Beta Bytes is a segment where I will talk briefly about the demos and betas that are currently available. I would love to see comments below on the games that you are in the beta/alpha for and what you think about them, too! Want me to try a beta? Ask me in the comments section! We will sum it all up with a simple “play” or “nay”.

COBALT

Cobalt is the most fun you will have since the first time you played Smash Bros. with four people. This title is being developed by Oxeye games and is currently in the Alpha stage. This game (when finished) will have an extensive single player campaign, Deathmatch mode, CTF mode and Survival (endless waves). ALL of the game modes are drop in drop out from the same machine, this is an awesome idea for any platform based game due to the casual nature of game-play.

You can punch rockets back at people... I'm not kidding!

In the game you play as the adorable robot Metalface Mk1, who is built for the purpose of space exploration. The survival mode is fun and will get you trained up for local Multiplayer. Local Multiplayer is where this game shines, grab 2-4 Xbox 360 controllers (Or Ps3 Controllers) and you are set for the craziest platforming action ever. You are shooting, flipping, rolling and bouncing bullets everywhere! When you are about to take critical damage, the game goes into bullet time, giving you that extra 2 seconds to pull a reflex move and turn the tables on anyone trying to kill you. Everyone who has played this game at my place has loved it! The animations are hilarious, and the weapons are very balanced, you will quickly find your favorite style of play and jump right in. If you get into the alpha version you have access to the map editor, which can be learned very easily. Final verdict: Play!

TRIBES: ASCEND

This game is all about going super fast and blowing people up! The game is being developed by Hi-rez Studios and is going to be a Free2Play title, with micro-transaction options if you need a little help boosting your Experience Points. It is faction based which means most modes of play pit you in a team versus team arena. The most interesting part of this game is the movement options. Since the maps are quite large, and you generally need to move fast to catch up to your allies/opponents, they give you a jet pack of sorts and the ability to ski across terrain.

Yes, you read that correctly, the game lets you ski! I didn’t really get the point at first but it soon became clear as I was zipping by enemies and blasting them to kingdom come that the game feels like those snow chase scenes from the 007 movies! I enjoyed the beta, mostly because I am a pretty big fan of First Person Shooters but also the speed of play does make it very addicting! There are plenty of things to do including leveling up weapons and unlocking new classes. The PC Beta is now open and can be downloaded and played by all. Hi-Rez is still considering an XBLA release for the title as well.

Impression: If you like First Person Shooters, Play!