Joystiq

VP says Gametap's troubles are 'greatly exaggerated'

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-07-03T15:30:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Online

In an interview with GameDaily, GameTap's VP of Content, Rick Sanchez, explains that rumors of the gaming-buffet's death are "greatly exaggerated." Although he avoids divulging whether GameTap is profitable, he does say that it is hitting parent company Turner Broadcasting's P&L (profits and losses) figures, so apparently it's still keeping daddy happy.

Although rumors of GameTap's demise have pretty much been present since the service launched -- something even Sanchez jokes about -- things went into overdrive after the company laid off its all-star editorial team. GameDaily reports it heard rumors in the wake of the firings that the service would remain online only as a shell until December and then be buried. Sanchez "categorically denies" any of that, pointing to Grimm and more announcements expected in the future as proof of the service's growth.

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GameTap Thursday: Descent Freespace and Off-road Redneck Racing

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-07-03T11:30:00+00:00

Filed under: Mac, PC, Online

As we slowly prepare for the long weekend here in the States, hunkering down for some game playing with a grill right next to us, it's probably worth mentioning that GameTap's selection of free games (which we've listed after the break) won't cost you a dime or, more importantly, gas money getting to the mall. All that cash can be spent on some extra meat for the barbecue. But first, let's look at the new subscription games this week.

Descent: Freespace (Windows) - If you liked Wing Commander: Prophecy and miss that whole space pilot genre, definitely check out Freespace.
Off-road Redneck Racing (Windows) - Oh boy, do we have to write something here? Umm, Rednecks go racing ... it's slightly less offensive than Redneck Rampage.

GameTap's free games list doesn't get any new additions this week, but if you haven't played Tomb Raider: Legend or Deus Ex, what are you waiting for?

1. 2020 Super Baseball
2. 1942
3. 1943: The Battle of Midway
4. 1st Division Manager
5. 3 Count Bout
6. Art of Fighting
7. Astrosmash
8. Bagh Chal
9. Ball 7 Deluxe
10. Baseball Stars 2
11. Baseball Stars Professional
12. Battle of Europe
13. Bee 52
14. Black Tiger
15. Blast Miner
16. BloodRayne
17. Brian Lara Cricket 2007
18. Bubble Bobble
19. Buku Kakuro
20. Buku Sudoku
21. BurgerTime
22. Burnin' Rubber
23. Bust-A-Move
24. Bust-A-Move Again
25. Cannon Fodder
26. Capcom Sports Club
27. Captain Commando
28. Captain Dynamo
29. CJ in the USA
30. Cj's Elephant Antics
31. Colin McRae Rally 2005
32. Colony 7
33. Commandos 3: Destination Berlin
34. Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness
35. D.N.A.
36. Daikatana
37. Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors
38. Defender
39. Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition
40. Disciples II: Rise of the Elves GOLD
41. Dj Puff's Volcanic Capers
42. Dracula Twins
43. Elevator Action
44. Fast Lanes Bowling
45. Fast Lanes Pinball
46. Fatal Fury
47. Final Fight
48. Five Card Deluxe
49. Flip Words 2
50. Football Frenzy
51. Futoshiki
52. Ghosts N' Goblins
53. Ghouls N' Ghosts
54. Grand Prix Simulator
55. Grell and Falla
56. Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
57. Hitman: Codename 47
58. Ikari Warriors
59. Ingenious
60. Jaws Unleashed
61. Jewelcraft
62. Joust
63. Kamikaze
64. Karate Champ
65. King of the Monsters
66. King of the Monsters 2
67. Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle
68. Lara Croft's Tomb Raider: Legend
69. Lazer Force
70. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2
71. League Bowling
72. Liquid Kids
73. Little Puff in Dragonland
74. Lunar Rescue
75. Magical Drop III
76. Marine Park Empire
77. Mean Machine
78. Mega Man: The Power Battle
79. Mercs
80. Metal Slug
81. Metal Slug 2
82. Miami Chase
83. Mig-29 Soviet Fighter
84. Motocross
85. Mr. Robot
86. Murray Mouse: Supercop
87. Mutation Nation
88. Nemesis of the Roman Empire
89. Neo Turf Masters
90. Olli & Lissa 3
91. Poltergeist
92. Pop-A-Tronic
93. Prehistoric Isle in 1930
94. Prince Clumsy
95. Pro Boxing Simulator
96. Pro Skateboard Simulator
97. Psychonauts
98. Puzzled
99. Qix
100. Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2
101. Rally Cross Simulator
102. Rampage
103. Rastan
104. Real MYST
105. Restaurant Empire
106. Return of the Invaders
107. Robotron 2084
108. Rogue Trooper
109. Root Beer Tapper
110. Sam and Max Season One: Episode 4: Abe Lincoln Must Die!
111. Samurai Showdown
112. Second Sight
113. Sensible Soccer
114. Sensible Soccer 2006
115. Shark! Shark!
116. Shock Troopers
117. Slightly Magic
118. Son Son
119. Space Invaders
120. Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
121. Super Qix
122. Stuntman Seymour
123. Super Seymour
124. Super Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers
125. Surakarta
126. Texas Hold' Em Poker
127. The King of Fighters 95
128. The King of Fighters 96
129. The Last Blade
130. The New Zealand Story
131. Thief: Deadly Shadows
132. Tilt
133. Tube-It
134. Twinkle Star Sprites
135. Vampire Savior: The Lord of the Vampire
136. Vulgus
137. Warlords Battlecry 3
138. War and Warriors: Joan of Ark
139. X2: The Threat
140. Zoo Empire
141. Zoo Keeper

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Joystiq hands-on: American McGee's Grimm

Randy Nelson — 2008-07-02T22:00:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Casual

click to enlarge

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.

Gallery: American McGee's Grimm

We've come to refer to Grimm as "Katamari Darkmacy" due to its simplistic (yet addictive) gameplay and - at least to begin with - simple pastel visuals reminiscent of "It's a Small World." Starting up an episode, players get to watch a "light" version of the fairytale narrated by Grimm. The puppet-show-like vignette tells the tale from with a mostly lighthearted slant. After it's finished, Grimm invites you to make it dark. Very dark.

Gameplay, as we said, is simple. In this case, "simple" means that navigating your character (Grimm himself) is a matter of moving the mouse and holding the left button to run. Jumping is performed with the right button, and clicking it again while in the air performs a butt-stomp.

click to enlarge

Apart from some basic platforming, that's as involved as the game gets. It's mainly about the experience of slowly corrupting the candy-coated fairytale. Everywhere Grimm goes, the world around him becomes dark and twisted. In order to progress through the episode, players must "darken" enough on an area to satisfy Grimm's requests to "make it stinky!," "make it gross!," and so on.

These requests actually correspond to a meter that spans the entire top of the screen. At the absolute right - the darkest of dark - is "vile." Along it are stops for "stinky," "gross," "putrid," and the like.

Life as a Wario-esque anti-hero isn't easy. There are those who'd like to keep the fairytale spic-and-span. So there's strategy introduced in darkening the land while these do-goodnicks attempt to sanitize it. Thankfully, once you've made things suitably gross you can turn the cleaners into dark beings that no longer pose a lemony-fresh threat.

click to enlarge

Although it runs on Unreal Engine 3 tech, Grimm is decidedly simple in its presentation. It's nonetheless effective, though. The game oozes style (among other things) and is packed with clever visual gags, such as bluebirds turning into vampire bats. In fact, the world transforms seamlessly from light to dark, which is visually striking in and of itself.

GameTap reckons that each episode can be completed in as little as 30 minutes, but may last up to an hour and a half if players wish to earn a gold star for making each level as dark as possible and find every hidden secret. Once you've played through an episode, you're treated to a decidedly darker "puppet theater" version of the fairytale - just the way Grimm wanted it.

We found the game charming, if simple, during our hands-on time with episode one. It's definitely something you'll find yourself easily lost in. Plus, although each episode will be free of charge for the first 24 hours it's available, the game certainly doesn't have a that certain (bad) free game "feel." (We're looking at you, Yaris!)

The entirety of Grimm is broken up into 24 "episodes," with three sets of eight planned as "volumes." Volume One will begin on July 31, with "A Boy Learns What Fear Is," followed by "Little Red Riding Hood," "The Fisherman and His Wife," and five more tales. GameTap tells us that the second volume should kick off around Halloween.

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American McGee's Grimm: All episodes free for first 24 hours

Randy Nelson — 2008-07-02T13:55:00+00:00

Filed under: PC, Casual

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.

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GameTap Thursday: Civ IV Warlords, Descent 3 and American Deer Hunter

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-06-26T03:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Mac, PC, Online

Some more Interplay titles return to GameTap this week, but the really nice addition is that of Civilization IV's expansion, Warlords. It added several new elements to the excellent turn-based strategy game, like the Great General unit, vassal states and unique buildings for each nation.

Civilization IV: Warlords (Windows) - The expansion to Civ IV. There are also several scenarios in Warlords to try out if you're not looking for the full-blown world conquering experience.
Descent 3 (Windows) - Shoot everything in 360 degrees of blasting awesomeness (for a third time).
American Deer Hunting (Windows) - PETA will thank you for playing this game instead of being a real man and killing yourself a big ol' buck.

GameTap's free games list gets several new additions this week. We've placed the full list after the break and bolded the new titles for easy reference.

1. 2020 Super Baseball
2. 1942
3. 1943: The Battle of Midway
4. 1st Division Manager
5. 3 Count Bout
6. Art of Fighting
7. Astrosmash
8. Bagh Chal
9. Ball 7 Deluxe
10. Baseball Stars 2
11. Baseball Stars Professional
12. Battle of Europe
13. Bee 52
14. Black Tiger
15. Blast Miner
16. BloodRayne
17. Brian Lara Cricket 2007
18. Bubble Bobble
19. Buku Kakuro
20. Buku Sudoku
21. BurgerTime
22. Burnin' Rubber
23. Bust-A-Move
24. Bust-A-Move Again
25. Cannon Fodder
26. Capcom Sports Club
27. Captain Commando
28. Captain Dynamo
29. CJ in the USA
30. Cj's Elephant Antics
31. Colin McRae Rally 2005
32. Colony 7
33. Commandos 3: Destination Berlin
34. Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness
35. D.N.A.
36. Daikatana
37. Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors
38. Defender
39. Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition
40. Disciples II: Rise of the Elves GOLD
41. Dj Puff's Volcanic Capers
42. Dracula Twins
43. Elevator Action
44. Fast Lanes Bowling
45. Fast Lanes Pinball
46. Fatal Fury
47. Final Fight
48. Five Card Deluxe
49. Flip Words 2
50. Football Frenzy
51. Futoshiki
52. Ghosts N' Goblins
53. Ghouls N' Ghosts
54. Grand Prix Simulator
55. Grell and Falla
56. Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
57. Hitman: Codename 47
58. Ikari Warriors
59. Ingenious
60. Jaws Unleashed
61. Jewelcraft
62. Joust
63. Kamikaze
64. Karate Champ
65. King of the Monsters
66. King of the Monsters 2
67. Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle
68. Lara Croft's Tomb Raider: Legend
69. Lazer Force
70. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2
71. League Bowling
72. Liquid Kids
73. Little Puff in Dragonland
74. Lunar Rescue
75. Magical Drop III
76. Marine Park Empire
77. Mean Machine
78. Mega Man: The Power Battle
79. Mercs
80. Metal Slug
81. Metal Slug 2
82. Miami Chase
83. Mig-29 Soviet Fighter
84. Motocross
85. Mr. Robot
86. Murray Mouse: Supercop
87. Mutation Nation
88. Nemesis of the Roman Empire
89. Neo Turf Masters
90. Olli & Lissa 3
91. Poltergeist
92. Pop-A-Tronic
93. Prehistoric Isle in 1930
94. Prince Clumsy
95. Pro Boxing Simulator
96. Pro Skateboard Simulator
97. Psychonauts
98. Puzzled
99. Qix
100. Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2
101. Rally Cross Simulator
102. Rampage
103. Rastan
104. Real MYST
105. Restaurant Empire
106. Return of the Invaders
107. Robotron 2084
108. Rogue Trooper
109. Root Beer Tapper
110. Sam and Max Season One: Episode 4: Abe Lincoln Must Die!
111. Samurai Showdown
112. Second Sight
113. Sensible Soccer
114. Sensible Soccer 2006
115. Shark! Shark!
116. Shock Troopers
117. Slightly Magic
118. Son Son
119. Space Invaders
120. Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
121. Super Qix
122. Stuntman Seymour
123. Super Seymour
124. Super Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers
125. Surakarta
126. Texas Hold' Em Poker
127. The King of Fighters 95
128. The King of Fighters 96
129. The Last Blade
130. The New Zealand Story
131. Thief: Deadly Shadows
132. Tilt
133. Tube-It
134. Twinkle Star Sprites
135. Vampire Savior: The Lord of the Vampire
136. Vulgus
137. Warlords Battlecry 3
138. War and Warriors: Joan of Ark
139. X2: The Threat
140. Zoo Empire
141. Zoo Keeper

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GameTap Thursday: MDK, Cosmic Osmo and Descent II

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-06-19T03:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Mac, PC, Online

The Interplay titles keep returning to GameTap as Descent II and MDK rejoin the service. We know that everyone's waiting for Fallout, but MDK is a pretty sweet game. Of course, the whole reason for playing it is to see the bizarre music video at the end of the game, which even today is still fantastically jarring.

Cosmic Osmo (Windows) - There's some vague memory of having played this on a Mac way back in the day.
Descent II (Windows) - Shoot everything in 360 degrees of blasting awesomeness.
MDK (Windows) - If you can cope with the weirdness, there's a fun third-person shooter in there.

This week GameTap's list of free games welcomes Dracula Twins (never invite a vampire in!) and Five Card Deluxe. We also received an image from GameTap with the release schedule for the company's upcoming original game Grimm. We've placed the free games list and the Grimm release image after the break.

click to embiggen

1. 2020 Super Baseball
2. 1942
3. 1943: The Battle of Midway
4. 1st Division Manager
5. Art of Fighting
6. Bagh Chal
7. Ball 7 Deluxe
8. Baseball Stars 2
9. Baseball Stars Professional
10. Battle of Europe
11. Bee 52
12. Black Tiger
13. Blast Miner
14. BloodRayne
15. Brian Lara Cricket 2007
16. Bubble Bobble
17. Buku Kakuro
18. Buku Sudoku
19. BurgerTime
20. Bust-A-Move
21. Cannon Fodder
22. Captain Commando
23. Captain Dynamo
24. CJ in the USA
25. Cj's Elephant Antics
26. Colin McRae Rally 2005
27. Colony 7
28. Commandos 3: Destination Berlin
29. Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness
30. D.N.A.
31. Daikatana
32. Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors
33. Defender
34. Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition
35. Disciples II: Rise of the Elves GOLD
36. Dj Puff's Volcanic Capers
37. Dracula Twins
38. Elevator Action
39. Fast Lanes Bowling
40. Fast Lanes Pinball
41. Fatal Fury
42. Final Fight
43. Five Card Deluxe
44. Flip Words 2
45. Football Frenzy
46. Futoshiki
47. Ghosts N' Goblins
48. Ghouls N' Ghosts
49. Grand Prix Simulator
50. Grell and Falla
51. Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
52. Hitman: Codename 47
53. Ikari Warriors
54. Ingenious
55. Jaws Unleashed
56. Jewelcraft
57. Joust
58. Kamikaze
59. King of the Monsters
60. King of the Monsters 2
61. Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle
62. Lara Croft's Tomb Raider: Legend
63. Lazer Force
64. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2
65. Liquid Kids
66. Little Puff in Dragonland
67. Lunar Rescue
68. Marine Park Empire
69. Mean Machine
70. Mega Man: The Power Battle
71. Mercs
72. Metal Slug
73. Metal Slug 2
74. Miami Chase
75. Mig-29 Soviet Fighter
76. Motocross
77. Mr. Robot
78. Murray Mouse: Supercop
79. Mutation Nation
80. Nemesis of the Roman Empire
81. Neo Turf Masters
82. Olli & Lissa 3
83. Poltergeist
84. Pop-A-Tronic
85. Prehistoric Isle in 1930
86. Prince Clumsy
87. Pro Boxing Simulator
88. Pro Skateboard Simulator
89. Psychonauts
90. Puzzled
91. Qix
92. Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2
93. Rally Cross Simulator
94. Rampage
95. Rastan
96. Real MYST
97. Restaurant Empire
98. Return of the Invaders
99. Robotron 2084
100. Rogue Trooper
101. Root Beer Tapper
102. Sam and Max Season One: Episode 4: Abe Lincoln Must Die!
103. Samurai Showdown
104. Second Sight
105. Sensible Soccer
106. Sensible Soccer 2006
107. Shock Troopers
108. Slightly Magic
109. Son Son
110. Space Invaders
111. Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
112. Stuntman Seymour
113. Super Seymour
114. Super Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers
115. Surakarta
116. Texas Hold' Em Poker
117. The King of Fighters 95
118. The King of Fighters 96
119. The Last Blade
120. The New Zealand Story
121. Thief: Deadly Shadows
122. Tilt
123. Twinkle Star Sprites
124. Vampire Savior: The Lord of the Vampire
125. Vulgus
126. Warlords Battlecry 3
127. War and Warriors: Joan of Ark
128. X2: The Threat
129. Zoo Empire
130. Zoo Keeper

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A Grimm video dump

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-06-13T11:00:00+00:00

Filed under: PC

Once upon a time, there was a company called GameTap. Having parted with its stable of scribes responsible for game previews (games like American McGee's Grimm), the job now falls on the rest of the intertubes. We've placed a plethora of new videos of what to expect from Grimm, when it launches on GameTap July 31, after the break.

For those just learning about this bizarre take of fairy tales, Grimm is a 24-part episodic adventure where cheery Disney-fied stories get back in touch with their original source material.

Gallery: Grimm

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GameTap Thursday: The return of Earthworm Jim

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-06-12T03:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Mac, PC, Online

After re-acquiring the rights to many Interplay titles last month, GameTap welcomes the return of several Earthworm Jim games with this week's update. Other titles expected in the future from the Interplay deal are MDK and Fallout.

Earthworm Jim (Genesis) - An invertebrate finds a special suit -- action ensues.
Earthworm Jim 2 (Genesis) - Bigger, badder and wormier than the original.
Earthworm Jim 3D (Windows) - The transition to 3D was not kind on the hero.
Earthwo ... Sacred Gold - A Baldur's Gate/Diablo-style game that stood out from the glut of clones based on the aforementioned titles.

GameTap's list of free games can be found after the break. This week, arcade classic Burger Time joins the lineup. If you've never played, you'll never turn your back on eggs or sausage again without fearing it's trying to kill you.

2020 Super Baseball
1942
1943: The Battle of Midway
1st Division Manager
Art of Fighting
Bagh Chal
Ball 7 Deluxe
Baseball Stars 2
Baseball Stars Professional
Battle of Europe
Bee 52
Black Tiger
Blast Miner
BloodRayne
Brian Lara Cricket 2007
Bubble Bobble
Buku Kakuro
Buku Sudoku
Burger Time
Bust-A-Move
Cannon Fodder
Captain Commando
Captain Dynamo
CJ in the USA
Cj's Elephant Antics
Colin McRae Rally 2005
Colony 7
Commandos 3: Destination Berlin
Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness
D.N.A.
Daikatana
Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors
Defender
Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition
Disciples II: Rise of the Elves GOLD
Dj Puff's Volcanic Capers
Elevator Action
Fast Lanes Bowling
Fast Lanes Pinball
Fatal Fury
Final Fight
Flip Words 2
Football Frenzy
Futoshiki
Ghosts N' Goblins
Ghouls N' Ghosts
Grand Prix Simulator
Grell and Falla
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
Hitman: Codename 47
Ikari Warriors
Ingenious
Jaws Unleashed
Jewelcraft
Joust
Kamikaze
King of the Monsters
King of the Monsters 2
Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle
Lara Croft's Tomb Raider: Legend
Lazer Force
Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2
Liquid Kids
Little Puff in Dragonland
Lunar Rescue
Marine Park Empire
Mean Machine
Mega Man: The Power Battle
Mercs
Metal Slug
Metal Slug 2
Miami Chase
Mig-29 Soviet Fighter
Motocross
Mr. Robot
Murray Mouse: Supercop
Mutation Nation
Nemesis of the Roman Empire
Neo Turf Masters
Olli & Lissa 3
Poltergeist
Pop-A-Tronic
Prehistoric Isle in 1930
Prince Clumsy
Pro Boxing Simulator
Pro Skateboard Simulator
Psychonauts
Puzzled
Qix
Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2
Rally Cross Simulator
Rampage
Rastan
Real MYST
Restaurant Empire
Return of the Invaders
Robotron 2084
Rogue Trooper
Root Beer Tapper
Sam and Max Season One: Episode 4: Abe Lincoln Must Die!
Samurai Showdown
Second Sight
Sensible Soccer
Sensible Soccer 2006
Shock Troopers
Slightly Magic
Son Son
Space Invaders
Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
Stuntman Seymour
Super Seymour
Super Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers
Surakarta
Texas Hold' Em Poker
The King of Fighters 95
The King of Fighters 96
The Last Blade
The New Zealand Story
Thief: Deadly Shadows
Tilt
Twinkle Star Sprites
Vampire Savior: The Lord of the Vampire
Vulgus
Warlords Battlecry 3
War and Warriors: Joan of Ark
X2: The Threat
Zoo Empire
Zoo Keeper

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GameTap Thursday: Cradle of Rome's Astro Fury

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-06-05T03:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Mac, PC, Online

GameTap's big news this week was that Fallout would be showing up sometime in the near future, but that future isn't now. This week's new additions for gold members are a pretty standard puzzle game and shoot 'em up; however, freeloaders should take full advantage of Deus Ex joining GameTap's gratis lineup.

Astro Fury (Windows) - Arcade style top-down shoot 'em up with vibrant colors.
Cradle of Rome (Windows) - A puzzle game.

Due to an overzealous spam filter or something, we didn't receive the updated list of free titles for the service this upcoming week, and therefore can't place the list after the break. For now, feel free to browse through the free section of GameTap's site and we'll add our list as soon as we get it.

Update: This week's free games list can now be found after the break.

1. 2020 Super Baseball
2. 1942
3. 1943: The Battle of Midway
4. 1st Division Manager
5. Art of Fighting
6. Bagh Chal
7. Ball 7 Deluxe
8. Baseball Stars 2
9. Baseball Stars Professional
10. Battle of Europe
11. Bee 52
12. Black Tiger
13. Blast Miner
14. BloodRayne
15. Brian Lara Cricket 2007
16. Bubble Bobble
17. Buku Kakuro
18. Buku Sudoku
19. Bust-A-Move
20. Cannon Fodder
21. Captain Commando
22. Captain Dynamo
23. CJ in the USA
24. Cj's Elephant Antics
25. Colin McRae Rally 2005
26. Colony 7
27. Commandos 3: Destination Berlin
28. Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness
29. D.N.A.
30. Daikatana
31. Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors
32. Defender
33. Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition
34. Disciples II: Rise of the Elves GOLD
35. Dj Puff's Volcanic Capers
36. Elevator Action
37. Fast Lanes Bowling
38. Fast Lanes Pinball
39. Fatal Fury
40. Final Fight
41. Football Frenzy
42. Futoshiki
43. Ghosts N' Goblins
44. Ghouls N' Ghosts
45. Grand Prix Simulator
46. Grell and Falla
47. Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
48. Hitman: Codename 47
49. Ikari Warriors
50. Ingenious
51. Jaws Unleashed
52. Jewelcraft
53. Joust
54. Kamikaze
55. King of the Monsters
56. King of the Monsters 2
57. Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle
58. Lara Croft's Tomb Raider: Legend
59. Lazer Force
60. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2
61. Liquid Kids
62. Little Puff in Dragonland
63. Lunar Rescue
64. Marine Park Empire
65. Mean Machine
66. Mega Man: The Power Battle
67. Mercs
68. Metal Slug
69. Metal Slug 2
70. Miami Chase
71. Mig-29 Soviet Fighter
72. Motocross
73. Mr. Robot
74. Murray Mouse: Supercop
75. Mutation Nation
76. Nemesis of the Roman Empire
77. Neo Turf Masters
78. Olli & Lissa 3
79. Poltergeist
80. Prehistoric Isle in 1930
81. Prince Clumsy
82. Pro Boxing Simulator
83. Pro Skateboard Simulator
84. Psychonauts
85. Puzzled
86. Qix
87. Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2
88. Rally Cross Simulator
89. Rampage
90. Rastan
91. Real MYST
92. Restaurant Empire
93. Return of the Invaders
94. Robotron 2084
95. Rogue Trooper
96. Root Beer Tapper
97. Sam and Max Season One: Episode 4: Abe Lincoln Must Die!
98. Samurai Showdown
99. Second Sight
100. Sensible Soccer
101. Sensible Soccer 2006
102. Shock Troopers
103. Slightly Magic
104. Son Son
105. Space Invaders
106. Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
107. Stuntman Seymour
108. Super Seymour
109. Super Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers
110. Surakarta
111. Texas Hold' Em Poker
112. The King of Fighters 95
113. The King of Fighters 96
114. The Last Blade
115. The New Zealand Story
116. Thief: Deadly Shadows
117. Tilt
118. Twinkle Star Sprites
119. Vampire Savior: The Lord of the Vampire
120. Vulgus
121. Warlords Battlecry 3
122. War and Warriors: Joan of Ark
123. X2: The Threat
124. Zoo Empire
125. Zoo Keeper

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GameTap to add Fallout titles to its Interplay library

Christopher Grant — 2008-06-02T21:40:00+00:00

Filed under: Mac, PC

After last month's announcement of Interplay catalog titles coming to GameTap, we surely weren't alone in wondering where the Fallout games were. Sure, MDK and Earthworm Jim are great additions but, with Fallout 3 coming out later this year, the absence was enough to make us reach for the bottle. Now, just a few weeks later, the 'Tap has announced that those previously announced Interplay titles - as well as the "widely successful Fallout titles" - will be available not only through the subscription service but also for free play on the ad-supported website.

And just like that, put another check mark on Interplay's ongoing quest to monetize their stable of properties and turn all that red ink black. Next step: sequels and that Fallout MMO they keep talking about.

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GameTap Thursday: Tortuga Pirates in the Ducati World Championship

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-05-29T06:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Mac, PC, Online

We take a moment this week in our GameTap Thursday post to remember the men and women who made up the editorial team over at the service. Their employment was cut tragically short this week due to shortsighted management decisions. So, we raise a glass to our fellow scribes and toast to the words of Eddie Valiant, "Here's to the pencil pushers. May they all get lead poisoning."

Ducati World Championship (Windows) - It's sort of, but totally not, like Gran Turismo with bikes.
Tortuga Pirates of the New World (Windows) - Pirates! or Tropico are much better games.

If you're really looking for something different to play (and probably learn), Brian Lara Cricket 2007 joins GameTap's free lineup this week.

1. 2020 Super Baseball
2. 1942
3. 1943: The Battle of Midway
4. 1st Division Manager
5. Art of Fighting
6. Bagh Chal
7. Ball 7 Deluxe
8. Baseball Stars 2
9. Baseball Stars Professional
10. Battle of Europe
11. Bee 52
12. Black Tiger
13. Blast Miner
14. BloodRayne
15. Brian Lara Cricket 2007
16. Bubble Bobble
17. Buku Kakuro
18. Buku Sudoku
19. Bust-A-Move
20. Cannon Fodder
21. Captain Commando
22. Captain Dynamo
23. CJ in the USA
24. Cj's Elephant Antics
25. Colin McRae Rally 2005
26. Colony 7
27. Commandos 3: Destination Berlin
28. Cyberbots: Full Metal Madness
29. D.N.A.
30. Daikatana
31. Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors
32. Defender
33. Disciples II: Rise of the Elves GOLD
34. Dj Puff's Volcanic Capers
35. Elevator Action
36. Fast Lanes Bowling
37. Fast Lanes Pinball
38. Fatal Fury
39. Final Fight
40. Football Frenzy
41. Futoshiki
42. Ghosts N' Goblins
43. Ghouls N' Ghosts
44. Grand Prix Simulator
45. Grell and Falla
46. Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
47. Hitman: Codename 47
48. Ikari Warriors
49. Ingenious
50. Jaws Unleashed
51. Jewelcraft
52. Joust
53. Kamikaze
54. King of the Monsters
55. King of the Monsters 2
56. Kizuna Encounter: Super Tag Battle
57. Lara Croft's Tomb Raider: Legend
58. Lazer Force
59. Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen 2
60. Liquid Kids
61. Little Puff in Dragonland
62. Lunar Rescue
63. Marine Park Empire
64. Mean Machine
65. Mega Man: The Power Battle
66. Mercs
67. Metal Slug
68. Metal Slug 2
69. Miami Chase
70. Mig-29 Soviet Fighter
71. Motocross
72. Mr. Robot
73. Murray Mouse: Supercop
74. Mutation Nation
75. Nemesis of the Roman Empire
76. Neo Turf Masters
77. Olli & Lissa 3
78. Poltergeist
79. Prehistoric Isle in 1930
80. Prince Clumsy
81. Pro Boxing Simulator
82. Pro Skateboard Simulator
83. Psychonauts
84. Puzzled
85. Qix
86. Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2
87. Rally Cross Simulator
88. Rampage
89. Rastan
90. Real MYST
91. Restaurant Empire
92. Return of the Invaders
93. Robotron 2084
94. Rogue Trooper
95. Root Beer Tapper
96. Sam and Max Season One: Episode 4: Abe Lincoln Must Die!
97. Samurai Showdown
98. Second Sight
99. Sensible Soccer
100. Sensible Soccer 2006
101. Shock Troopers
102. Slightly Magic
103. Son Son
104. Space Invaders
105. Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
106. Stuntman Seymour
107. Super Seymour
108. Super Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers
109. Surakarta
110. Texas Hold' Em Poker
111. The King of Fighters 95
112. The King of Fighters 96
113. The Last Blade
114. The New Zealand Story
115. Thief: Deadly Shadows
116. Tilt
117. Twinkle Star Sprites
118. Vampire Savior: The Lord of the Vampire
119. Vulgus
120. Warlords Battlecry 3
121. War and Warriors: Joan of Ark
122. X2: The Threat
123. Zoo Empire
124. Zoo Keeper

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GameTap fires editorial department, Read and Watch sections to shut down

Alexander Sliwinski — 2008-05-28T15:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Online, Business

GameTap is shutting down its relatively new editorial department and the entire staff has been given a couple of weeks notice. GameDaily reports that GameTap's Read and Watch sections, which are less than a year old, had a strong stable of veteran industry writers, but those sections will now be dismantled and integrated into the site's actual game pages.

GameTap VP Rick Sanchez writes on the community boards that the service has been happy with the editorial team, but has decided to focus on the company's main business, which is its game catalog. Details are still lacking about what the new vision for GameTap is, but being an all-purpose mega-site with games and news to rival Gamespot or IGN is obviously not it.

Update: We've placed GameTap's official statement on this issue after the break.

"GameTap is a brand that has established itself as a valued destination for the online gaming community. It is that community that we want to focus on more strategically and serve in the most effective way possible. Therefore, we are shifting GameTap from being a game portal to exclusively a gaming service with greater emphasis on GameTap's growing library of more than a thousand titles."

- Paul Condolora, senior vice president, digital for Turner Broadcasting's Animation, Young Adults and Kids Media group

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