So maybe you think you've seen it all before. I mean, what could be simpler? Take the classic basic beat 'em up action of Double Dragon? Wait 'til about the 20 second mark...
That glam scream that sounded like someone got kicked between the legs? That's all the work of video game composer Jake Kaufman, who's done music for a wide array of games, including Contra 4 and Red Faction: Guerilla.
As Neon's assistant product manager Pete Rosky described during E3, "He went in the studio, re-made a bunch of double dragon songs that you'll love, went and re-did 'em in a much heavier, cleaner sound. And then he wrote a bunch of songs. Some of them with lyrics. And I can't tell you how amazing they are...They're amazing 80's ballads, rock anthems, heavy crunchy metal, and the lyrics are gold, it feels like a karate kid theme song, but it's got its own double dragon touch to it."
The soundtrack just adds to the nostalgia that Neon hopes to instill in gamers. Rosky went further in describing Neon, saying, "it's more of a lover letter to the franchise and the 80's. This is for every kid of the 80's and every fan of old school brawlers; we've put this nice little package of just gold for you. It plays like an old school brawler, little more sped up. The characters are enormous compared to what they looked like in the last game. The art is tight...and it's just this really gorgeous, fun, over the top 80's love letter. It's sick. We're actually re-imagining the whole franchise, so it's not 1, it's not 2, it's not 3, its not any one of those. Lots of elements of all of them are thrown in for nostalgia; it's an all new game on its own. The bottom line, it's a reimagining in the sense that we wanted to give you a new experience, but make it feel like Double Dragon. And that's kind of where our hearts were, and that's what I think the game is."
A re-imagining, Double Dragon Neon has players take control of the Lee brothers once again, where they must rescue girlfriend Marian from the Skulmageddon gang. The classic Double Dragon fighting style is reinvigorated by Neon's tape deck system. You begin the game with a blank tape, and can add different "songs" (abilities) to it by purchasing them from a character called the "tapesmith." Two player gameplay is strongly emphasized with different high-five options, which can result in sharing health and ability energy.
Double Dragon Neon will be out on PSN for $9.99 and XBLA for 800 MS Points. It will be available to download on September 11 for PS3, and September 12 for the XBox 360.