ICARIAN: KINDRED SPIRITS

Gameplay

In Icarian: Kindred Spirits, you take on the role of Nyx, a winged girl from the divine realm of Olympus in Ancient Greece. Your human friend, Icarus, has mysteriously disappeared and you must travel through the scorched and derelict lands in this side-scrolling platformer to find and save him. Use puzzling skills and dexterity to overcome obstacles and fast reflexes to vanquish enemies - and you may succeed in your quest......

Luckily, you receive divine help from the gods of Ancient Greece during your journey and are bestowed with various powers as you search though the wastes. You can control all the action as a lone hero or tackle the adventure with a friend. One of you plays as Nyx, while the other controls the divine powers on a second Wii Remote. So why not share the experience? You’ll need great co-ordination and impeccable teamwork to make it through this mythical mission.

Navigate Nyx

Winged Beings
Nyx is your heroine and her wings enable her to scour the burning landscape from the sky, unlike mere mortals, who would perish in seconds. Use the A Button to flap Nyx’s wings, while directing her with the Nunchuk Control Stick. You only have limited flying time before Nyx runs out of power, so make sure you time your flying carefully or you run the risk of falling into the scorching sands. Pressing the Z Button while you’re in the air will cause Nyx to glide slowly downwards, and help you avoid danger.

Olympic Marathon
Of course, Nyx spends time on the ground too and you direct her by using the Nunchuk and pressing the Z Button to make her run. Her state of health is shown by a large heart in the top left-hand corner of the screen. Stepping on burning sands, being hit by blocks or fireballs, or being attacked by enemies will cause Nyx to lose some of her health. You can regenerate her health by finding hearts, which are usually hidden inside Greek urns. You might need to figure out a few different ways of how to get at them though...

Life-Saver
Every so often you will reach a torch with a purple flame. This is your save point and marks the point you restart from if your health falls to zero.

Divine Powers

With a crumbling landscape and all manner of dangers lurking around every corner, Nyx is sorely in need of extra help on her quest, and, luckily for her, the Gods are listening...

Telekinesis
You meet the King of the Gods, Zeus, early on in the game and it doesn’t take him long to grant you your first celestial power – Telekinesis. This power allows you to move objects independently of Nyx such as rocks, columns and fireballs. Simply target the object with the Wii Remote and hold the B Button to interact. You can push and pull rocks, topple columns and direct fireballs just for starters. Make sure you experiment – there are lots of uses for this power and some are vital if you want to complete the levels!

The Power of Wind
The second divine power you receive will be the Power of Wind. This amazing ability allows you to modify the direction of the wind by targeting the “mouth” of a wind current and pressing the B button. Use it to reach and explore new areas!

Little Ray of Sunshine
Sometimes what you need is something a little more destructive than the average divine power. Ray Power will help you fight enemies and break open objects, such as cracked rocks. Target the object or enemy and press the B Button for a Ray-fuelled attack!

A Divine Duo

Icarian: Kindred Spirits is a tough and exciting single-player challenge. But why not put two heads together and take on the challenges of Ancient Greece together with a friend?

One of you controls Nyx with the Nunchuk and Wii Remote, while the other takes on the role of the Gods and directs the divine action around Nyx with a second Wii Remote. You can fight it out as to who is the more god-like between you, but be assured, each role presents its own challenges, and co-ordination and teamwork will be key!

The second player can jump into the action at any time and will be of invaluable help. For example, at one stage of the game you must make your way through a series of crumbling stone columns. The divine power Telekinesis is used by one player to hold the columns still while Nyx gingerly makes her way to the other side, controlled by the second player. But watch out! If your timing isn’t absolutely in synch, Nyx will be crushed like an ant and you’ll have to restart from the last save point.

Characters: Heroes

Nyx
Beautiful, mystical and brave, Nyx is the heroine of the story, who goes in search of her missing friend, Icarus. Although the central character, she is an enigmatic being and not much is known about her. Who is she and where does she really come from? Find out as you guide her through the story...

Icarus
Lost and lonely, Icarus is the boy who learnt to fly with wings made of feathers and wax. After a cataclysmic explosion from the sun, his wax wings melted and he fell to his doom. He awaits the arrival of his best friend Nyx, who is trying her best to find him.

Zeus
The King of the Gods, Zeus lends a heavenly hand to Nyx along her travels. In their first encounter, he bestows the power of Telekinesis upon her, enabling her to interact with her environment.

Aeolus
Another of the Gods of Olympus, Aeolus is the God of the Winds. Fittingly, this is the power he passes onto Nyx, allowing her to manipulate the wind’s current and access new places in her search.

Monsters

Helios
The evil titan and Sun God, Helios, was the originator of the torrent of fire that destroyed the homeland of Icarus. He must be stopped at all costs.

Harpies
Shrouded in mist and radiating evil, these winged beasts patrol the skies in search of their next victim. While one can usually be easily avoided, they tend to group together and attack in packs, making them a formidable threat.

Hydras
An awesome, many-headed serpent, the Hydra is a swamp-lover by nature, but has adapted to its environment in the wake of the destruction and now lies in wait on the desolate plains. These creatures spout noxious breath that will wound Nyx, but are susceptible to a fiery attack.

Satyrs
Half-goat and half-man, Satyrs were once the loyal servants of Dionysus, the God of Wine. However, the cataclysm has effected a dark change in these swift and powerful creatures. Crazed and tortured, they will charge with ferocious might against anything that stands in their way.

Soundtrack

For a taster of the atmospheric music you’ll experience in the game, you can download the first of these songs directly from here and take a trip to the world of Icarian.

The music was exclusively composed by Steven Gutheinz, who hails from Los Angeles and used a host of authentic instruments, such as the harp, santur and duduk to create the unique sound of the game. Steven has created scores for a wide range of media including films, videos and games.

If you're one of the lucky winners of the full soundtrack, you will receive an email containing the soundtrack file directly to your email account. Please note that only registered Club Nintendo members are eligible to receive a copy of the soundtrack.

Interview

Watch the first part of our interview with Over The Top Games, the developers of Icarian: Kindred Spirits for WiiWare. Then tune into the Nintendo Channel on your Wii console to watch the rest!

Over The Top Games was founded by four friends in 2008. Based in Madrid, Spain, the mission of the developers is to create original and polished high-quality games that they enjoy playing themselves. Individually, team members have previously contributed to a wide-range of popular games among which are: the Commandos series, Imperial Glory and Clive Barker's Jericho.

Over The Top Games comprises:

Roberto Alvarez de Lara Sieder, CEO
Juan Alvarez de Lara Sieder, Concept Artist
Mauro López Arias, Technical Director
Enrique Orrego, 3D Artist

First part of the interview coming soon!