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Spore Islands launches on Facebook, prepare to drown in invites

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 6th 2009 at 3:00AM }

You likely spend a great deal of your time on Facebook informing your so-called "friends" that, no, you don't want to see their farm, or join their mafia, or become a vampire, or fight their superhero, and so on. We're afraid you'll be adding a new form of denial to your repertoire: "No, I don't want to birth a species from the loam, and force it to fight against your species in an adorable Flash-based display of survival of the fittest." It's a tad verbose -- but if you're not interested in EA's Spore Islands Facebook app, you're going to be saying it a lot in the coming weeks.

If genetic engineering is your bag, Spore Islands sounds like a fairly robust offering -- well, as robust as games built into social networking sites get, anyways. Players can create a species, plunk them down on an island, watch them fight for territorial dominance, improve their stats through evolution, then move them to a friend's island to attempt a hostile takeover. You can check out the game for free on EA's Facebook page -- just go easy on the invites, okay?

Line Rider now lets you torture two riders at once

by JC Fletcher { Oct 27th 2009 at 10:59AM }

Despite being released in retail form for PC, Wii and DS as Line Rider 2, the Flash version of the original Line Rider is still being tweaked by developer Sparkworkz to provide the most casual and simply obsessed of players with the optimal "drawing stuff, then dropping a sled on it" experience. The company just released beta 3 of the Flash game, which adds ... a second rider.

Players can now choose the "Dual Rider" mode and set a starting point for a second rider. This opens up the gameplay to synchronized runs, races or, for most of us, watching two riders stop mid-line and topple off the cool ramp we made. Other additions in the new version include camera options and a new line-type that decelerates riders.

Sparkworkz's site also notes that a new Line Rider variant for iPhone, dubbed Line Racer, is on the way, which allows players to draw courses and then, yup, race on them against other players.

Dragon Age: Journeys bonus items transfer to Origins

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 22nd 2009 at 10:06AM }

You may have scoffed at the prospect of a flash-based, 2D version of BioWare's upcoming RPG epic, Dragon Age: Origins. "A browser game meant to simulate the deep, immersive emotions that arise when one plays roles," you may have said, mid-scoff. "Who would play something like that?" As it turns out, if you're looking forward to the full, three-dimensional version of Dragon Age, the answer to your query is simply: You.

A short Q&A on the Dragon Age: Journeys developers' blog cultivated an enticing bit of info about the browser adventure: if you play through it while logged into your EA account, you can gain access to three items that will transfer over to your Dragon Age: Origins save file on Xbox 360, PS3 or PC. No details were given about the items in question, but we're imagining they'll either be used to help you slay dragons, or to help you become a more profound lover.

Balloon Boy takes game form with shocking speed

by Justin McElroy { Oct 17th 2009 at 1:00AM }

As with every soon-to-be-forgotten, media-baiting pseudo-story of the past five years, the Balloon Boy saga (in which a young boy in Colorado was thought to be floating precariously in a giant weather balloon until it turned out that he wasn't) has become a game. A terrible game, yes, but a game none the less.

It's hard for us to approach this post with our usual jocularity, due to the speed with which Balloon Boy has taken game form. We can't keep ourselves from envisioning a grim future where events are actually pre-dated by the games based on them, turning the whole of Newgrounds, Kongregate and Pogo into a bizarre, Flash-based Nostradamus. A grim future indeed.

[Via GamePolitics]

Dragon Age journeys to browsers in Flash-based tactical RPG

by Randy Nelson { Oct 15th 2009 at 6:30PM }

BioWare and EA 2D, a web game team at Electronic Arts, have announced their collaboration on Dragon Age Journeys: The Deep Roads, a browser-based tactical RPG set in the world of Dragon Age: Origins. Early details on the planned three-chapter game are laid out on BioWare's blog, along with a roster of the indie Flash devs contributing to the project. Development is being led by Daniel Stradwick, creator of the web-based strategy RPG The Monster's Den.

According to EA 2D, "The Deep Roads features character classes, talent trees, sound effects, music and user interface taken directly from Dragon Age: Origins," and that it's getting "invaluable feedback and insight on the game from members of the Dragon Age team, including Drs. Ray [Muzyka] and Greg Zeschuk]." The confines of a browser seems like an odd place to play a game from a maker of epic RPGs like BioWare but, then again, the studio recently released an iPhone title -- so we're thinking any platform's fair game. Next up: Dragon Age for graphing calculators.

[Via VideoGamer.com]

Jason Nelson has Evidence for Everything Exploding

by Justin McElroy { Oct 5th 2009 at 10:00PM }

Abstract game creator and artist Jason Nelson's previous projects are titled Game, Game, Game and Again Game, alarmingly these are not lovesick zombies and i made this. you play this. we are enemies. We mention this because when we tell you he's got a new game and it's called Evidence for Everything Exploding, we don't want you to have any excuse not to play it.

We can't really say it's his "best" yet. But whatever adjective you'd use to describe Jason Nelson games, it's the most that.

The Joystiq Free Game Club: Time Fukc

by Justin McElroy { Sep 18th 2009 at 9:15AM }

Yes, the Free Game Club is back -- only for one man would we resurrect this classic feature. While we wait not-so-patiently for Super Meat Boy, creator Edmund McMillen has given us Time Fkuc (yes, all orders of the second word's letters are acceptable) to gnaw on.

As with most of McMillen's Flash platformers, explaining its gameplay is almost as difficult as understanding its meaning (if there even is one). Suffice to say the game's mechanics play with time, dimensional shifting and forms part of, according to the release, "an allegorical game about stuff you've never experienced."

McMillen continues to have an incredibly fresh perspective that hasn't disappointed yet: Time Fkuc is no exception. It's lovely, with better animations than the art would suggest, and a really cool soundtrack. Plus, it's free! If you're still not convinced, there's a trailer after the break, placed there because it contains a bad word and is ... well, it's kind of unsettling.

Continued →

'Project Needlemouse' (not really) revealed!

by JC Fletcher { Sep 15th 2009 at 2:00AM }

The "Project Needlemouse" reimagining of Sonic the Hedgehog has been exclusively revealed on ProjectNeedlemouse.com, and it's more spectacular than we could ever have imagined. It delivers exactly what Sonic fans have clamored for: a brand new, fully 2D sidescrolling Sonic adventure, with appearances only by Sonic and Tails, and an emphasis on pure speed. The best thing about it: you can play the game right now, in your browser.

Okay, so it's a joke created by someone who beat Sega to the domain name, parodying another fan-created "Needlemouse" Sonic game. But that's still less of a disappointment than the real Project Needlemouse will probably be.

[Via GoNintendo]

BottleRocket fizzles out of existence

by Alexander Sliwinski { Sep 4th 2009 at 9:08AM }

BottleRocket Entertainment, the company that had worked on Splatterhouse and a game based on The Flash, has shut down. Studio founder Jay Beard confirmed the closure and noted in an email that he plans to make a new operation "from the ground up."

According to Beard, BottleRocket had been in a precarious position "for the past six months," presumably ever since Namco Bandai pulled the Splatterhouse project from the studio citing "performance issues." The developer denied the accusation and members of BottleRocket were even put back on the Splatterhouse project after the full team was removed. Another contributing factor to the studio's passing was likely the halted Flash game that was allegedly in development until publisher Brash Entertainment's demise. Hopefully, Beard will have better luck with his next studio.

Wii Internet Channel now free, with updated Flash [update]

by JC Fletcher { Sep 1st 2009 at 10:59AM }

Nintendo just dropped the price of the Wii Opera browser in Japan and PAL markets to nothing, its original "price" during the system's launch, when the browser was in beta. VOOKS photographed the Wii message that announced the price drop, which also revealed that the version of Flash used in the Wii browser has been updated from Flash 7 to Flash Lite 3.1-- which should make the Internet Channel much more useful. Users who paid 500 Wii Points for the browser will receive a refund of sorts in October -- a credit that can be used on any NES game.

In Japan, the same refund offer applies, and Nintendo is providing more opportunities for free Virtual Console games. Since early this year, Nintendo of Japan has offered 500-point bonuses to Wii owners for helping others get online. Starting October 21, Nintendo will expand this program with new rewards: those who achieve "Helper Meister 10" status (by helping 10 others connect) will gain access to every Nintendo-published Famicom game. "Helper Meister 20" will unlock all Virtual Console games on every platform! That should get people going door to door.

Update: The Internet Channel is now free in North America, and the NES Virtual Console download credit will be extended to those who purchased the browser in the region.

Microsoft Game Studios licenses GFx tech for Crackdown 2, all titles

by Xav de Matos { Jul 21st 2009 at 11:00PM }

Microsoft has signed a deal with Scaleform to utilize its GFx user interface middleware across all Microsoft Game Studios titles, officially beginning with Ruffian's upcoming Crackdown 2. Scaleform's GFx is a vector graphics rendering engine that allows artists to design user interfaces -- such as menus and in-game heads-up displays (HUDs) -- and animated textures using Adobe Flash. Scaleform's middleware has already been used in an assortment of games, including The Conduit, Resistance 2 and Crysis.

According to Scaleform's site, using its middleware will allow game developers to focus on building gameplay, "rather than coding interface elements or developing custom tools." We hope that means Crackdown 2's menus won't run abnormally slow, like the original game in the series.

Brendan Iribe, president and CEO of Scaleform, was elated at the news (and probably holding a giant novelty check), claiming Microsoft's new "master agreement" for use of the Scaleform GFx middleware will streamline the process for all future MGS development teams.

[Via Develop]

Play the inFamous Flash game to electrify your work day

by Andrew Yoon { May 22nd 2009 at 4:30PM }

Bored at work right now? Don't worry! The long weekend is almost here. You can pass the time by playing this brand new inFamous Flash game. The 2D side-scroller has you jumping and using electric powers -- just like in the PS3 game -- choosing between acts of good or evil. We're guessing this'll tend to evil if you're still at work.

It may not be the deepest of games, but it'll certainly pass the time before the full game comes out. To give the inFamous Flash game a whirl, you can check out Agame.com.

Doom, Heretic and Hexen: Now gibbing demons in-browser

by Griffin McElroy { May 21st 2009 at 3:30PM }

Hey, how's it going? Having a nice day? Got a busy schedule, huh? Lots of work to do, right? We're sorry to hear that -- see, here's how we see the next week or so playing out:

You'll fire up this recent, spot-on Flash port of Doom, Heretic and Hexen.
You'll play them until you're about to starve to death.
You'll eat.
You'll repeat steps 2 and 3 until, regrettably, you forget to do step 3.

Seriously, folks -- a Newgrounds Flash aficionado (simply named "Mike") has created one of the most accurate, free-est ports of three of id's gibbiest shooters (or wand-ers, in Heretic and Hexen's case). We highly suggest checking them out.

[Via Rock Paper Shotgun]

Swine Flu-based games becoming an internet pandemic

by Griffin McElroy { May 6th 2009 at 12:15AM }

A GamePolitics article recently turned our attention to two new Flash-based titles based on every news outlet's current infatuation: Swine Flu. The first is noteworthy because it's actually pretty fun -- originally titled Sneeze but now going by the more timely moniker Stop Swine Flu, the game tasks you with spreading a disease among a crowded area by sneezing on as many folks as possible. Though the game was commissioned by uber-charity Wellcome Trust, it's caught a bit of flack from critics for awarding points for infecting toddlers. It's definitely worth checking out.

The other game is also noteworthy, but only because it doesn't make a freaking lick of sense. In Swine Flu: Hamdemic, players must slingshot infected pigs across the U.S. - Mexico border, using a six-shooter to keep said pork suspended in the air. Ah, yes. Of course. The origins of this potent malady have at long last been discovered.

2K Australia developer quits job with the help of Mario

by Griffin McElroy { Apr 28th 2009 at 2:00PM }

If done correctly, quitting your job can be the absolute coolest thing you could ever do. When else do you get to air out hostilities you've harbored for countless years, impress cohorts with theatrical gesticulations and possibly, depending on the awfulness of your workplace environment, relieve yourself in a coffee pot?

One Mr. Jarrad recently took a less disgusting route to resignation from his position at 2K Australia -- he programmed a short (but sweet) Flash game, one which informs his employers that he's putting in his two week notice with grace and politeness. Also, with Mario. It may lack the panache of tainted Folgers, but it's still pretty darn amusing (and, more importantly, legal).

[Via superannuation]