A.R.E.S.: Extinction Agenda

A.R.E.S. Extinction Agenda is a 2.5D side-scrolling action platform available for Microsoft Windows. It was developed by a Thai independent developer Extend Studio.

A.R.E.S. Extinction Agenda
Developer(s)Extend Studio
Publisher(s)Origo Games
Aksys Games
EngineMicrosoft XNA
Platform(s)
ReleaseWindows
  • NA: December 14, 2010
XBLA
October 2, 2013
Genre(s)Action, platform
Mode(s)Single-player

Story

The game takes place in a future setting where the Earth is contaminated by pollution. A group of scientist were trapped in the Deep Space Reprocessing station after a mysterious asteroid emitting an unknown fluorescent gas collided into the station. The survivors then discovered that machines in the station became violent towards them after being exposed to the gas. Eventually, they managed to send the sample of the gas to the research team back at the United Earth Headquarters to find out a way to rescue them and called the gas Zytron. Player takes control of the game protagonist Ares, the first Zytron immune robot created to battle machines that became malevolent from being exposed to the Zytron gas, in a mission to rescue the survivors from a deep space station.

Gameplay

Players control Ares' movement with WASD keys on the keyboard and aim with a mouse. Ares can double jump and roll to avoid attacks and obstacles and can change his suit during the course of the game which gives him a different aesthetic appearance and abilities. He can also activate Vakyl Cannon, a rechargeable orbital cannon which destroys all of the enemies on screen. Players can collect parts from destroyed enemies to craft items and upgrade weapons. They can also collect Datacubes which are scattered throughout the stages which not only unlock background information about certain characters and enemies, but also improve Ares' abilities such as lowering the number of parts required to craft items. Throughout the game players are able to obtain new weapons in each stage. At the end of each stage, Ares will have to defeat bosses in order to progress. Players can go back between stages during the game by accessing the in-game menu.

Development

A.R.E.S. Extinction Agenda was originally called Trashman, but the development team changed the name to appeal more to international audiences.[1]

Reception

The game reception is mostly average. Critics from major publications praised A.R.E.S. for its soundtrack and detailed vibrant artwork while criticizing the length of the game to be too short. Due to its popularity, the soundtrack of the game was eventually released on Steam as a downloadable content on January 2, 2012. A.R.E.S. won second prize in 2010 Microsoft's Dream.Build.Play. contest along with other notable independent games such as Beat Hazard.[6]

References
  1. "X10 Dev Blog >> Blog Archive >> Title Change". Extend Studio. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  2. "A.R.E.S. Extinction Agenda". GameRankings. Retrieved 2012-01-18.
  3. "A.R.E.S. Extinction Agenda(PC)". Metacritic. Retrieved 2012-01-18.
  4. Reed, Kristan (2011-01-28). ""Download Games Roundup • Page 3" Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  5. Moriarty, Colin (2011-02-25). ""A.R.E.S. Extinction Agenda" Review". IGN. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  6. North, Dale. "Microsoft's Dream.Build.Play 2010 winners announced -Destructoid". Destructoid. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
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