As some of you who have been visiting the dizzy heights of the Videogame UK Towers will know, we’ve been getting rather excited about the second Soldner X game, Final Prototype. Sidequest Studios and Eastasiasoft are putting the finishing touches to the sequel of this very popular (and some would say under-rated) old school blaster series. What has become new to us all is the inclusion of a Challenge Mode. Looking deeper into this fresh addition brings us some mouth watering ideas, especially for a PSN title.

What the Challenge Mode will do is allow players to revisit previous levels and aim to collect rewards by achieving certain tasks, much like what Achievements and Trophies do, but instead of getting a few points and a pat on the back from your ego, you’ll get stuff you can actually USE.

“What fine trinkets will I get, Mr News Man?” Well, I’m glad you asked that. At the moment it’s still a little on the vague side, but bonus items, additional credits and other unique things have been promised.

CEO of Sidequest, Marcus Pukropski has said that the additional time was vital in getting this extra option incorporated into the game: “a lot of gamers were hoping for a Söldner-X 2: Final Prototype launch during the winter time. Thanks to the added months of development we had time to give the game the perfect finishing touches and implement a few more ideas, including the challenge mode.”

This new information only adds to the anticipation of what the team have been able to do since the very impressive debut to the franchise launched back in 2008. With 7 very colourful, HD filled levels and more new options than a sports car dealership, this will be something to most definitely look forward to, especially if you’re a retro head, like me.

Soldner X2: Final Prototype hit’s the Playstation Network in the 2nd quarter of the year.

For more information, as well as some screenshots to whet your appetite, visit www.soldner-x.com.