mode and many new enemies and bosses too! To be more specific:

• 100+ new items! (now over 235 items!)
• 5+ new chapters!
• 20+ new enemies!
• 25 new achievements!
• 15+ new bosses!
• 6+ new room types! (Unholy rooms, boss duel rooms & "sacrifice rooms")
• 6+ new mysterious item drops (eternal hearts, playing cards, dimes and more!)
• 5+ new music tracks by Danny Baranowsky
• A new item type, Trinkets
• A new challenge mode with 10 unique challenges that unlock more content
• A new unlockable character, Samson (The Beserker)
• A new final (final) chapter and boss with new endings
• Tons of new random happenings, curses, blessings, npcs, fortune tellers and more!
• Also more super secrets than you'd probably expect... good luck finding them all.

Samson, the new character, is unlocked by passing on 2 treasure rooms in one playthrough and then defeating Mom. He only has one heart to begin with, but his attack becomes stronger with each enemy he kills in a room to make up for that. The attack power resets at the beginning of each room though, so if there's only 2 enemies in a chamber it doesn't make a lot of difference. However, the ability works well if you're fighting an enemy-spawning boss. There's also a slight bug with Samson, because if he dies it signs his note as 'Eve' and she also appears in some of his "vs." screens as well. It isn't anything major though!

Samson

Overall, I'm really enjoying the extra content so far and maybe I'll even be able to finish Sheol now. (HA!) 

I Am Error

More screenshots after the cut below. (If you want to know anything else about / see anything else from the game, let me know and Luciel & I will try and write about / show you it :D )

Games: Freddy's back...in Mortal Kombat!

It was recently announced at Comic-Con that, in addition to Skarlet, Rain and Kenshi, the next downloadable character for Mortal Kombat will be none other than old razor fingers himself - Freddy Krueger! Or rather, "new" razor fingers, since it's the remake version that appears. 

Whilst it might seem a bit odd to insert him into the MK series, Warner Bros. own both the MK and 'Nightmare on Elm Street' franchises now, so it's not really that surprising. I have to say though, the other new face (Skarlet) was just as out of place, in the sense that she'd never officially appeared in the games or storyline before either. (Skarlet was said to have been created by a colour glitch of Kitana in MK II but didn't previously have a name or backstory.)

However, as with every playable character, Freddy comes with a back story, which fully explains his presence. Whether or not it agrees with the biography created within the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' movies is another matter entirely, but the films don't even seem to agree with each other anymore anyway.

Freddy's Mortal Kombat bio:

"A malevolent spirit of the Dream Realm, Freddy Krueger preys on the souls of the living as they sleep. When Shao Kahn began to steal Earthrealm's souls - souls Freddy considered his own - Freddy battled the emperor in the Dream Realm. But Shao Kahn's will was too strong. He pulled Freddy into the real world, where he was mortal, and defeated him. A badly injured yet determined Freddy fitted both his hands with demonically enhanced razor gloves. Once he has killed Shao Kahn he will find a way back to the Dream Realm, where he will torment Earthrealm's souls for eternity."

 Despite any inconsistencies and the fact that I'm not a huge fan of the be-hatted homicidal dream stalker in the first place, Freddy has his own moveset - including x-rays and fatalities - and, from the trailers it actually seems like he'll be quite entertaining to play as. Besides, he can't possibly be as annoying as Johnny Cage! 

The Freddy Krueger DLC is available from August 9th 2011, on PS3 and Xbox 360, for $4.99/£3.19/3.95 Euros  or 400 Microsoft points or as part of the "season pass" with the other 3 characters.

MK Freddy Page: http://www.themortalkombat.com/freddy/