Outland Revealed, to Appear at PAX 2010

Not long ago, Ubisoft revealed that a new game called Outland would be appearing at this weeks' Penny Arcade Expo, though provided few other details.

With PAX 2010 beginning tomorrow, IGN has previewed the Housemarque-developed offering, described as "a cross between retro platformers like Prince of Persia or Out of This World and the color-switching of shoot 'em up Ikaruga." Housemarque is also the studio behind PSN's Super Stardust HD and the upcoming twin-stick zombie shooter, Dead Nation.

The Ikaruga comparison comes from Outland's protagonist's ability to change from white to black at will, allowing him to repel same-colored projectiles. Enemies and certain objects in the environment will also respond to the hero's chosen "polarity," meaning, for example, that the character will need to employ his "white" hue to defeat a "black" enemy, or vice versa. The game's jungle setting will include branching pathways, secrets, and ubiquitous boss-battles.

Outland doesn't have a release date beyond "next year" at the moment, but the casual comparisons to Ikaruga and Out of This World are likely to trigger some Pavlovian anticipation.