With de Blob's release getting closer and closer (September), we're starting to see more and more media on the title. This, to us, is a good thing. And informed public is a good public. Also, we want to see stuff get all painted up.
This latest bit of media is an interview with Nick Hagger, the game's producer. He talks about the sinister corporation that's sucked all of the color out of Chroma City, the way Blob can acquire color and roll about, as well as his gang of cohorts. It's an insightful look at THQ's upcoming game and we suggest you check it out.
Even though our cruel overlords didn't paint a pretty picture regarding THQ's upcoming de Blob, we're still interested in the title. Maybe it's the great multiplayer or the wonderful visual style, but something has us fascinated with the title. And, in that spirit, we'll continue presenting you with new media from the game. The latest, which is an exclusive trailer, can be found here.
With all themulti-sportgameson the market for the Wii, we haven't really kept tabs on THQ's rendition, Big Beach Sports. Since the software is releasing next week for the budget price of $29.99, though, it's time to give it a closer inspection.
Looking at these new screens, we have to say -- ignoring it seems like the right choice. Perhaps we're being a little harsh, but that's why we're paid the big bucks, after all. We can see that the developers were aiming for "cute," but might have gotten a bit closer to "ew ew ew."
We're not ones to nitpick about graphics if the gameplay is fun, yet performing things like "the bump" with the Wiimote seem too tedious to be a good time. Perhaps the oversaturated mini-sports market has made us too cynical, and hopefully we'll be proven wrong. Yet, for now, we'll file this game under "mehware."
While the current reigning music games, Rock Band and Guitar Hero, contain some great music, they're really defined by their controllers. People bought Guitar Hero because of its gimmicky guitar controller -- many purchasers no doubt didn't even know or care what music was included. Rock Band's big draw was its drum kit and the simultaneous band gameplay that comes with the combination of all the instrument controllers. As the Guitar Hero series (and Rock Band) grew in popularity, the music became more important, but the experience of simulating instruments remains more important than what the songs are for most casual players.
Battle of the Bands, like the earliest music games, doesn't rely on a gimmick controller, except, of course, for the one that comes standard with the Wii system. Its true gimmick, and the feature that defines the game, is its music. Planet Moon and THQ can proudly claim some of the most interesting and entertaining music in the genre. The gameplay diverges from the usual rhythm game fare as well.
We might not be getting Wii game demos any time soon, but if you want to sample the rhythm game Battle of the Bands, you can try out a widget that simulates THQ's recently released Wii software. Of course, we'd have to hope that the Wii game controls much, much better than this keyboard-utilizing demo, but it still gives you a general idea of Battle's basics.
Essentially, you have to hit the notes in rhythm with the 1, 2, and 3 buttons (or use the mouse), depending on where the note lies on the strip. Each time you hit a certain amount of notes correctly, you'll launch a weapon at the opposing player. You can change weapons as well, but the more powerful the attack, the more notes you'll have to hit to activate it.
All in all, it's nothing more than a way to kill a few minutes on the internet, but it's still the closest you can come to experiencing Battle of the Bands without trying the real thing. This widget is also a good way to give you an idea of the changing styles of music in the game, so it's really worth a look if you're interested in the title -- just don't expect to have an easy time with the keyboard controls.
Not a new complaint, this one. Previously, both analysts and developers have suggested that Nintendo's first-party software is too strong to compete with, and now THQ has joined in on the despairing.
At a Q4 earnings call with investors, President and CEO Brian Farrell has admitted that THQ's kids' games had underperformed, and that Nintendo's own output was the reason why. Says Farrell: "With [...] new competition from Nintendo's first-party titles -- as well as new music games -- our traditionally strong kids' business did not meet expectations."
For us, the only title of interest in this week's releases is Battle of the Bands. We'll admit that we enjoy the rhythm-based games quite a bit, so naturally it appeals to us. Of course, what with us being bloggers and all, we probably won't get a chance to play it until Nintendo's next console is released.
That isn't the case for you all, we're sure, who have time to play games and read gaming blogs on the internet (thanks!). What will you be playing this weekend? Picking up anything new?
Some ripe, juicy screens from THQ's de Blob are available for you to gnaw on, providing us with further reason to need this game. And, hey, even though Joystiq didn't find the game to be all that great, we're still hopeful that it will be the fun experience we've been expecting it to be. If the single-player bombs, there's always the multiplayer, right?
THQ held a preview event for their 2008 games this week, and Joystiq's Zack Stern was on the scene to play all the offerings. Luckily for us, he checked out the demo for de Blob, one of the more interesting, original games on the Wii.
Or, well, that's what we've gathered from reading previews of the game before tonight. Zack wasn't quite as enchanted with the real thing as we have been with videos.
"de Blob looks like a cuddly Wii game, but it didn't hook me like Katamari. I think certain Wii owners will enjoy it, but the novelty didn't last long on me." He does mention that two-player matches "add a little more depth." We're a bit disappointed, but still convinced that there's a high probability of awesomeness within de Blob.
Deadly Creatures seems to be marketed as a kind of nature-survival-horror thing, but it's closer to the "quirky" territory that we love, being an action-platformer about non-cutesy, non-personified insects. IGN's Matt Casamassina playtested Rainbow Studios' bizarre game, taking away some details about the scorpion's controls.
The scorpion's pincers are controlled with the Z and B buttons, and are capable of combo attacks. A locks on to enemies, and C puts the scorpion into a blocking stance (do scorpions have blocking stances?) The Z and B buttons also activate finishing moves, which are carried out through Wiimote and Nunchuk motions -- No More Heroes is already exerting influence! The scorpion learns further motion-controlled moves along the way, as well.
Having already expressedouradmiration for de Blob on more than one occasion, we were beginning to think THQ's game had run out of ways to impress us. Wrong! IGN has a stack of new videos from the game (all located past the break), a couple of which feature something we're yet to see -- four-player de Blob.
It looks like great fun as well, with players sharing the same colorless arena, and then racing around to daub as much of the play area as possible in their own color. Furthermore, players can paint over colors laid down by their opponents, providing a perfect opportunity to quickly avenge previous defeats, or to gang up on more skilled players. It might just be us, but we find multiplayer gaming is at its best when there are simmering grudges and bitter rivalries.
We didn't even realize what vaguely familiar song was being mashed up in this Battle of the Bandstrailer for a minute -- it sounded cool, and it was exciting, and it seemed like the kind of thing we would enjoy playing in a rhythm game. Then the "Latin" version kicked in and we figured it out -- it's Gorillaz' "Feel Good Inc."! Hearing our favorite songs in so many different styles is going to be novel for a long time.
As for the actual gameplay, we aren't quite sure how the waving-based control scheme will hold up. We hope it works as well as the musical concept of the game.
Not many of you seemed too excited when WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2008 came out, but then again, that was the same week as Super Mario Galaxy's North American release. Also, at that time, the game would have cost you a cool $50 to buy.
Now, though, thanks to Amazon and its video game "Deal of the Day" promotion, you can get the game for half the price (or, for those of you that are terrible at math, $25). As per usual, this sale will end at 3 A.M. EDT, so if you want this title you better be ready to succumb to your inner impulse buyer.
Also, if you like to wrassle but aren't too keen on doing so on your Wii, today's DotD extends to every other console under the sun.
Want to see what it looks like when a third-party developer puts time, thought, and effort into an original Wii game? We would like to refer you to the de above video of De Blob, from THQ of all people. This looks great -- and not just "great for a third-party Wii game." Regular great! Those colors (and lack of)! The jazz/funk soundtrack! The level designs! The bouncing back and forth from building to building! This game looks totally fresh and surprising every time we see it. We hope it doesn't get forgotten when it comes out -- whenever that is. Check after the break for another video!
The majority of coverage for Worms: A Space Oddity has focused on the lack of online play (including the title and first sentence of this post). However, lots of Worms games have been offline-only (if only because so many of them predate online capabilities in game consoles), and fixating on that disappointment draws attention away from the other aspects of the game, which include: the whole game.
Four new trailers for the game focus on the game's new or updated weapons, like the Robo-Sheep seen here. The Robo-Sheep is like a regular sheep, but robotic, because it's more sci-fi that way. Also you can move the Wiimote up to make it jump before exploding.
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