It's almost getting ridiculous at this point that there are quite so many games being announced for the PS3 and Vita in such a short time span, with the near-bulk of them being Indie games. As in, it's getting to the point where the only recently-released Indies I can think of that aren't currently planned for a Playstation anything release are Minecraft (which honestly could be a possibility after exclusivity times out), the host of Zeboyd games already out (all of which aren't planned for any more ports at all, which could still change, maybe) and the magnificent-looking Stardew Valley (which I would pay up to twenty of my US dollars for a Vita version for). Are there other Indies that I'm over-looking? Dear lord, yes, it's almost criminal how little knowledge I have on the subject, but the point is, there are a lot and Stealth Bastard sneaking (yeah, that just happened) onto that list couldn't be more welcome.
Stealth Bastard, if the title wasn't obvious enough, is a stealth-focused game, where the above image (and the game's own description) marks it as a sidescroller/platformer as well, placing it into that hybrid genre which is only occupied by one other game that I can think of. Unlike Mark of the Ninja, however, the protagonist isn't a ninja, but just a clone. A clone of...somebody that is good at stealth, presumably, in some sort of super-soldier project or something of the sort. I dunno, there's not a whole lot of detail in the background. "Following your birth in a cloning lab, you find yourself trapped in a vast and overwhelming network of dastardly chambers, replete with vicious, yet hilarious, booby traps and deranged robots! Your task is simple; stay out of sight and get to the exit." To be fair, it's a solid premise in that it doesn't have to offer much aside from a starting point and a goal that is semi-reasonable. Getting out of a danger-filled laboratory after you've just been 'born' (fully cognizant, apparently) is...pretty reasonable, really.
I really don't know anything about the game beyond what the linked Playstation Blog post tells me about it, which I have discovered makes it rather difficult to actually talk about. Who knew, right? All I know is that what I see of the game, what I hear about it, all sounds pretty nice. Described as "a stealth game without the waiting" seems to imply that getting about and going unseen will be fairly easy to pick up at least, but likely difficult to master. It also makes it seem like the perfect handheld game, what with some of the levels being 30 second affairs on the low-end. Not to mention the visual style is something that will look quite crisp on the Vita's screen....though so would Mark of the Ninja. (Hint, hint, even though nobody with the authority to make that happen is reading this)
Something that's interesting for this Indie transition, however, is that it won't be keeping its name. The developers, Curve Studios, are being nice about it, but the fact seems to be Sony said "Hey, so, uh, we can't sell it with a name like 'Stealth Bastard' so you need to change it". Which is clearly something that Curve Studios is okay with (and likely being compensated for) based on the reaction. Not only that the game is still coming out on PS3 and Vita, but because they're making it a to-do in the form of a naming contest. You see, when Stealth Bastard hits PS3 and Vita it won't be called Stealth Bastard, but rather a name that some lucky fan has submitted to their Contest Entry page. The winner gets a place in the credits, a copy of the game (It's cross-buy, so it's technically -two- copies) and a Vita to play that version on (since it's assumed you have a PS3, I guess). All in all, that's not bad! I entered for funsies, but I don't think I'm going to win, nor do I think I need to. Clearly, I'm pretty covered on the Vita front (though I could give it away to someone, I suppose) and I plan on buying the game when it comes out because it should be good fun. Also supporting the Indie thing.
The release window at this point is simply "Summer" which doesn't say a whole lot really, but it also doesn't need to. I imagine a lot of the Indie Deluge is going to release in the "Summer" which means maybe you should stock up on some PSN Funbux now if you're going to indulge as much as I plan to. Between Hotline Miami, Terraria, This, Guacamelee! and Dragon Fantasy Book II (at least), there's going to be quite a bit to look into. Still, having too many games hasn't been much of an actual, lamentable problem for the last two years (which is decidedly the time period in which I have had "too many games") so there's not much of a change here. The actual new name of Stealth Bastard will probably be announced sometime shortly after the April 14th closing date of the naming contest, so if you're interested in giving that a shot, get to it! You can forever be known as "the guy (or girl) who picked the other name for Stealth Bastard". Also, free Vita.
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