Released in 2020, G.I. Joe: Operation Blackout is a team-based third-person shooter pitting six members of a daring highly-trained special mission force against six of those from a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world. Options range from running through a story campaign with local split-screen co-op to 4-player "player versus player" matches, featuring modes such as Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, Assault, and of course, Deathmatch Arena. Because we all know Cobra Commander loves a good Deathmatch Arena.
However, fans apparently didn't love the game quite as much. Reviews gathered by score aggregator Metacritic averaged in the range of 51 to 56, depending on the version.
With that said, publisher GameMill Entertainment has announced on Steam that they will be delisting the game there on December 31st, 2024, meaning it will have been available there for just over four years. That goes for its downloadable content as well, which TrueAchievements notes "there is one DLC pack that includes a couple of skins, but the Digital Deluxe Edition of the game does include some extra cosmetics, a digital soundtrack, and a digital art book."
Currently, the game is on sale for all major platforms. So if you're only just now hearing about this game for the first time and want to give it a look, it's available as of this writing on Steam for $11.21 CAD (67% off) for the vanilla edition, and $11.60 CAD (80% off) for the Digital Deluxe edition until November 21st. Hey, it's just 39 cents more. Why not treat yourself?
Over in Nintendo Land, the Switch version of the game is a whopping $49.99 CAD, but the Digital Deluxe version is $11.99, down from $59.99, a cool 80% off, also until November 21st. But on Xbox, the base game is $12.49 CAD, but the Digital Deluxe version is full price at $59.99. Weird.
And finally, the PlayStation version (the lowest rated of the three) is $39.99 USD for the vanilla and $49.99 USD for the Digital Deluxe, because sure, why not at this point?
Thanks to SteevyMaximus for the tip!
In other news, if GameSpot's 14 minutes of Green Ranger gameplay from the upcoming Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Revenge wasn't enough to whet your appetite, then IGN has a whopping eight minute preview of their own:
For those who can't/won't be bothered to watch, here's a spoilered breakdown of some new information:
While the previewer apparently wasn't familiar with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, which the story of this game seems to borrow from, they do seem to know their stuff from the original series, as evidenced when looking at the deep cut of pairing Chunky Chicken and Turkey Jerk together as a tandem boss battle.
An element that sets this apart from other beat 'em ups ties into the time travel aspect of the game's story, as green Time Disruptor crystal containers will occasionally show up. If these aren't destroyed in the allotted time, then players will not only take damage, but the game will rewind back to moments earlier, meaning you'll have to pound those Putties you just pulverized all over again.
In addition to the 3D-styled Dinozord sequences, we also get the Battle Bikes! You know, the Battle Bikes! You know, those motorcycles that were all over the merchandising of the day, but never appeared in the show except for one (accidental) scene? They're here!
...yeah, well, anyway.
Apparently, piloting the Megazord in multiplayer is indeed a cooperative experience.
Between stages, you can hang out at the Juice Bar (unmorphed) and listen to Bulk and Skull take credit for beating the Monster of the Week, or play some made-up arcade games such as "Drive Bombers."
An element that sets this apart from other beat 'em ups ties into the time travel aspect of the game's story, as green Time Disruptor crystal containers will occasionally show up. If these aren't destroyed in the allotted time, then players will not only take damage, but the game will rewind back to moments earlier, meaning you'll have to pound those Putties you just pulverized all over again.
In addition to the 3D-styled Dinozord sequences, we also get the Battle Bikes! You know, the Battle Bikes! You know, those motorcycles that were all over the merchandising of the day, but never appeared in the show except for one (accidental) scene? They're here!
...yeah, well, anyway.
Apparently, piloting the Megazord in multiplayer is indeed a cooperative experience.
Between stages, you can hang out at the Juice Bar (unmorphed) and listen to Bulk and Skull take credit for beating the Monster of the Week, or play some made-up arcade games such as "Drive Bombers."
Overall, the consensus is that it looks like Digital Eclipse will deliver on the sort of coin-op experience we all wish we'd gotten to have with these teenagers with attitude back in the day...
...that is, before Street Fighter II swooped in and turned everyone's attention towards one-on-one fighting games for the next several years.
Ah, Power Rangers, you were just a bit too late. If only Robo Rita had gone back to 1991 instead of 1993.
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