We admit that we have an obsession withLittle Big Planet, bordering on addiction. It's something with which we're trying our best to cope, a therapy helped somewhat by Media Molecule co-founder and technical guru David Smith. We like to think of his recent interview with Eurogamer as a kind of patch, letting information seep into our bloodstreams, taking the edge off as we pine for the game's October release.
Among the number of topics discussed, Smith spoke out in support of the game's beta testing, something he noted as being "in progress," and -- contrary to earlier reports -- that "it should gradually grow to include more people." In addition, with the recent addition of Trophies, he stated that the team is "having a lot of fun working out what trophies most fit" Little Big Planet, teasing that one will involve "making your sackperson be thrown at some huge velocity." Check out the full interview for more words strung together about Little Big Planet. We'll be quietly twitching in the corner.
Alan R. Moon's Ticket to Ride has only been out for four years, but it has picked up several prestigious board gaming awards, and is quickly becoming a popular "haul it out of the closet and get yer game on" addition to game night. Last week, the Xbox Live Arcade version was released, joining Catan, Carcassonne, and Lost Cities as games that have breached the digital divide. But how does it stack up against the freebie Java version, and the board game itself? Read on, ticket holders, and find out.
After playing his latest creation, we're beginning to suspect that American McGee – whose previous work includes American McGee's Alice, Quake, and Doom II – has a bit of a fascination with the macabre. Grimm has its basis in some of the darker fairytales on record, and McGee has certainly milked them for every last, inky drop of blackness.
As we reported earlier today, American McGee's Grimm is GameTap's first weekly episodic game. We plunged into the twisted depths of the first episode – "A Boy Learns What Fear Is" – to bring you the hands-on impressions you'll find after the break.
Wait ... isn't that LocoRoco Cocoreccho? Nope, it's the latest model in the PixelJunk line from Q-Games, PixelJunk Eden. It just so happens that this new video of the game's multiplayer shows two little ... things hopping around and swinging from leaves, limbs, and the like.
The "goal" of the game is to collect pollen and make the flora grow – and, as this footage has proven, totally mellow us out. It remains without a firm launch date, but Q-Games has previously alluded to a summer release for this PlayStation Network title.
GameTap is taking a most unusual approach with its first weekly episodic game series. Each episode of American McGee's Grimm – individual "fractured fairytales" from the designer of American McGee's Alice – will debut as a free download and remain free for a 24-hour period. After that, episodes will go into GameTap's archives and be available to download individually for a yet-to-be-determined price.
The model is likened to that of the iTunes or Xbox Live video download services. Catching a Grimm episode during the initial download-for-free window will be like watching a new episode of a show on network TV. Once it's "aired," you can download it if you missed it – for a price.
The episodes will be supported by minimal up-front advertising and the first one, "A Boy Learns What Fear Is," will debut on July 31. We had the opportunity to play the first three Grimm episodes yesterday and will post our impressions later today.
While we wait (and wait, and wait ... ) for an official Iron Chef game (maybe if we clap our hands and click our heels it'll happen?) there's a new entree on the cooking game menu from Majesco.
Cooking Mama World Kitchen is not, as its title might have you think, an online competitive cook-off. It is a follow-up to Cooking Mama: Cook Off, calling upon players to perfect their virtual cooking skills using the Wii remote to simulate a number of kitchen utensils. World Kitchen, due for holiday release, has gone all polygonal on us, and promises new mini-games, recipes, and a more thoroughly rhythm-based gameplay system to (ahem) spice things up.
We know there are probably one too many prerequisites for you to find this story truly interesting -- but if you're one of those rare DS Lite owners who recently purchased Guitar Hero: On Tour, and is also into homebrew applications for the handheld, and also fancies themselves a modern day Botticelli, then there's a new homebrew painting application with some surprising peripheral functionality that the four of you should really consider picking up.
The app in question is BassAceGold's UAPaint (v1.02), which allows the use of the On Tour guitar grip buttons for easily accessible short cuts to important tools, streamlining the digital painting process. It's a really sleek setup -- unfortunately, we're not entirely convinced that DS doodlers really need faster, more powerful methods of etching poorly-rendered genitalia into their luminescent screens.
Electronic Arts has slipped on a pair of bootie shorts and shaked its groove thang all the way back to the well, announcing Boogie SuperStar exclusively for the Wii. A follow up to last year's family-friendly rhythm game, Boogie, the game is the latest to be counted among EA's casual brand, and is being targeted specifically at girls – though how exactly the game will favor the fairer sex remains to be seen.
Once again being developed by EA Montreal, information about the game was first leaked last month, at that time indicating that Boogie SuperStar would have players dancing on the Wii Balance Board, though EA's official announcement makes note of no such functionality. What we do know is that Boogie SuperStar will allow up to four gals to keep rhythm, customize characters, and cut rugs using the Wii remote, all while being judged by the game on their road to win it big in the game's 'Boogie Star Show.' The sequel will also feature more than 40 different licensed tracks from groups and singers such as Maroon 5, Britney Spears, and Kanye West, though EA bills the music as being 'made popular by' these artists, so cheap imitations will likely be the order of the day when Boogie SuperStar ships in both North America and Europe this October.
With E3 just around the corner, we've begun to brace ourselves for the deluge of new game announcements that always accompany the annual event, the latest of which has come from Nintendo. This morning the company announced a trio of new titles set to be shown during next month's conference, including Wario Land: Shake It! for the Wii, as well as Kirby Super Star Ultra and Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir, both for the company's touchable portable.
As previously announced for both Japan and Europe, Nintendo describes Wario Land: Shake It! as a "classic side-scroller," and notes that the game will have players controlling Mario's portly nemesis with the Wii remote turned sideways on September 25. Kirby Super Star Ultra, on the other hand, will re-imagine the SNES classic platformer starring everyone's favorite perpetually-hungry cream puff when it debuts four days later on September 29. Finally, Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir brings Big Fish Games' line of casual PC puzzlers to the DS earlier in the month on September 8. The games join the previously announced Mario Super Sluggers, giving us an early look at what Nintendo will have on tap at the LA Convention Center in a few short weeks.
Stepping into Electronic Arts' "EA3" event last week, we made a beeline for ... Hasbro Family Game Night, passing up the likes of Dead Space, Mirror's Edge, Mercenaries 2, and Tiger Woods Golf 2009: Busted Knee Edition along the way. We know, we know. But who can resist the lure of Battleship, Connect Four, Yahtzee, Boggle, Sorry and its new sibling Sorry Sliders? (Answer: you maybe; not us.)
Casual game developer PopCap Games continues its slow entry into the console game market, with recent hints suggesting a collaboration with a major console-based game developer.
Speaking to Gamasutra, PopCap co-founder John Vechey referred to the unannounced partnership as "the coolest collaboration ever, I promise." Vechey also claims it will go down as one of the top ten collaborations of all time in the industry. Strong words, Mr. Vechey. We anxiously await the formal announcement (or maybe we'll just distract ourselves with Peggle in the meantime).
One glance outside the in-laws', er, office window and you'll see where Caffeinated Games founder Greg Chudecke has drawn the inspiration for his new studio's first game, FarmLands. But this is no ordinary harvest sim. A visit to the game's official website reveals a wealth of scattered game concepts: a virtual board; collectible cards; creature battles; slot machines; and a brother and sister living in a "strange" room, having the same "strange" dreams. We're not sure where Chudecke is headed with this one ... and neither is he, apparently. A disclaimer on the site reads: "Any of these features are subject to change or removal." Still, we can't knock FarmLands for flaunting its independent spirit. Keep doin' your thing, Chudecke.
Media Molecule's Mark Healey has given our friends at PS3 Fanboy quite the news-splosion. In the latest PS Nation podcast, Healey let loose on LittleBigPlanet details, including:
There's "a whole heap" of levels that come with the game. "They are strung together in the form of a story," said Healey. "A very loose story, but incredibly funny at certain points."
You can make private levels and give keys to friends. In terms of riskier, user-made content, Healey said there is a post-grievance system involving sending screenshots to the powers that be. He declined further on what that might mean for the sure-fire controversial level, LittleBigPenis.
Sackboy plushies confirmed! Said SCEA PR Brandon, "It's on the way. Details will be emerging shortly."
PlayStation Eye support confirmed. "For example," said Heley, "you can wear a cardboard box and put a sticker of yourself there. And presto, you have a little creepy version of yourself walking around in the game. So yes, you can absolutely do that."
Electronic Arts announced late last night that 250,000 new creatures had been uploaded to the Sporepedia since the program got into various Sporeophile's hands mandibles. The company claims two creatures are being shared every second, with the latest data from our Spore page (image after the break) showing that 377,200 creatures have been created since those numbers were last updated on Spore.com.
Quick math break: 377,200 - 78,762 penis creatures = 298,438 actual creatures.
We've certainly been having fun around here making our adorable animals, ready to rule the galaxy on Sept. 7. The Spore Creature Creatordemo (with about 25% of the retail content) and the full $10 version are available now.
In an interview with MCV, Sony Europe UK's product manager, Claire Backhouse, said the company is planning to release LocoRoco 2 for PSP "this year." A LocoRoco follow-up has been rolling under the radar since late last July when series' director Tsutomu Kouno confirmed plans for a true sequel. We're currently trying to clarify with Sony if "this year" means this calendar year or Sony's fiscal year (ending March 2009).
Update: Sony informs us it has not distributed any news regarding LocoRoco 2 so it can't "confirm," or in this case clarify, anything. "Stay tuned for more details."
