Fractured Soul for the Nintendo 3DS takes the classic platform game to the next level with dual-screen gameplay. Players must shift between two parallel dimensions displayed on the console’s dual screens as they blast their way through action-packed levels.
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When developing Fractured Soul, indie developer Endgame Studios set out to innovate within the platform game genre without altering its core mechanics or appeal. Players must still run, jump and blast, but by shifting between dimensions they are able to avoid enemy fire, surprise opponents and clear seemingly impossible gaps by using platforms on both screens.
The game also features top-down shoot-em-up levels, in which the player must take on waves of incoming alien ships, deftly shifting between dimensions to evade their bullets and return fire.
Each of the five zones in the game employs a unique effect on the top screen that dramatically changes the dual-screen gameplay. The fire zone drains health, so the player will need to shift and out of the top screen as quickly as possible. In the water zone movement is slowed, making combat difficult, but increased buoyancy allows the player to jump higher. The inverted gravity zone has the top screen oriented upside down, making for some truly mind-bending platforming sections.
For each level, Fractured Soul grades the player’s performance and records the fastest completion time, giving players an incentive to replay levels and improve their results. The game also supports online rankings so that players can compare their timed runs to friends and other players worldwide.
The team at Endgame Studios are fans of classic platform games, so their goal was to create something new for people that share their love of the genre.
“Fractured Soul is for core gamers like us that grew up playing classics like Mega Man and Castlevania,” Grant Davies, Managing Director, Endgame Studios. “We wanted to capture the intense, pulse-pounding action of those games, but to give ours a unique twist that really turns the game on its head. With the dual-screen, dimension-shifting gameplay I think we’ve done that — we hope 3DS gamers out there will agree.”
Originally created to be a Nintendo 3DS retail title, Fractured Soul includes 30 level across 5 zones, dual screen boss battles, 2 game styles, and 8+ hours of gameplay, all available on the Nintendo eShop for $11.99 September 13, 2012.
