Posted by Lorne Whiting
Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:12:00 GMT
Pogo Sticker is one of those games that will make you rip your scalp off after a while, but you keep coming back to it anyway.
You play either a short red guy (more likely a carpenter then a plumber!) or a tall green guy.
The green guy is more phallic, so I assume he’ll be the character most of our readers will play as! The task that’s befallen you is to jump through viciously difficult obstacle courses which usually ends up with your skull being crushed by the ceiling, because you decided to jump over all the obstacles instead of doing it the slow way.
Though, if you do things the slow way, you won’t get those wicked electrical lollipop prizes. And lemme tell you, those things are BADASS. I mean, seriously, candy that shoots lightning?
After a year of on-and-off playing I had finally gotten Megathor Pops on all but ONE of the courses. “The Hill”, I think it was called. GOD that level sucked. I couldn’t get higher then a green, which is the SUCKIEST lollipop. In more ways then one, since it’s probably the only one you’d be able to eat easily.
But alas, the game is fun. And it’s got alot of longevity, unless you happen to be frighteningly great at approximating virtual physics. Plus the characters and plot are really deep once you get into it… though I wish some more questions were answered at the end, like “why do these carpenter brothers wish for so many demonic candy items?”
All in all, it’s a fun game and great for wasting time, but you’ll need to take lots of breaks or you’ll end up throwing your mouse at a wall. That wall over to the right, you know, with the poster of a slutty woman on it?
Posted in Platformers, Windows, Physics, Freeware | Tags JetroLauha | 10 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Mon, 22 Oct 2007 09:20:00 GMT
In a recent Cryptic Sea blog post, Edmund McMillen took a break from talking about Gish 2 to wax off about a few of his side projects, including a 2d RTS game where your goal is to defend a dead carcass with an army of maggots! Nasty!
But the one that got me hot and bothered was Guppy, shown in the video above!
Guppy is a 2d side scroller that kinda plays like GTA… but not. It’s hard to explain and also still very early in development, but I couldn’t help but post a little video of it.
(Thanks, DMac!)
Posted in Platformers, Videos, Developers, Physics, Previews | Tags CrypticSea | 24 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Thu, 11 Oct 2007 04:31:00 GMT
Sigvatr, the lead artist for Link-Dead, was kind enough to let me know that he has a new blog up to talk in-depth about Link-Dead’s graphical going-ons. Quote:
Like Soldat, your player character in Link-Dead will be extensively customizable. We are upping the ante significantly for Link-Dead, offering the player multiple clothing types, decorational equipment and trinkets, armor types, hair, facial hair and other surprises. I’m putting a lot of effort into make the characters appear as realistic as possible, even within the confines of a two dimension side scroller where they will appear quite small on screen.
Well, what can I say? It looks great, and it sounds like it’s just going to get better. In his first post, Sigvatr also talks about physics, level editing, and gibs. Delicious, gory gibs.
And while you’re at it, check out (Link-Dead developer) Michal Marcinkowski’s blog. He recently posted some sweet concept art here and here that’s definitely worth checking out.
Link-Dead, which was just announced a few weeks ago, is the spiritual follow-up to Marcinkowski’s highly successful Soldat. In case it wasn’t obvious!
Posted in Platformers, Physics, Previews | Tags MichalMarcinkowski, Sigvatr | 21 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Mon, 08 Oct 2007 02:33:00 GMT
In the year 3089, humanity receives a weak distress signal from beyond the Outer Rim… alien contact! The space station BALROG-1 is deployed to investigate, with Captain Meat “Meat Train” Sakamoto at the helm. Leading the science team is the famed biologist / paleoscientist Doctor Ezekial Nimbus.
Upon reaching the Outer Rim the crew discovers that the signal was from a wrecked alien vessel, empty save for a mysterious artifact – an ancient alien helmet with a strange “eye” design etched on the front. A malevolent power emanates from within the helmet… what could it mean? The Doctor, against the wishes of Captain Sakamoto, brings it aboard for “research purposes.”
That’s when all hell breaks loose.
American developer Voxel brings Cave Story to life in this balls-to-the-wall action-packed extravaganza of extremity and violence! You are Billy Bob “Quote” Johnson, the amnesiac space marine, imprisoned within BALROG-1 for disobeying your superiors. And now you’re the only thing standing between humanity and the terrible Mimiga Virus that has transformed your platoon into an army of bloodthirsty rabbit cyborgs!
Features:
- Hyper-realistic, cutting-edge 3D graphics. You’ll definitely be able to tell what these characters are supposed to be!
- Hardboiled story told lovingly through 200+ hours of dialogue. Featuring the voices of Catherine Zeta Jones as Lieutenant Fenix “Curly” Brace, and Samuel L. Jackson as “Meat Train” Sakamoto.
- Over 50 totally hardcore weapons, from King’s Vibro-Blade to the Nemesis Multi-Bazooka!
- Go online with your friends or play Deathmatch at home! Our unprecedented “BALL0S AI” crafts personalized insults by scanning your e-mails!
- State-of-the-art physics engine will molest your CPUs and PPUs as it accurately calculates the physics of EVERYTHING. Sweat has never been more realistically flicked off individual strands of hair!
- Soundtrack by Linkin Park.
Posted in Community, Physics, Action / Arcade | Tags Pixel | 60 comments
Posted by Terry
Fri, 05 Oct 2007 17:49:00 GMT
Launchball is an educational game designed to teach kids about physics, and is part of an interactive gallery called “Launchpad” at the London Science Museum. Essentially, it plays like The Incredible Machine, only using realistic lab apparatus instead of toasters and fishbowls and so on. Whenever you complete a level, you’re given a nifty bit of science trivia as a reward (like that very random bit about Newton to the side). Once you’ve completed them all, you can move on to creating your own!
It’s excellent! The graphical and musical style is minimal and elegant (and I might add, gorgeous), the interface is juicy and responsive, the puzzles are engaging – the whole thing just feels slick and professional to the last detail. Digg’s rather taken with it too: they managed to crash the Science Museum website last week (though they tend to do that quite a bit, I hear), and more that one person over there has described it as better than Halo 3 (for whatever that’s worth). Well worth checking out!
[Source: Digg]
Posted in Browser Games, Puzzle, Physics | 22 comments
Posted by BMcC
Mon, 17 Sep 2007 16:30:00 GMT
Whoa! Shih Tzu was just telling me today about the great Knytt Stories expansions out there, and look what I find on Tim’s blog just now… Concept art for Nifflas’ new project, tentatively called “Night Game.” Could this be a spiritual successor to Within a Deep Forest?
Little is known at this point, but mysterious user “pi” on Tim’s site has pointed out a forum thread on Clickteam’s site where Nifflas seems mighty interested in physics solutions. He even posted some diagrams that bear a striking resemblance to the image above.
It’s quite cool seeing Nifflas explore new graphical and gameplay styles like this. Keep an eye on this one.
(Source: TIM)
The aforementioned diagrams and further description from Nifflas in the extended.
Read more...
Posted in Platformers, Physics, Previews | Tags Nifflas | 25 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Tue, 11 Sep 2007 13:09:00 GMT
So my goal for World of Goo is to (hopefully) combine the best of both [physics games and adventure games], where all gameplay is 100% physically simulated, and where each level is thematically extraordinary, visually iconic, and always (at least mildly) related to a story arc. There is very little asset re-use between levels, which is expensive in the sense that I have to create unique art by hand for every level, but as I’m seeing the game come together, I’m kinda happy how “beautiful” (or at least original) it is becoming. I just hope mom and dad (uh.. Sierra and LucasArts) are proud.
-Kyle Gabler, 2D Boy
EDIT: Gabler’s 7-day prototype Tower of Goo is the inspiration behind this game.
Posted in Videos, Physics, Previews | Tags 2DBoy | 16 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Mon, 10 Sep 2007 14:48:00 GMT
If Sumotori Dreams is a drunken sumo wrestling simulation, then NekoFight is a capoeira simulation going through meth withdrawal. It is not a pretty sight, oh no.
Arrow keys move. Press X and C to kick and Z to “grab,” although I’ve never managed to grab anything in this game! Hell, it’s tough just to enjoy any physical contact with my opponent before I flip myself off the screen!
(Source: dessgeega, via The Gamer’s Quarter forums)
Posted in Unique / Bizarre, Fighters, Physics, Abstract, Doujin | 17 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Thu, 06 Sep 2007 02:01:00 GMT
Some games you play, and you’re like “hey, this is pretty great!” But you’re also like “argh, it could be so much cooler!” Super Human Cannonball is one of those games, damn it.
Being shot from a cannon in order to complete a variety of tasks (popping balloons, going through hoops, bouncing off of trampolines, etc.) and attempting to land safely is great! Missing your targets and splattering against the side of a building in an explosion of cute blood particles is even greater. But ARGH, I’d give anything to see some more variety, and more options. And this game is begging for a level editor.
The other thing I’d like to see is a crowd! I love the little cannonball character. It’d be great to see other little people, watching from the rooftops… and running in panic when your gory little bits and bobs come raining down on them. Maybe in one level a visiting dignitary is catching your act, and you can splatter him for some extra points. You see what I mean? The potential is endless for this game.
And yes, it’s an old game. Old enough that the online scoreboards don’t work, so don’t even try!
Posted in Unique / Bizarre, Windows, Physics, Action / Arcade, Freeware | 5 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Tue, 14 Aug 2007 08:51:00 GMT
I love games that put you in control of unlikely protagonists. Games are so perfect for that. Take Death Worm, for instance. In no other medium could you so effectively capture what it’s like to be a giant sand worm!
Petri Purho, best known for his great, “under a week” experimental games like Crayon Physics, has made a game that puts you in the shoes (er, dirt?) of a giant rolling boulder trap, ala Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. In the game you are charged with defending two golden idols from the hoards of filthy archaeologists trying to defile them.
But they’ll run from you. Oh, how they’ll run. These are some of the fastest fucking archaeologists I’ve ever seen. Screw gold idols… these guys could be winning gold medals. (Zing!)
Fortunately, you can do one thing that the original rolling boulder couldn’t – namely, jump. This will let you get to the upper parts of the temple, which is still not an easy task, due to how small and unwieldy the platforms are at the higher levels. In fact, getting to the platform in the upper right corner can be downright infuriating!
But man, is it fun to slam a group of brownhats and send them flying and screaming. Ragdoll physics for the win! This is a highly inventive and entertaining game.
And, of course, here’s the obligatory video of someone completely and utterly destroying the game.
Posted in Platformers, Unique / Bizarre, Highly Recommended, Windows, Physics, Freeware | Tags PetriPurho | 19 comments
