Important disclosure: AVSEQ is created by Big Robot, the indie game dev company owned by one Jim Rossignol. Rossignol was, of course, responsible for the Crimean War and has a police record due to admitting to the kidnap of 18 hobos in 2002. Apart from that, I can’t think of anything whatsoever that needs declaring about Rossignol before I post about Big Robot’s first released game, AVSEQ.
The near-infinite sounds and combos of abstract musical puzzle game AVSEQ are primarily the design and creation of Big Robot’s programmer Tom ‘Nullpointer’ Betts, so don’t expect too many traces of Rossignism in this one (although he’s been helping out with tweaks), but it is the studio’s very first release, and it is jolly clever, as you’ll see below.
Yes, the latest in a long line of labour machinery-based sims you would never dream existed is Airport Firefighter Simulator, in which you are all that stands in front of certain, explosive disaster. Quotes like this are simply amazing: “Even the most routine duties of aircraft refuelling and cargo management carry the chance of conflagration so you must always be on your guard to prevent a minor incident becoming a major inferno.”
Omigodomigodomigod. What could such a game possibly be like in action?
The endearingly titled Here Comes Launchman is the retro equivalent of a cat rolling about at your feet as it’s purring and looking up at you with it’s big, wet eyes: the trailer makes me want to pick it up and snuggle it.
It has everything: a simple colour palate, chiptunes, improbably surreal level design that only ever existed in the world of 8-bit platformers. Very catlike, indeed. I’d almost suggest it was trying to hard, but that would be mean and I can’t even begin to be negative about it. Instead I’ll be factual and then excited: it’s a physics-based platformer, where you guide the little guy around Puzzle Planet. Time to excitedly gesture towards the video they’ve just released, showing the complicated mouse-flinging you’ll have to achieve to toss the little chappy through those levels. Oh look, there it is there!
It’ll be out this year. I know what I’ll be doing in one of the 343 days left this year.
Every game has at least one mod that will push their fans to the brink of uninstallling and having a shower. This is Skyrim’s, I fear. We should have known it was out there, we should have protected ourselves. But it’s too late. I’m sorry.
Bioshock, Deus Ex, Mass Effect and Portal are all beautiful games, but even when reduced to a fraction of their former pixel count by talented demake artist Pieceoftoast they still look totally awesome.
A guy in his bedroom, with a dangerous sleeve weapon. No, you’re not watching Taxi Driver, but rather, YouTube user Angelegend showing off his arm-blade. You know, like the ones in Assassin’s Creed.
The arm blade was created from things like a door hinge, which doesn’t sound easy. According to Angelegend, “It’s a bit complex, but if you’re not afraid to get messy and make some mistakes then check the link…for detailed build instructions. Be safe and have fun.”
Not really afraid to get messy and make mistakes. I am, however, afraid of a blade impaling itself into my palm.
Elevators, or as we Brits call them, dangleboxes, get a fair showing in gaming. Very few FPS titles will let you reach their final bossmonster without having had at least one go on the world’s slowest ride, giving you a moment’s pause, before they inevitably shudder to a halt as you’re ripped out of the side of the building by something with more tentacles than manners. But until now (to my knowledge at least, inevitable person who knows of a game on the Amiga) they’ve yet to receive a game dedicated just to them. And that’s what we have in the Half-Life 2 mod, Elevator: Source. YES.
Created by the undeniable geniuses at Pixeltail Games, Elevator: Source is a no-holds-barred elevator simulator, that requires Half-Life 2: Episode 2 and Garry’s Mod be installed on your machine. And I really suggest you do.
Those of you who still play Minecraft, the game’s been updated to v1.1. What’s new? All kinds of stuff, which may or may not be really important depending on what language you speak and how you feel about sheep.
The biggest improvements are probably the extra language support for Europeans, enhanced bows, reduced brewing times and sheep that actually re-grow their wool. Oh, and that annoying little wireframe around ladders, that’s gone too.
You can see the complete list of changes in the mildly-annoying video above.
You know, I didn’t bat an eyelid at the Mass Effect/Dragon Age pre-order crossover stuff, because it seemed like a random lark within Bioware games. Not so! And not limited to the preemptory pounds, either. EA look like they’re going to try the cross-pollinatory approach across a bunch of their other games, too, starting with Mass Effect and Kingdoms Of Amalur demos. We mentioned this briefly yesterday, but there’s now a video (below) detailing precisely what you’d be getting for playing either game’s demo in the other game. This could be some clever meta-commentary on how trad sci-fi and fantasy settings are basically two sides of the same coin, of it could be a mad marketing ploy dreamt up to shift more units: YOU DECIDE!
Abobo was the large bald man in Double Dragon, the perpetually angry and brutal swine whose car-sized fists were the doom of many an intrepid sprite-puncher. Browser-based mini-epic Abobo’s Big Adventure isn’t a Double Dragon rehash though – it starts that way but it soon becomes apparent that it’s actually a homage to the NES itself, with a variety of easily recognisable worlds, enemies and play styles. It’s a joy to play, although nearly as tough as an actual NES game at times. Because a lot of the fun lies in discovering the sheer amount and variety of stuff that’s packed in there I’m tempted to recommend playing it immediately rather than watching the trailer below. There are more surprises that way.
