PS3 Fanboy

Spelunker is a remake of the NES classic from Irem. Does it look familiar to you? Do you remember the game from way back in the day, 20 years ago? If you do, it's probably because the aesthetics haven't changed much. Though boasting updated, modern graphics, the game's visuals retain a retro-stylized feel. The 2D characters are still there. The lifts and ladders are still in the places they would've been. Overall, it looks like an interesting title for those old-school gamers looking for a blast from the past.

Of course, the question is: How does it play? First off, the controls are simple enough. It's a 2D game with a focus on platform jumping, with other actions including: riding down elevators; leaping over pits; climbing ladders; and dodging fire, steam, and toxic liquids. You can collect items such as bombs to demolish obstacles in your way, or keys in order to progress through locked sections of a stage. It all sounds very simple, familiar and arcadey -- in other words, a perfect fit for a PSN game. Right?

The original Steambot Chronicles, known as Bumpy Trot in Japan, wasn't perfect. In fact, it was relatively far from perfect, but it delivered some fun sandbox-y robot RPG fun. The sequel to the game, aptly titled Bumpy Trot 2, was first announced at last year's Tokyo Game Show. This year, it's resurfacing after an entire year of zero information to show off what it has become. From the official website, it looks like it's adopting a similar style to Sega's Valkyrie of the Battlefield. Sega has a more stylish approach, but Bumpy Trot 2 looks like it's a hybrid of anime-style graphics and cel shading. Of course, our eyes could just be crazy groggy.

Since we can't read Japanese very well, we can't tell you if the game is going to show up in video or playable form, but we can tell you Irem is still in the driver's seat and if the title makes its way to America, it'll probably be thanks to everybody's favorite "let's make a game rare by releasing four copies, total" company, Atlus. One thing that's clear, though, is the platform for the game: PlayStation 3. It seems Japanese developers are finally coming out of their shells and cracking away at the PS3. It's about time! We'll tell you more after we see the game at TGS.