I always knew the age-old conflict between pirates and ninja was too large to be contained by one console. Today Gamecock announces that Blazing Lizards’ Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball, coming out next week on Xbox Live Arcade, will also be getting a full retail release on the Nintendo Wii later this winter. Players will be able to face off in the dodgeball arena, showing their support for their favourite faction – pirates, ninjas, robots, zombies, and three unannounced teams, which I am guessing are monkeys, samurai, and Argentina.
The Wii version of the game will feature several customised control schemes, as well as all-new story and challenge modes to make the game worth of retail release. Hit the jump for the full press release, along with two more screens worth of hot pirate vs. ninja Wii action.
Seeing as I’ve been eagerly awaiting a showdown between Crecente and I on the Pirates Vs Ninjas front, news that Blazing Lizard and Gamecock are delaying the release of Pirates Vs Ninjas Dodgeball for Xbox Live Arcade doesn’t phase me whatsoever, because a true ninja knows patience. The game is being pushed back to late spring, but for a good cause. It seems in all the pirate, ninja, robot, and zombie madness, someone forgot to include a traditional dodgeball mode, with teams staying on their own side and multiple balls in play at once. This is the game I remember fondly as a kid, when I was known as the human target, or Cringer. Blazing Lizard is taking the extra time to add these modes into the game, supplementing the crazy, free-roaming dodgeball events already in place. Hit the jump for the press release, where they jokingly blame the delay on video game pirates.
by Mark Wilson There was a bit of nervous anticipation. Blazing Lizard’s Lead Designer Christopher Stockman was on the line. He had just emailed me the pitch on his unannounced game after assuring me it was just the sort of thing Kotakuites, in particular, would love.
And in the 10 or so seconds of downloading and opening the document, I could feel the tension through the silent phone line. He was waiting for my reaction because it was an Important Moment.
“This is dramatic!” I said. He laughed. Back to silence. And then I saw the logo in big, bright letters: Pirates Vs. Ninjas Dodgeball.
“We own it; we own pirates versus ninjas!” Chris exclaimed. Yes—startup Blazing Lizard has actually filed a trademark for Pirates Vs. Ninjas, and it’s all theirs. More »
Fresh off of the massive success of Saint’s Row, which overcame the label of GTA clone and several amusing bugs to become one of the best Xbox 360 games of 2006, former Volition developers Sandeep Shekar, Jiovanie Velazquez, and Christopher Stockman have joined forces to form Blazing Lizard, a new studio dedicated to “producing high quality and compelling console downloadable games for all ages and demographics”. The team has over 30 years of experience between them, having worked on games ranging from the Red Faction series to The Punisher to Elite Force 2. All games that I have gotten a big kick out of, so I am hoping for big things when they unveil their first original IP project on August 13th. More »
