Ubisoft annexes Outland for XBLA, PSN

Finnish developer Housemarque established itself in the downloadable game market with 2007's PlayStation twin-stick arcade shooter Super Stardust HD. The studio will return to that genre with the forthcoming PlayStation 3-exclusive Dead Nation, but it is also branching out into new territory, as evidenced by today's announcement of Outland.

The gameplay mechanics may be Ikaruga inspired, but the visuals have their own set of influences.

Set for release on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, Outland is being shown off for the first time at this weekend's Penny Arcade Expo. Published by Ubisoft, the platformer will see players attempt to tilt the balance of light and dark in a world facing its own demise.

Ubisoft said the game is inspired by "epic adventures such as the Prince of Persia series," but the publisher also name-checked Treasure's vertically scrolling arcade shooter Ikaruga as a source of Outland's core gameplay. In Ikaruga, players could swap the color of their ship between black and white at will; each color could absorb bullets of the same shade, allowing skilled players to weave their way through otherwise impenetrable barrages of enemy fire.

The game's soundtrack will be composed by Ari Pulkkinen. While Pulkkinen has previously teamed with Housemarque on Super Stardust HD, he is perhaps better known for his work on last year's cooperative action adventure Trine and the breakout iPhone hit Angry Birds.