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So What Is Groovin’ Blocks Anyway?
2:20AM Mike Fahey | Has anyone else noticed that a large percentage of the WiiWare games released are titles we’ve heard absolutely nothing about? Take Groovin’ Blocks here, released today on WiiWare from developer Empty Clip. It’s a rhythm puzzle game that has you earning more points if you drop blocks to the beat. It sounds like exactly the sort of quirky little puzzler I like, yet I’m only hearing about it via a Nintendo press release the day the game launches. Meanwhile, on Xbox Live Arcade and PSN, we wait for games for months. Which is better? Part of me enjoys the anticipation, while another part of me enjoys feeling like I used to back before the internet, when I could walk into a store and be surprised by a new title. It’s a conundrum! Either way, I’ve gone ahead and posted the launch trailer after the jump to help us get to know Groovin’ Blocks a little bit better. More »
Halo Soapbox Invades Red Bull Derby
10:00AM Brian Crecente | Reader Adam sends word that there was a “extremely accurate” Covenant Ghost soapbox among the 34 registered teams and soapbox cars that took part in the 2008 Red Bull Soapbox Derby in Manayunk, Pennsylvania yesterday. The Spartan Ghosts wore army fatigues on their maiden voyage down the steepest hill in Manayunk in their SoapGhost. Unfortunately, things did not go well. I’ll let Adam tell it from his first-hand account: “The members of the team adorned army fatigues and set out to blaze down the steepest hill in Manayunk in the eerily detailed Ghost. They set out to do that, at least, but it’s very apparent that they neglected to hold the “L-trigger” and boost the vessel down because the ship went virtually nowhere before veering into the haystacks lining the track and coming to a complete halt. To all of our dismay, the ship wouldn’t levitate past us through to the finish line, 500m from the pit. It was carried. Well, pushed. Let it be noted, too, that after crashing, the Ghost displayed no secondary explosion and if Halo has taught me anything it’s that the damned thing was still drivable. Oh, well. Here’s some evidence of the impressive model, anyway. I hope you appreciate it as much as I did!” I know I did Adam, thanks for the fancy write up. More »
The Many Faces of Fable 2
2:00AM Brian Crecente | The characters of Fable 2 are meant to be a reflection of the person playing them, to a point. The choices you make as you grow from childhood to adulthood in the game will change your character’s appearance. But, your character is highly customisable. Lionhead Studios says they have tons more clothing to wear (all of which can be dyed), you can put on make-up, jewelry, change hairstyles, add facial hair. You can also morph your base appearance by tinkering with strength, how fat your character is, their skin type. The end result, Lionhead says, is billions of different characters. More »
Cthulhu Is Calling Your iPhone
3:20AM Mike Fahey | I knew the iPhone was powerful, but I had know idea it contained the sort of mystical energies needed to call for one of the Great Old ones. Mobile content developer Digital Jokers have just creating content for the Apple device, and their first effort shall be summoning the living embodiment of terror and madness in the form of Call of Cthulu: Darkness Within. It’s exactly the sort of point and click adventure that the iPhone needs to help important, on-the-go people look like they’re still on-the-go when they’re actually just goofing off with the elder gods. The company will be demoing the game later this month. In the meantime, here are the first, oddly non-threatening screens. More »
Lumines Goes Supernova On PSN
3:40AM Mike Fahey | I’ll say, it’s about damn time Q-Entertainment’s music-puzzle fusion title made it to the PlayStation 3! Lumines Supernova is an all-new installment of the game that has already graced the PSP and Xbox Live Arcade, and by all-new I mean mostly the same with a few new modes and skins! Along with the previously seen Skin Edit, Time Attack, and Puzzle Modes, Supernova also will also feature Dig Down Mode, which challenges you to reach the bottom of an already filled playfield, and Sequencer Mode, which allows players to create their own music using five different tracks with over 20 different sound loops each. The game is due out this spring, with the price yet to be determined. More »
Snowblind Makes Death Tank Official
12:30PM Mike Fahey | We may have gotten wind of it a bit early, but it’s always nice to back things up with an official announcement. Snowblind Studios, Inc. and Flat Games LLC have proudly announced Death Tank for Xbox Live Arcade, a classic game of tanks and trajectories redone with that special XBLA flair. People like to compare it to Worms, but I like to go back a bit further and compare it to an old addiction of mine, Scorched Earth, only with powerups, particle effects, and 8-player multiplayer via Xbox Live (4-players locally). We’ve got screens, a debut video after the jump, but no word on when it’s coming out. Can’t possibly be soon enough in my book. This is gaming right here. More »Runes Of Magic’s Palatial Housing In Action
2:40AM Mike Fahey | Here’s a video and some screens that highlight the player housing system in the upcoming MMORPG Runes of Magic. I talked at length about the housing features in my impressions of the title from the Games Convention last week, but I forgot to touch on several key points, such as everyone getting their own French maid who facilitates entering and leaving their home, or the fact that you can invite friends into your home, which certainly explains the very comfy bed seen in the clip. No more cybering in the subway tunnel between Ironforge and Stormwind for me people inclined to do such a thing! More »
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The Art of Star Wars The Force Unleashed
7:00AM Brian Crecente | With the Star Wars The Force Unleashed approaching, Lucas Arts sent along a copy of their new book about the game. The Art and Making of Star Wars The Force Unleashed is a chunky, 168 page book filled with more than 300 pieces of concept art, two packs of character cards and plenty of behind the scenes details of how the title went from concept to game. I’ve only had a chance to flip through the book so far, but what I’ve seen impresses. The book is divided up into six chapters that tackle the concept behind the game and early pitches, the story approval process, the characters in the game, the environments, the technology and a run through of all of the game’s milestones and how it progressed from greenlight, to alpha to launch. I’m not typically a big fan of these over-sized art books but there seems to be enough meat to the book to make it worth picking up. I still might have a problem dropping $US 30 for it, but I’m sure bigger fans of the franchise won’t. More »New Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir Screens
5:40AM Adam Barenblat |
