Joystiq

The Walking Dead: Episode 1 moseys onto XBLA this Friday

Jordan Mallory — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:15:00 EST

Much like the lumbering, rotted corpses of your former friends and/or family members, some things in life just can't be rushed. The Walking Dead: Episode 1, for instance, came out on PSN last Tuesday, but won't be coming out on XBLA until this Friday, according to Major Nelson.

See, the trek from PSN to XBLA takes a couple days longer than usual when most of your nervous system has disintegrated and your skeletal structure has been ravaged by necrosis. When it does show up, it'll set you back a paltry 500 MS Points, which ain't half bad for four stars.

The Walking Dead: Episode 1 moseys onto XBLA this Friday originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Walking Dead walks on over to PC, Mac, PS3 tomorrow

Richard Mitchell — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:15:00 EST

Hoard up your supplies and board up your windows, walkers are coming. More specifically, the first episode of Telltale's The Walking Dead, titled "A New Day," will be shuffling its way over to PC, Mac and PlayStation Network (for PS3) tomorrow.

PC and Mac users can still pre-order the entire season for $22.49 - 10% off the usual price. As a bonus of sorts, PC and Mac users can bundle The Walking Dead with Telltale's "Almost Everything Pack" - which includes nearly every game in the Telltale catalog and normally sells for $90 - for a total of $42.99. PSN users, meanwhile, can grab the first episode for $4.99, or pre-purchase the entire season for $19.99, shaving $5 off the normal price and receiving a premium PS3 theme to boot.

Just remember, if you must point and click zombies, be sure you click them in the head.

The Walking Dead walks on over to PC, Mac, PS3 tomorrow originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Robert Kirkman talks The Walking Dead, shows gameplay, is charming

Jessica Conditt — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 16:30:00 EST

The third installment of Telltale's The Walking Dead behind-the-scenes interview series, Playing Dead, features Robert Kirkman, writer of The Walking Dead comic series. Kirkman and the guy who voiced Marty McFly in Back to the Future talk art style, writing the game and why it isn't an open-world shooter, among other interesting tidbits.

This episode also features a good chunk of gameplay footage (7:02 and 11:50) involving batteries, why there aren't more female mechanical engineers, and of course, zombies.

Robert Kirkman talks The Walking Dead, shows gameplay, is charming originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 25 Mar 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Walking Dead shambles into certification this week

Jessica Conditt — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 20:30:00 EST

The Walking Dead is getting closer -- grab the shotgun! -- and is expected to be submitted for certification on XBLA and PSN this week, with a release soon after, Telltale CEO Dan Connors told Digital Trend at GDC. Connors expects the certification process to take about six weeks, with the launch soon after, placing it in late April or May. He didn't specify the launch process for other platforms, including PC.

Telltale wants to capitalize on the "popularity" of the TV show, whose second season ends March 18, Digital Trend wrote. "Popularity" is of course a loaded term, but personally we've come to enjoy the show with a drinking game -- take a drink every time Lori is mad for a ridiculous reason; take two drinks every time an awkward silence lasts longer than four seconds; finish your drink every time someone shoots more bullets than their gun actually holds.

That said, we're looking forward to Telltale's adaptation; either we'll finally get to enjoy the comic in a new form, or we'll have to buy some more beer.

The Walking Dead shambles into certification this week originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 12 Mar 2012 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Walking Dead gets new life with dev webseries, Playing Dead

Jessica Conditt — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST

Telltale's video game adaptation of The Walking Dead is making slow, shuffling, possibly even moaning progress into reality, at least from our perspective. Luckily for us, Telltale has created a new web show, Playing Dead, in which developers and designers talk about the tone and progress of the game, instead of taking that time to actually make it.

Don't get us wrong, we love hearing details about a game based on one of our favorite comic series in recent memory, but we won't be responsible for our actions if we don't see a gameplay video soon. We might write letters.

Playing Dead launches alongside a new website for Telltale's The Walking Dead, and the first episode is watchable above. In it, lead designers Jake Rodkin and Sean Vanaman discuss the timeline of their Walking Dead, which runs parallel to the beginning of Rick's canonical story, and the authentic approach they're taking to original writer Robert Kirkman's lore.

Rodkin and Vanaman reveal that players will interact with established characters such as Glenn and Hershel, and the video offers some in-game screenshots, one featuring a woman that could be Lori. We have provided the screens below for closer inspection.

Choices players make, such as saving a character's life, will carry through the month-to-month episodes, Rodkin and Vanaman say, affecting later decisions and gameplay options. Vanaman notes that the game is five episodes, spread over five months.

Supplementing all the new Walking Dead info, The Book of Eli writer Gary Whitta announced today that he is working with Telltale on their adaptation.

Gallery: The Walking Dead (Playing Dead)

The Walking Dead gets new life with dev webseries, Playing Dead originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Telltale holiday sale knocks iOS games to $2.99

Richard Mitchell — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 01:01:00 EST

Telltale has announced a holiday sale for many of its iOS games. Several titles, including Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, Puzzle Agent, Tales of Monkey Island and more have been marked down to a measly $2.99. Because nothing says Christmas like ignoring your loved ones while fiddling with an iPhone or iPad.

See the complete list of discounted titles after the break. The sale runs until January 2.

Continue reading Telltale holiday sale knocks iOS games to $2.99

Telltale holiday sale knocks iOS games to $2.99 originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 01:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jurassic Park review: Dinosaur's Lair

Ludwig Kietzmann — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST

Jurassic Park: The Game is brilliant in exactly one way. It is so respectful and contiguous to the film, it becomes an elaborate enactment of John Hammond's dubious blueprint. Telltale has created a disastrous theme park ride, and you never stop running away from it.

It's tempting to dismiss the whole thing as a shallow quick-time event -- a drawn out, press-x-to-hold-on-to-your-butts marathon with a John Williams Lite soundtrack -- but Jurassic Park's crime isn't one of carelessness. There's a clear love for the film on display, and a wink at the player who knows just how many times you have to pump the primer handle before rebooting the park's power.

Continue reading Jurassic Park review: Dinosaur's Lair

Jurassic Park review: Dinosaur's Lair originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Telltale devs caught juking Metacritic user reviews, studio stands behind them

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:45:00 EST

When Telltale employees aren't busy getting into protracted online arguments over the handling of promotional Jeeps, they're apparently artificially boosting the user review score of the studio's latest release, Jurassic Park: The Game. GameSpot spotted as much this week after the game launched, pointing out that few reviewers (if any) received the game early for review, and that the only user reviews on Metacritic were notoriously high (10s), featuring "gushing" praise for the title.

As it turns out, after some quick Googling, the user reviews belonged to Telltale Games employees -- a user interface artist and a cinematic artist, according to GameSpot. Telltale, however, stands behind the two offenders. "Telltale Games do not censor or muzzle its employees in what they post on the internet," studio reps said. "It is being communicated internally that anyone who posts in an industry forum will acknowledge that they are a Telltale employee. In this instance, two people who were proud of the game they worked on, posted positively on Metacritic under recognizable online forum and XBLA account names."

In other words, if you had Googled the user names attached to the positive user reviews from Metacritic, you could discover their true identities, which, as we all know, most internet forum users are wont to do. No one on the internet ever bases their reactions off of what they see without looking deeper first. Nope. Never.

Telltale devs caught juking Metacritic user reviews, studio stands behind them originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jurassic Park: The Game promo Jeep deal causes dino-sized kerfuffle on Reddit

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:00:00 EST

Yesterday, we received a flood of tips from Redditors and other folks urging us to report on a post at the community site, titled, "I let TellTale borrow my Jurassic Park Jeep and all I got was this lousy Dino-Damage." Written by Jurassic Park-themed Jeep Wrangler owner Kevin "Boomerjinks" Henry of the Jurassic Jeep group, he recounts the events that transpired upon arranging a deal with Telltale Games to use his vehicle for promotion at this past September's PAX, where the studio was showing attendees its upcoming Jurassic Park game.

Henry alleges that a variety of communication issues transpired prior to shipment of the Jeep from his location in Colorado to the convention in Washington, and that upon arrival, the vehicle itself had been damaged (scuffs and chips, mostly). Though he says he was assured that he'd be compensated for the damages, the company apparently went dark on him after several exchanges in the weeks following PAX. So he took to Reddit, but we'd only heard one side of the story.

But after a minor uproar ensued, Telltale head Kevin Bruner took to Reddit himself to air his company's side of things, even agreeing to pay the damages in full out of pocket immediately. While he says he doesn't like "the circumstances this is going down in," he'd rather move things along. "This way we won't need to hash this out publicly any longer." As Telltale has been going through the vehicle transport's insurance holder, things haven't been speeding along for Henry's Jeep fix, Bruner claims.

Meanwhile, as a fallout from the initial report, the ex-Telltale employee who organized the Jeep deal with Henry has been virtually mobbed by angry Redditors -- one of which posted the former employee's name, which resulted in "83 phone calls (according to Google voice), 41 Facebook messages, and 19 emails." Also, Jurassic Park: The Game is out today, in case you were wondering.

Update: Apparently Henry himself outed the former Telltale employee, according to this Reddit comment.

Jurassic Park: The Game promo Jeep deal causes dino-sized kerfuffle on Reddit originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Telltale: Episodic drop-off 'substantially less' on iOS

Ludwig Kietzmann — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 04:00:00 EST

That stack of semi-completed games on your coffee table is either a reminder of how you habitually abandon good entertainment, or a teetering celebration of your healthy, well-prioritized life. (But this is a video game blog, so we think it's the first thing.) In the case of Telltale's episodic downloads, you don't even have the haunting benefit of physical leftovers.

"In episodic games, usually the first episode ends up selling the most and it's one of the key reasons we have come to sell our game series primarily in the 'Season Pass' format where you get all the episodes for one purchase price," Telltale Games Producer Dave Felton told Gamasutra. While the practice offers no guarantee that you'll play every episode, Telltale can at least ensure that you purchase all of them -- except on the iPhone, where a "Season Pass" has yet to be implemented within the company's lineup. (In comparison, season passes exist on PSN, but not on Xbox Live.)

Felton suggests that iOS devices are unique in that episodic drop-off is "substantially less than we have seen on any other platform to date," and suspects that the synergy between Apple's devices and its App Store "work together to drive that difference."

Unlike Xbox Live Arcade, for instance, games on the App Store can easily be pushed into visibility by customer reviews and feedback. Telltale found that Hector: Badge of Carnage, its first externally developed series, even saw sales rise between episodes. It's Telltale's job to curb player ennui in their game design, but Hector's momentum indicates that a fluid marketplace can be just as important for bite-sized content.

Telltale: Episodic drop-off 'substantially less' on iOS originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 10 Nov 2011 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Great Scott! Back to the Future for $10 on Steam

Richard Mitchell — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:00:00 EST

It appears our timeline has been skewed, as Steam is currently offering the first season of Back to the Future for only $10. It's not clear what caused this temporal shift, though Steam plans to correct it (i.e. the sale will end) this Thursday at 4pm specific. We assume lightning will be involved.

Continue reading Great Scott! Back to the Future for $10 on Steam

Great Scott! Back to the Future for $10 on Steam originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jurassic Park's dinos wanna say hello

Ben Gilbert — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:30:00 EST

We can't help but imagine the dinosaurs of Telltale's Jurassic Park: The Game with slightly ... different voice casting. We've got high hopes that one of you sound prodigies will interpret that as a challenge.

Jurassic Park's dinos wanna say hello originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Walking Dead game won't retell story of TV and comic series

Justin McElroy — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:00:00 EST

Telltale Games was staying fairly tight-lipped about its upcoming episodic release based on the Walking Dead TV series and graphic novel. What we do know is that the game won't retell the TV and comic's story of lawman Rick Grimes and his quest to reunite with his family in the wake of the zombie apocalypse.

The game will follow Lee Everett, a criminal loosed from his police escort after it runs into an erstwhile zombie. Everett will unite with a seven-year-old girl named Clementine who Telltale says will provide a sort of moral compass for the convict.

As Rick Grimes tries to make his way into Atlanta, Lee and Clementine are trying to make their way out, which means they'll cross paths with established series characters like Lilly and Glenn.

We know, we know, it's not a lot to go on. But as fans who weren't exactly thrilled at the prospect of watching Rick track down his wife and son yet again, Telltale's approach definitely seems like the right direction.

Gallery: Walking Dead concept art (06/08/11)

Walking Dead game won't retell story of TV and comic series originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Hector: Badge of Carnage

Justin McElroy — Tue, 03 May 2011 21:00:00 EST

Being a giant, beloved video game site has its downsides. For example, we sometimes neglect to give independent developers our coverage love (or loverage, if you will) as we get caught up in AAA, AAAA or the rare quintuple-A titles. To remedy that, we're giving indies the chance to create their own loverage and sell you, the fans, on their studios and products. This week we talk Richard Morss, Straandlooper's co-founder, and development leads Dean Burke and Kevin Beimers about their ribald adventure game, Hector: Badge of Carnage.

How did your company get started?

Richard: Straandlooper was started by two "veterans," Alastair (Ali) McIlwain and Richard Morss, and a founding team who had been involved with the kid's series Lifeboat Luke: Tim Bryans, Dean Burke, Kevin Beimers, Ciaran Oakes and Colin McCusker -- all of whom have been or will be involved with the production of the Hector games.

The mission was to look realistically at the global animation market place and then do what we wanted to do anyway! At a time of niches and no license fees for anything anywhere, content creators may as well be truly independent and see where they get to. Having secured development funding we set about creating a raft of new stuff, including Dean Burke's Hector.

Continue reading The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Hector: Badge of Carnage

The Joystiq Indie Pitch: Hector: Badge of Carnage originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 03 May 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Explore Jurassic Park thoroughly in this trailer

Ben Gilbert — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:00:00 EST

What's that? You were hoping for over ten solid minutes of frantic dino/dino combat today in video form? GameSpot's Hot Spot is here to deliver on just that with a show featuring upcoming action-adventure game Jurassic Park.

Continue reading Explore Jurassic Park thoroughly in this trailer

Explore Jurassic Park thoroughly in this trailer originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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April Fools: Telltale puts you in the game with Envelotech

Griffin McElroy — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 14:37:00 EST

Sure, the totally-fake Envelotech device shown off in Telltale's April Fools' Day video below has terrifying properties -- but was Puzzle Agent really the best way to showcase its potential for terror? We probably would have gone with Jurassic Park, or, at the very least, Torturetown.

Continue reading April Fools: Telltale puts you in the game with Envelotech

April Fools: Telltale puts you in the game with Envelotech originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 14:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back to the Future's third episode snags Claudia Wells as Jennifer

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:45:00 EST

As if A.J. LoCascio's eerily accurate impression of Marty McFly wasn't haunting enough in-game, how about some live-action joshin' between LoCascio and the original actress who played Marty's love interest, Jennifer? That's just what Telltale has delivered in the latest trailer for the third episode of Back to the Future: The Game, starring multiple versions of Jennifer (played by original Back to the Future actress Claudia Wells, who was replaced by Elisabeth Shue in the sequels).

For her part, Wells says she was "thrilled" when LoCascio asked her to reprise her role from the film. "I said, 'I wanna be Jennifer!'" she explains in the latest clip. And that's when things get ... strange. Head past the break and see for yourself.

Continue reading Back to the Future's third episode snags Claudia Wells as Jennifer

Back to the Future's third episode snags Claudia Wells as Jennifer originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back to the Future's third episode 'Citizen Brown' available next week

Alexander Sliwinski — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:30:00 EST

Back to the Future returns to our relatively recent past (the protagonist's present) in "Citizen Brown," the third episode in the series, available next week for PC and Mac. In the latest episode, Marty and Doc Brown get back to 1986 to find they've mucked up the timeline again ... and not in the fun "Biff washing dad's car" kinda way. Now they must deal with a powerful version of Doc Brown, but will he be friend or foe?

BttF Episode 2: "Get Tannen!" will also be available next Tuesday on PSN. An email newsletter sent out by Telltale states that information about the European PSN and iPad launch dates for the second episode is "coming soon."

Back to the Future's third episode 'Citizen Brown' available next week originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Telltale's Jurassic Park opening on PC and Mac this April

Ludwig Kietzmann — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 07:00:00 EST

Telltale Games has updated its website to host the latest tourist-eating attraction, Jurassic Park: The Game. The five-episode series will debut this April on PC and Mac, and can be pre-ordered for $29.99 (representing a $5 discount off the regular price).

There's also a brief trailer of the game, which is -- as designer Dave Grossman implied last year -- utterly devoid of talking cartoon animals. It's clearly representative of a darker, more serious approach to storytelling than we've come to expect from Telltale, and isn't likely to be conducive to our usual point-and-click perambulations. "I don't want to have it be a game about hanging around and solving thinky puzzles at your own pace," Grossman said. "It just doesn't seem like the right thing to do for that."

You'll hear more about Jurassic Park and how it works later today.

Continue reading Telltale's Jurassic Park opening on PC and Mac this April

Telltale's Jurassic Park opening on PC and Mac this April originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back to the Future's second episode 'Get Tannen!' available now

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 10:30:00 EST

Telltale's Back to the Future adventure game series has aligned with our timeline to deliver its second episode, "Get Tannen!" for PC and Mac. While mucking about in Hill Valley during Prohibition, Doc and Marty may have caused -- what time travelers universally consider -- an "oopsie," which prompts the duo to go back in time to fix what went wrong. Isn't this why your mother warned you about time travel?

If you're curious about the series, make like a tree and check out our review of episode one ... unless you're chicken.

Update: The availability of Episode 2 means that the free copies of Episode 1 are now available! Go here and enter the code 121GIGAWATTS.

Continue reading Back to the Future's second episode 'Get Tannen!' available now

Back to the Future's second episode 'Get Tannen!' available now originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tales of Monkey Island heads to retail in Europe, Collector's Edition announced

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 16:00:00 EST

Telltale's Tales of Monkey Island is sailing across the ocean for a retail release in Europe and Australia. Set to disembark in April 2011 (hey, traveling by boat ain't fast), the game comes in two editions that include all five episodes in the series, plus a treasure trove of goodies.

The "Premium Edition," priced at £29.99 for the UK, offers production art, desktop wallpapers and "fun forum avatars." The £49.99 "Collector's Edition" holds map of the Gulf of Melange, voodoo card, Club 41 coaster, a piece of eight coin and a Trial of the Century badge. So, if you're Davy Jonesing for some Monkey Island swag, you'll just have to practice holding your breath until April.

Continue reading Tales of Monkey Island heads to retail in Europe, Collector's Edition announced

Tales of Monkey Island heads to retail in Europe, Collector's Edition announced originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hey! Some new Telltale Jurassic Park screens

Richard Mitchell — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 18:10:00 EST

Game Informer has posted some of the first screens of Telltale's upcoming Jurassic Park. Additionally, the article lays out some more of the details that were recently revealed in the latest ish of Game Informer magazine. In particular, the piece details how Telltale is looking to focus on the human element of Jurassic Park and the interactions between its characters. This is opposed to the focus of nearly every other game based on the franchise: Kill a bunch of dinosaurs.

Head over to Game Informer for more details and screens of Jurassic Park. Once you've finished there, we did a little searching on YouTube, and we think we may have discovered some leaked gameplay footage.

Hey! Some new Telltale Jurassic Park screens originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Telltale Games having 50% off sale until January 3

Alexander Sliwinski — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 11:45:00 EST

Okay, so you can't go Back to the Future or have a Poker Night at the Inventory, but you can point and click your way through most of the Telltale Games' catalog for 50 percent off until January 3, 2011.

That means you can listen to some Tales of Monkey Island, help Sam & Max with some freelance police work, invent a reason to hang out with Wallace & Gromit, or man up with Strong Bad (but only if you're attractive) at a significant discount on the Telltale site.

Telltale Games having 50% off sale until January 3 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 27 Dec 2010 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Back to the Future: The Game review: It's about time

Justin McElroy — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 16:50:00 EST

Maybe it's the charming performances by the leads, the blend of comedy and adventure that never hits any one note too hard, or plain old nostalgia - honestly, it's probably a little bit of all those - but there's something special about the Back to the Future series.

This is perhaps the best compliment I can pay to Back to the Future: The Game: Episode 1. Whatever that specialness is, whatever the source of the magic that's made the series a cultural touchstone for so many, Telltale's got it to spare.

Gallery: Back to the Future (12/20/10)

Continue reading Back to the Future: The Game review: It's about time

Back to the Future: The Game review: It's about time originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 16:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tales of Monkey Island - Episode 1 drops anchor on iPad

Ludwig Kietzmann — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 22:00:00 EST

The first segment of Teltale's five-part return trip to Monkey Island is now available on the iPad. Tales of Monkey Island - Episode One: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal sees the lovably inept Guybrush Threepwood washing up on Flotsam Island, home to a unicorn-loving glass blower and a doctor with ... somewhat questionable medical intentions. You'll find it on the iTunes store for $6.99, before the rest of the episodes are added next year.

According to Telltale, the controls and character movement in the iPad iTeration are similar to those found in the PC games. Selected inventory items will let you know where they can be used, and a two-finger prod will show all selectable items on screen. You'll want to put all of them in your pocket, basically.

(Note: We apologize if the above headline inflicted mortifying mental imagery on proud and paranoid iPad owners. Invest in a protective case, and never leave your expensive gadget unattended near a dock.)

Tales of Monkey Island - Episode 1 drops anchor on iPad originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Strong Bad's Cool Game available for PS3 People on December 21, Mac People 'soon'

Andrew Yoon — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 17:00:00 EST

There are a lot of attractive people that don't own a Wii or PC. Acknowledging this shortcoming, Telltale has announced new platforms for Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People. The episodic adventure inspired by the Homestar Runner web site will be available on the North American PlayStation Network on December 21st, with European and Mac releases to follow "shortly thereafter."

The press release doesn't detail pricing, but all five episodes are currently available for $29.95 on PC. For a blast from the past, check out the original trailer after the break -- and read our review from 2008.

Continue reading Strong Bad's Cool Game available for PS3 People on December 21, Mac People 'soon'

Strong Bad's Cool Game available for PS3 People on December 21, Mac People 'soon' originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 08 Dec 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Go Back to the Future in five, chronological episodes

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 10:30:00 EST

GameTrailers has the debut moving-picture preview for Telltale's episodic Back to the Future game and, if you ignore the animation and lip-synching, it's looking pretty ... um -- hey, how awesome are those movies? They're on Blu-ray now, you know. Maybe we'll forget all about this awkward teaser when the first episode of the point-n-click adventure is made available for free sometime soon.

Revealed as a five-episode series, Back to the Future begins this month, before taking a winter break until February, when it'll pick back up with a new episode each month until the finale:

December: "It's About Time" (Episode 1)
February: "Get Tannen!" (Episode 2)
March: "Citizen Brown" (Episode 3)
April: "Double Visions" (Episode 4)
TBD: "OUTATIME" (Finale)

Back to the Future will be available for PC, Mac, PS3 (via PSN) and iPad. Previously, Telltale announced plans to launch the PC and Mac versions first. Check out the trailer after the break, or don't ... if you're chicken.

Continue reading Go Back to the Future in five, chronological episodes

Go Back to the Future in five, chronological episodes originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 03 Dec 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Sam & Max DeSoto that almost was

David Hinkle — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 06:00:00 EST

The DeSoto you know could've been something very different, as this concept art from Steve Purcell's blog reveals. The image is from Sam & Max Plunge Through Time, a never-released game first announced in 2001 as an Xbox exclusive.

Continue reading The Sam & Max DeSoto that almost was

The Sam & Max DeSoto that almost was originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Telltale offering free Sam and Max chapter this Halloween weekend

Griffin McElroy — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 19:30:00 EST

It wouldn't be Halloween weekend if Telltale didn't offer a chapter of one of its adventure series for free -- well, we guess it still would be Halloween weekend, since ... that's how time works. Regardless, you can grab Sam and Max: Night of the Raving Dead this weekend for free.

Continue reading Telltale offering free Sam and Max chapter this Halloween weekend

Telltale offering free Sam and Max chapter this Halloween weekend originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 30 Oct 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Telltale Games bundles Puzzle Agent, Sam and Max, four more for $20

Ben Gilbert — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 21:00:00 EST

Starting right now, Telltale Games is offering six adventure games for just $19.95. The initial four are The Whispered World, Jack Keane, King's Quest Collection, and Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode 1, with Telltale's own Puzzle Agent and Sam & Max: Season 2 unlocking as more people buy the bundle.

Child's Play and The World Wildlife Fund are among five charities receiving 25 percent of the profits from this promotion. The deal is currently being offered only on PC, and will be available via the Telltale Games store until September 10.

Telltale Games bundles Puzzle Agent, Sam and Max, four more for $20 originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Telltale's Back to the Future touts Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown

Justin McElroy — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:01:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

You can breathe a little easier if you've been eagerly anticipating Telltale's five-episode Back to the Future series, as USA Today has just confirmed some of its key inclusions:

1. Marty McFly and Doc Brown
2. Christopher Lloyd voicing Doc Brown
3. Hill Valley
4. 1985
5. BttF screenwriter Bob Gale's guidance
6. The DeLorean

We've worked with a team of experts to prepare a list of things we still need confirmed for the episodic game to allow our hearts to open and our expectations to run free, like majestic, time-traveling ponies:

1. Hoverboards.
2. Huey Lewis

Seriously guys, what's up?

Telltale's Back to the Future touts Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse episode 4 released

Richard Mitchell — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 22:30:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Just a quick heads up for all the laugh-loving adventure fans out there: The latest episode of Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse is now available. Entitled "Beyond the Alley of the Dolls," the fourth episode in the new season sees everyone's favorite freelance police battling it out with an army of despicable, half-naked doppelgangers -- er, doggelgangers. Check out the new trailer after the break and a handful of screens below.

Gallery: Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse (Beyond the Alley of the Dolls)

Continue reading Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse episode 4 released

Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse episode 4 released originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Telltale surveying fans' favorite Back to the Future elements

Griffin McElroy — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 13:21:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

There's a lot to love in Zemeckis' time-space continuum-altering Back to the Future trilogy -- it makes sense that Telltale Games wants to know what aspects fans are hoping to see in its upcoming episodic game adaptation of the films. Fans can now participate in a quick survey, choosing some of the time periods, characters and a handful of scenarios which reference iconic moments from the films which they'd like to see in the games. Click past the jump to see some of the sample scenarios presented in the survey.

You can access the questionnaire through Telltale's site, but be forewarned! If you vote for an adventure set in the 1800s featuring Doc Brown's Wild West offspring, and which doesn't feature Biff or hoverboards or time traveling of any sort, we'll come through the internet and open-hand slap you in the face.

Continue reading Telltale surveying fans' favorite Back to the Future elements

Telltale surveying fans' favorite Back to the Future elements originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 13:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wallace & Gromit get cracking on iPad

Richard Mitchell — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Wallace and Gromit -- inventor extraordinaire and dog, respectively -- are making their way to the iPad. Telltale has announced that Wallace & Gromit: The Last Resort is now available for Apple's wonder slate. While certainly good news for Telltale fans, said fans may have noticed something a little odd, as The Last Resort is actually the second episode of the first season of Wallace & Gromit. Telltale makes no mention of other episodes in the future -- iPad users are still waiting on the rest of Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse, incidentally -- but if you've been waiting to play Wallace & Gromit on a more magical platform, The Last Resort can be snagged from iTunes for $4.99.

Wallace & Gromit get cracking on iPad originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: Puzzle Agent

Justin McElroy — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 09:00:00 EST

We're pretty comfortable with most games that walk a fine line between "inspiration" and "plagiarism." Bullets of Shooting is basically just Explosions of Valor, except set after an apocalypse wrought by space bugs rather than space robots. We all know it -- it just doesn't bother us that much.

What new Telltale adventure Puzzle Agent asks is, "Would you still be as forgiving if the genre was a bit more ... granular? Say, for instance, a collection of puzzles loosely tied together by a point-and-click adventure narrative?"

... So, would you?

Gallery: Puzzle Agent (6/28/10)

Continue reading Review: Puzzle Agent

Review: Puzzle Agent originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Telltale's Jurassic Park games to be 'cinematically much more serious'

Ludwig Kietzmann — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Ever since Telltale announced an agreement with NBC Universal to develop an episodic series of games based on Jurassic Park, we've been kept awake at night, wondering just how one goes about defeating a Tyrannosaurus Rex using nothing but an umbrella handle, a lightbulb and a unicycle. There are at least seven ways to do it -- trust us -- but Telltale design director Dave Grossman informed us at E3 that Jurassic Park won't quite fit the company's traditional adventure structure.

"... in the case of Jurassic Park, we've wanted to kind of step out and do something that's cinematically much more serious than the kind of.... you know, we feel like we're getting pigeonholed a little bit as a company that makes funny cartoon games about talking animals, whereas really what we think of ourselves as is a company that makes games about cinema," Grossman said. "And so we want to explore some different territory. How is the gameplay supporting the tension of the scene, and what kind of tension is it? How is the game paced? And so you're going to find all of that stuff in the Jurassic Park series."

While Jurassic Park will feature adventure mechanics deemed "appropriate," it seems its focus won't necessarily be on laid-back lateral thinking. "I don't want to have it be a game about hanging around and solving thinky puzzles at your own pace," Grossman explained. "It just doesn't seem like the right thing to do for that." And while that might seem to suggest an action-oriented approach, Grossman wasn't willing to characterize it to such a simple degree. "You can definitely expect tension elements, let's say. Whether they're action or, well, there are a lot of ways to do that. I think there'll be a liberal mix of stuff in that game."

Let's hope we learn more before Telltale's Jurassic Park begins its monthly excursions from Isla ~~Sorna~~ Nublar this winter.

Telltale's Jurassic Park games to be 'cinematically much more serious' originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sam & Max Episode 3: They Stole Max's Brain! (find it on June 22)

Ludwig Kietzmann — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

The deadpan detective has never been so dogged! With his partner's brain missing (physically), Sam loses his cool and goes on the warpath in the third episode of Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse, out on on PC, Mac and PSN on June 22.

Continue reading Sam & Max Episode 3: They Stole Max's Brain! (find it on June 22)

Sam & Max Episode 3: They Stole Max's Brain! (find it on June 22) originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 19 Jun 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Telltale: 'Pilot Program' allows for new ideas at less risk

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 10 May 2010 09:15:00 EST

Telltale recently introduced its "Pilot Program" for episodic games with the reveal of Puzzle Agent, claiming that some of its future franchises (starting with PA) will live or die by the initial episode's reception among players. And last last week, the company's CEO Dan Connors took to G4 to give more detail on the initiative's future, as well as its raison d'être. "The Pilot Program allows us to try some new ideas without having to [take as much risk] and learn more what people like about it before we commit to doing the whole thing." He said that committing to an entire season for a game is, in many cases, far riskier than creating a one-off pilot that may or may not succeed.

Additionally, team sizes on the pilot episodes are much smaller, but can be scaled up depending on how the audience responds. "Right now, I think the Grickle [PA] team is probably about a third of the size of an average team to get this started," Connors said. According to him, 50 percent of the work for a series is done up front -- going into full-scale production on PA would require little adjustment for Telltale. That said, he seems more interested in spitballing ideas for additional pilot games in the meantime, saying that the studio is still "in the idea phase" for more pilots. We'll see just how well that first idea pans out when Puzzle Agent becomes available this June.

Telltale: 'Pilot Program' allows for new ideas at less risk originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 10 May 2010 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Puzzle Agent due in June, pre-order now to save on other Telltale stuff

JC Fletcher — Wed, 05 May 2010 12:38:00 EST

If you're interested in evaluating Telltale's first episodic game "pilot" for yourself, you can now pre-order the new puzzle-adventure game Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent from Telltale's website in advance of its June release. As a nice incentive to check it out, when you buy the $9.95 download, everything else in your cart will be discounted by 50%! Not that Monkey Island bundle -- good thinking, though. Graham Annable fans might be interested in adding the new Book of Grickle to their carts. And people writing this post might be interested in throwing in a set of Homestar Runner figurines.

The pre-order offer applies to both PC and Mac (you'll get both with purchase), but not WiiWare, iPhone, or iPad.

Gallery: Puzzle Agent

Puzzle Agent due in June, pre-order now to save on other Telltale stuff originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 05 May 2010 12:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Grab the Secret and Tales of Monkey Island games for $20

Griffin McElroy — Tue, 04 May 2010 10:45:00 EST

You know that phrase, "out with the old, in with the new?" Telltale recently put together a sweet little bundle that allows you to obtain the new while also obtaining (the renovated version of) the old, all for a reasonable price. Until this Friday, you can grab Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition and all five chapters of Tales of Monkey Island for $19.99. If only the bundle included something borrowed and something blue -- then you could easily use it to satisfy all of your nonsensical pre-wedding rituals.

[Via Big Download]

Grab the Secret and Tales of Monkey Island games for $20 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 04 May 2010 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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