Wideload Games' Hail to the Chimp consistently delivered laughs to its audience of journalists at EIEIO. Being that the event was a large party, it was the perfect venue to try out a party game. The crowd got almost as boisterous during the gameplay sessions as they did later that evening, when the event metamorphosed from a video game press event into a concert.

The "concert" portion of the event was also the first chance I had to talk about the game with Wideload's Senior Producer Jon Krusell. He was kind enough to yell over the din in order to discuss the thought process that led naturally into a party combat game about animal presidential elections, his theories about the lack of comedy in games, and his revolutionary Robot Jox-based political platform.

As Firefly Studios explained it, most dungeon games put the player in the role of a psychopath who enters a dungeon to slaughter thousands of subterranean creatures and steal their gold. Dungeon Hero is totally different. In Dungeon Hero, your character is -- well, okay, a psychopath who enters a dungeon to slaughter thousands of subterranean creatures and steal their gold. But those subterranean creatures have their own stuff going on, and that jerk hero is neither the shining exemplar of humanity nor some brooding antihero. He's mostly just a big dumb guy who fights a lot. And as such, he is manipulated into becoming the hero of some of the dungeon's inhabitants.

I'm a big fan of the Super Dodgeball games, and of the Kunio series in general. I played tons of dodgeball on the NES and GBA, and I've been watching the development of the DS game with more than enthusiasm. So when I first heard about the Xbox Live Arcade Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball, I was very curious about a non-Technos take on the sport; what would Blazing Lizard do to distinguish their game from what seems like the final word in dodgeball games? Besides filling it full of Internet memes, of course.

Surprisingly, Pirates vs. Ninjas Dodgeball has very little in common with Technos' masterpiece. Aside from the fact that pudgy characters throw balls at each other, the two games play almost totally differently. They might as well represent two totally different sports.

Not being much of a "next-gen" follower (sorry!) I had a vague belief that Wideload's Hail to the Chimp was a downloadable game. I was, then, surprised to find it a full-sized (but budget-priced) release. Developer Wideload Games used the retail-game budget to create not only a unique party game, but also a hilarious audiovisual experience that doesn't really have an analogue on modern systems.

Hail to the Chimp's menu interface is the GRR News Network, with pompous anchor Woodchuck Chumley (seen above enjoying some... hot coffee ... with Bean the Sloth) onscreen authoritatively intoning ridiculous stories, while the menu options take the place of all the ubiquitous TV news infoboxes and text clutter. Wrapping the game inside this TV-station premise allows Hail to the Chimp to have something resembling a storyline, and also provides the opportunity for the funniest aspect of the game, which I'll get to shortly.

It's true. The game's title character may be velvet in some way, but the luxurious fabric does not figure into Violette Summers' ensemble. Instead, she alternates between skin-tight leather and a diaphanous, lingerie-like hospital gown. It's definitely more of a video game in that respect than a solemn tribute to Violette Szabo.

Why the hospital gown? The events of Velvet Assassin are framed as flashbacks remembered by a dying Summers, who is lying in a hospital bed as the game starts. She recounts her former missions behind enemy lines. This method of storytelling actually ties into the gameplay in a rather bizarre way.

It's been a long time since we first heard about TimeGate Studios' Section 8. Based on the "not even pre-alpha" game on display at this year's EIEIO, it's going to be even longer before we see a final game. It's currently slated for the third quarter of next year on Xbox 360 and PC. But developer TimeGate Studios – they did the F.E.A.R. expansions, if you'll recall – did give a short gameplay demonstration, and revealed one of the major facets of the Section 8 experience.

The game's name comes from the nickname given to the future 8th Armored Infantry, of which your character is a member. This group consists of soldiers who have volunteered to wear a super-powerful armored suit (awesome!) and be launched into combat from space. The joke is that you would have to be crazy to volunteer for that, so the squad is informally called "Section 8" after the military code for a psychologically-motivated discharge.

What stands out more than anything about my experience with Legendary at EIEIO was that it was the game during whose demo I got to be warm. I had waited outside in brutal cold and rain for the demo session to start, and the Legendary demo took place inside a Games4U "Mobile Game Theater" -- essentially a trailer full of seating, TVs, and, most importantly, heat. It was great. That's not even a snide way of saying that the game wasn't any good -- it was just really, really cold outside.

Legendary puts the player in the middle not only of a war between the White Council and the Black Order, but also an invasion of fantasy creatures triggered by the player character's own inadvertent opening of Pandora's Box. The only weapon against these monsters: the signet that once locked the box, now merged into protagonist Charles Deckard's hand. Oh, and also a bunch of guns and stuff.

Last year, Gamecock held their "E3 alternative" EIEIO event in Santa Monica during E3. This year, they moved the party to Austin, and in true Gamecock (read: bizarre) fashion, they elected to hold the event at Stubb's Bar-B-Q. Well, it's not as bizarre as it sounds. Stubb's is a large establishment that serves as a live music venue as well as a barbecue restaurant. Still, it was quite a different environment from, say, the Moscone Center, where GDC was held last month. The only problem with the venue: we were outside a lot, and today was unseasonably cold. And rainy. And also cold.

The morning started off with a breakfast at Jaime's Spanish Village across the street. After that, we were rounded up and sent over to Stubb's, where we broke into groups and rotated through presentations and demos. Descriptions and impressions of actual game content are coming later (Wednesday, to be specific, when I am allowed to post those), but here's what I saw: the downloadable meme-off Pirates Vs. Ninjas Dodgeball, the PC/DS action-adventure game Insecticide, the sentient-mushroom tale Mushroom Men (Wii and DS), the newly-christened WWII stealth game Velvet Assassin, the RTS expansion Stronghold Crusader Extreme, the hacking, slashing Dungeon Hero, the fantasy-monster FPS Legendary, the sci-fi FPS Section 8, and the animal-based political-satire party fighting game Hail to the Chimp. They were in various stages of playability, from "not even pre-alpha" to "shipping." Be sure to visit our gallery and enjoy some of the strangeness of the scene for yourself!

Self-described campaigner for independent titles and apologetic speech crasher, Gamecock Media Group, has detailed plans for its second annual and awkwardly worded Expo For Interactive Entertainment, Independent and Original. This year's E.I.E.I.O. is scheduled to take place on March 6 at the prestigious Stubb's Bar-B-Q in Austin, Texas. Gamecock's upcoming lineup will be on show and in the company of developers, "music, mayhem and good ol' fashioned Texas hospitality."

The all-day event will lead into South by Southwest's (SXSW) Interactive Festival and culminate in a concert which hopes to feature "bands with members of the gaming press in them." Umm, does Rock Band count?

While we were preparing for the Joystiq Reader Meetup, friend of the site – and games business journalist – N. Evan Van Zelfden made his way to the death of E3 funeral and wake and filed this report:

On the last day of E3, after Barker Hanger had closed, and the Fairmont had rolled up their sidewalk, people began to gather for what was to be the one moment of cohesion during a week of complete decentralization. Walking into the courtyard of the Hotel California – where publisher Gamecock held their relaxed demos parallel to E3 – there was a scene like that of another lost institution of the videogame industry: the lobby of the Fairmont in San Jose.

This courtyard was filled with some five-to-ten percent of the Business and Media Summit's total attendees – and these were the people most worth talking to. As a hundred conversations flowed, and beers were handed out, a man on stilts walked by. Later followed by a woman, also on stilts. That didn't seem to bother the crowd, which included the director of the Game Developers Conference, top print and broadcast journalists, dozens of bloggers, plenty of PR people, game journalists, and game makers both elite and rank-and-file.

A booth babe, barely dressed in black, and wearing zombie make-up, made her way through the crowd. A number of the attendees are holding black umbrellas with the Gamecock logo on it. Others have black handkerchiefs embroidered with a red logo.

When independent publisher Gamecock announced Dementium: The Ward, from developer Renegade Kid, they promised the game would "set the bar for mature handheld games." If this newly-released trailer is any indication, they're on the right track. Decaying corpses, flashlight exploration, and a hint of gun-play. And the graphics aren't too shabby, either.

Dementium: The Ward will be on-hand on Gamecock's EIEIO party during Min-E3. Video, care of Gametrailers, embedded after the break.

In case you missed the information in our interview with co-founder Mike Wilson, the GameCock EIEIO party will be held at Hotel California, coinciding with Min-E3, at the following times:

• Wednesday, 11 July: noon until 6 p.m.
• Thursday, 12 July: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Friday, 13 July: noon until 4 p.m.

According to the press release, Gamecock suckers, accessible developers and food and drink will be available. Expected playable games include Fury (PC), Insecticide (PC, DS), Dementium: The Ward (DS) Hail to the Chimp, Mushroom Men (DS, Wii) and Dungeon Hero (PC, Xbox 360). If Wilson gets his way, there may also be a New Orleans- or Vikings-style funeral for E3. No word on if Old McDonald will host the event.

[Update: corrected the months]

Yesterday we spoke with independent game publisher Gamecock's Mike Wilson about their alterna-plans for E3. See, a few months back the ESA dropped the hammer on the smaller publishers and Gamecock decided to do their own thing close to Min-E3 Although Wilson says Gamecock didn't have the time to fulfill their vision of making Kentia Hall reborn, they will be living it up with EIEIO (Expo for Interactive Entertainment: Independent and Original) in the Hotel California (such a lovely place) and holding a funeral for E3 on the beach where everyone (not just journalists) will be invited.

OK, so let's do the basics, EIEIO. For those who haven't been following this little saga, what is it and then give us a brief who, what, where, when, why, and sometimes how, of the event?

EIEIO was the funny little name we gave to the event we were planning for E3, basicially as soon as the time and city were announced for E3 late last year. Early this year we locked up a space to do an alternative event, similar what we used to do for E3, just for ourselves and our developers. And then when the ESA announced they were actually only inviting about thirty companies, and almost all of them were public companies, we were inspired to do something a little bit bigger to give a home to these uninvited companies.

But, unfortunately, this year we were unable to secure enough space. And with the ambiguous way E3 is going to be this year, it seems like it's going to be a bunch of rented out boardrooms and conference rooms at various hotels. I'm not sure our efforts are best used to try and set up an alternative event until we actually see what [E3] is going to be like. So basicially, we're going to be using the time to showcase our games to the press. We're going to be at the Hotel California [for the three days of E3], which is a great hotel on the beach in Santa Monica, sort of in the middle of all these bigger hotels all the other guys are at. We're going to bring out all our developers, we'll announce eight projects by then and we're just going to use the time to set up and talk about our games.