Machinarium: New Game From Creators of Samorost

By: Derek Yu

On: August 31st, 2007

Amanita Design, the developer behind the beautiful and surreal Samorost series of games, is working on a new flash adventure game called Machinarium, slated for release in the second half of 2008.

Adventure Gamers reports:

Welp, it certainly looks beautiful!

(Source: Tim W., in the hizzy!)

Emily Enough: Imprisoned

By: Xander

On: August 31st, 2007

An adventure game by Logan Worsley (in fact, the only adventure game by Logan Worsley), Emily Enough is the story of an 11 year old girl, who like other girls her age occasionally has moments of unpleasantness between her parents and herself. Unlike other girls, though, instead of acting out and hiding under the stairs, Emily decides to slice her family apart to free herself from their ineptitude. Of course, she then ends up in the asylum, where all the medical staff have been replaced with pharmaceutical representatives, a lawyer tries to keep the operation running smoothly from within the female toilets, and a sole security guard polices the entire joint between smelling the underwear he’s not quite ready to sell on eBay just yet.

It could be perfect for Emily, but the whole operation stinks too much for her liking… especially the patients. So, it’s up to you and Emily to work together to escape before it’s too late. Or before Aquaria comes out, because like hell we’ll still be helping her then. I’m sure she’ll understand…

(Thanks go to Moshboy this time around!)

It’s a relatively nice looking game, though the characters could be a bit more animated (except Lobotomized Lou – he does have a reputation to uphold after all), and the audio is a little unsettling at times, but it does fit the mood of the game perfectly. The real compulsion to play the game, however, is within the story and the characters. Emily is the embodiment of narcissism and sadism, and certainly the former sticking before the latter. Her black humour is what fills the empty halls of the asylum, and really fuels your efforts to try and help her escape her fate (while valiantly trying to not play ‘An Untitled Story’ despite really wanting to finish that damned underwater section once and for all).

Her dialog with the other members of the cast can be fairly hit or miss, and some of the topical humour might be lost on us now (yep, there’s a 9/11 joke, at a point where the only ones who haven’t made one are the people comatose inside this very asylum) but all in all it’s entertaining to read, and is genuinely funny, for the most part. The peak of which is definitely the therapy session, where Emily sits amongst her new co-habitants and everyone discusses what they do and don’t like about hacking people to pieces. It’s a dark tale, and sometimes the unfolding events can be more unsettling than funny (something Emily even comments on herself, retorting ’Don’t look at me. You wanted to do it too’) but then, without the dark side, it wouldn’t have the edge it does over similar games in the genre, and the candy-shell of the humour coating its sinister and chocolately centre is really the perfect way to offer its audience what would otherwise be much too disturbing to be comfortably enjoyed.

As it stands, it’s great to see an adventure game with an anti-heroine who isn’t afraid to bend the rules of clean gaming to get what she wants. And with the fear of being stabbed in the eyeballs being as overwhelming as it is, it’s probably best to give her the attention she demands.

Zero Punctuation

By: Derek Yu

On: August 31st, 2007

Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw, best known for the awesome Chzo Mythos (aka the “X Days” series of adventure games), now has a weekly videocast on The Escapist, called Zero Punctuation. The videocast seems focused on mainstream games, but it’s only three weeks in, so who knows?

And wow, I thought Sir Graham Goring talked fast but this Brit straight up vomits words onto your face! I can only assume that the videocast’s title comes from the fact that the script he’s reading has no spaces between the words. Sheesh!

Seriously, though, it’s pretty fun to watch. I just have to pause the videos like every 15 seconds so that my dinosaur brain can process the novel that’s just been spat out at me. I wish I could see him speaking. I’ll bet it looks kinda like…

(Source: Pixel Joint)

N+ at PAX

By: Derek Yu

On: August 30th, 2007

Metanet Software made an appearance at the Penny Arcade Expo last week with N+, demoing the XBox 360 version of the game. The DS/PSP versions, which are being produced by Atari, were also available. In their latest blog post, the intrepid duo lament the absence of online attention for the 360 version, since it’s the one they’re working on directly:

I don’t think you can go wrong with either, but I’m personally amped for N+ 360! For the skinny on the DS version, however, Joystiq has a hands-on.

N temporary tattoos in the extended. Including Mare, and ninjas leaping from butt cracks (not in the same photo).

Cortex Command – Test Build 18

By: Derek Yu

On: August 30th, 2007

Good ol’ Data brings us another free update to Cortex Command. The game looks better, feels better, and runs better.

When’s this man going to put out a “full” version so I can throw some money at him?

Here’s what you’re getting:

(Thanks, Nikica!)

Introversion’s Mark Morris Drinks Responsibly

By: Derek Yu

On: August 29th, 2007

Introversion‘s Mark Morris participated in a discussion at GCDC called “”http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=15202">Against the Big Boys," during which he talked about Introversion’s troubled starts (and eventual success), and what publishers can and can’t do for you.

He also revealed how getting drunk can lead to vagrancy and/or distribution deals:

…

I guess the “”http://tigsource.com/articles/2007/05/25/introversion-the-first-of-the-last-of-the-slogan">first of the children" have to be 21 or older. Zing!

(Thanks to Alec for the news!)

Hikkoshi (Lonely House-Moving)

By: Derek Yu

On: August 29th, 2007

Hikkoshi is the latest flash game from NIGORO, a cute story about a boy running after the girl he loves. Moles, birds, and luggage are all that stands between them!

The controls and game mechanics are very simple. Use the arrow keys and spacebar to move and jump. Collect food to replenish your life. You get points by jumping over things or more if you jump on top of them (only some things can be jumped on).

It’s hard to distinguish food and hurtful objects at first – just know that there are only four types of food: the white and black rice balls, the blue and white cans of what looks like Pocari Sweat, and the corn and lemons that the farmer will toss you.

It’s fun! Can you beat my level 3 score of 757521?

(Source: dessgeega, from The Gamer’s Quarter forums)

Space Giraffe! (and the new if somewhat late editor…)

By: Xander

On: August 28th, 2007

Space Giraffe is the new XBLA title from Jeff Minter’s Llamasoft. Jeff Minter for those who might not know is the legendary (infamous?) mind behind the instantly recognisable and always awesome ‘Tempest 2000’. I always preferred ‘Llamatron’ more myself, but mostly because I was pretty young at the time and I couldn’t think of any better reason to blow the crap out of anything than to save beasties. Recently (read: 6 days ago) Space Giraffe hit XBLA at the very modest price of 400 MS Points, which I think is around $5/ï¿¡3.40 (for those who dislike mentally detaching themselves from the reality of what they’re actually spending). Critically, it’s been met with a pretty mixed response, with an 8/10 from the highly regarded ‘Edge’ Magazine and a 2/10 from the US OXM.

Review scores that far apart don’t only happen in Game Tunnel Monthly Round-ups, aparently. Luckily here at TIGSource we don’t rely on ratings systems or averages, mostly because it’s been a while since we studied maths, we’re a little rusty and we sold our textbooks with the answers filled in long ago to save up for impending lawsuits. So, I wont bore the crap out of you with that kind of thing (ignoring the fact that I did just that 15 seconds ago), and instead I’ll just tell you what it’s like and whether it’s something you should try to check out yourself.

And yes, yes it is…

The gameplay is really very different to Tempest, where whilst the essence is similar, the execution is refined. The main innovation is the Power Zone, which is basically an area of the playing field which constantly decreases unless you increase its size by attacking the enemies. By extending the Power Zone you increase your own powers – for instance, enemy bullets travel slower, you have additional firepower which can be directed unlike the main cannon and you earn the previously mentioned ability to ram into the enemies into the abyss for bonus points and multipliers, or just to get revenge on the sneaky ‘><’ shapes that have dragged you away time and time again taking your highscore with it.

Space Giraffe is… sort of like Tempest. Saying that has probably doomed me to be eaten by Jeff’s trained attack sheep (Fluffy: will devour writers for daily petting, grass… and great justice!) but it’s easy to mix the two up. The basis of the game is Tempest after all: your movement is restricted to the line of a strange shape as you blast away oncoming enemies. You can jump to avoid enemy attacks. You have a Super Zapper you can use once a level as a screen clearing attack. But it’s not that it doesn’t share similarities with Tempest, it’s that Space Giraffe is Space Giraffe. Your Super Zapper doesn’t scream ‘Eat Electric Death!’ You can only jump a finite amount of times using pick-ups called ‘Jump Pods’, and while you can shoot the enemies coming towards them, the only way I know of to increase your multiplier exponentially is to ram the enemies off the face of the level. Seriously. The first level is a GIANT outline of J Allard’s face (google for many a meme). Where Tempest left you in the dark recesses of space, Space Giraffe shoves you battling into a Windows Media Player Visualizer inhabited by the specters of Microsoft Executives. In a good way…

Speaking of which, compared to the relatively simple scoring system of Geometry Wars and T2K, Space Giraffe really does leave you to try and work a whole lot out for yourself. There are many different techniques beyond rushing the enemy to boost your score, and the best ways to find them are through experimentation. It encourages this kind of play with the very forgiving inclusion of being able to restart the highest level you reached, as well as being able to earn back the score you did have by successfully finishing the level. It’s by no means a way to cheat the leaderboards, because once you’ve reached the final level you can’t improve on the score anymore without playing through previous levels and improving on your last attempts, and I think that’s a relatively bold and rewarding choice. It still lets gamers go after the highest scores they can get, but it eliminates some of the grind of having to go through earlier levels you’ve mastered twenty times over, you can simply skip the easier ones that you’re proud of and pour your time into boosting scores on higher levels.

Well sorry for how long this turned out to be, feel free to kick my ass about that in the comments below! Feedback would be very handy, seeing as this is my first post and all. Later posts will be much smaller for the most part, but if anyone has any thoughts on this kind of post for XBLA style (parting with your hard-ended money/ill-gotten booty) releases, please do post away. Anyways, in the end what my argument all boils down to today is this: this is not Tempest, it’s Space Giraffe. And it’s all the better for it!

Knytt Stories

By: Derek Yu

On: August 28th, 2007

Knytt Stories and a lunar eclipse in one night? Surely it’s a subtle sign from the Universe that this is something special.

Beyond the fact that I think Nifflas has improved upon his craft since the original game and that I am in love with this one, I don’t want to belabor a description. You should know Knytt Stories is not just a single adventure, but a series of adventures. Really, an unlimited number of adventures, since the game comes packaged with a level editor that seems very robust and easy to use.

Those of you who found Knytt to be too “boring” will get more out of Knytt Stories, I think, but no promises. The rest of us may have been sold from the start, but I gotta say that I genuinely like this game even better. Download it immediately.

(Thanks, Circy!)

Black Shades

By: Derek Yu

On: August 28th, 2007

Wolfire Software’s Black Shades puts you in the role of a psychic bodyguard. Yeah, I know, that’s already pretty damn awesome, right? Well, the game itself does a good job of living up to its description, although it was made for a short deadline and it shows. It’s a full meal, just don’t expect a lot of gravy. The scoring system, for example, is pretty much vestigial, and level transitions are non-existent. And when the game ends, it just ends!

In each of Black Shades’ levels, a VIP dressed in white wanders around a randomized city. Also in the city are civilians and assassins, who are indistinguishable except for their weapons and movement patterns. Using your psychic powers (either “psychic aiming,” which slows down time, or “soul release” which lets you leave your body and scout out the area), weapons (a different one in each level), and physical moves you must protect the VIP from the assassins.

The game does a great job of making you feel like a psychic bodyguard with very basic graphics and simple game mechanics, and that’s really something. It’s so satisfying when you catch an assassin rushing in with a knife, only to plug him with your gun… or when you spy a sniper across the street, and knock over the VIP as a bullet whizzes over his head.

This game is made by the creator of Lugaru.

(Source: Soldat Movies)