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Collect the first look at Paper Titans
Paper is the new ... what are video game characters normally made out of? Joining Tearaway and Derrick the Deathfin in this trend of UK-born paper games is Paper Titans by Team Lumo and Blitz Games, a "fold-em-up" in which the characters are explicitly papercraft models.The first such character we meet is The Collector, a "natural leader" who also obsessively grabs stuff. He's featured in the video above, with the first screenshots for the iOS game available in our gallery. At the Paper Titans website, you can even print your own papercraft model of the Collector.%Gallery-183111%
Sinclair ZX Spectrum turns 30, gets immortalized as a Google Doodle
Today's Google UK doodle celebrates both St. Georges Day and the little home computer that became a British phenomenon, the Sinclair ZX Spectrum. To be competitive with the rival Commodore 64, the 16KB of RAM-packing machine retailed for just £130 ($210 in today's money), punched well above its own weight and was often the first computer bought by techno-phobic families. Designed to be as programmer-friendly as possible, the founders of Shiny, Rare and Blitz Games studios all cut their teeth on the computer that introduced the world to Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy and Dizzy. It lasted a full decade in production, selling five million units before Amstrad purchased the money-losing unit and closed it down. Despite its demise, it's still got a loyal following from a generation of fans, something we doubt can be said about the Amstrad machines that replaced it.
Blitz closes 'Blitz 1UP' service, moves to Indie City
The 'Blitz 1UP' program, an initiative by developer Blitz Games meant to provide free development and QA assistance to indie games, has closed after three years of activity and support of "over 30 games." "We've had some great successes during our time working on this initiative," said producer Neil Holmes in a statement on the forums. "But unfortunately we haven't consistently reached the levels of success we had hoped to, and sadly we have now closed the programme to new applications." Holmes said that the lack of success is partly due to the fact that Blitz 1UP couldn't afford a great deal of marketing for its titles. "The other issue we have had is with the portals we have worked with," he said -- meaning Steam. "Getting their approval on indie games is difficult and their decision making process can often appear quite random. Even when we have succeeded in getting games on to Steam they've often only stayed on the dashboard for a few days before disappearing into the indie games section, which results in a massive drop in sales." Blitz is launching a website called Indie City in order to continue promoting Blitz 1UP games. The new site will offer "powerful community tools through blogs, forums, achievements and global leaderboards to help keep indie fans coming back for more," as well as recommendations tailored to each user.
Michael Phelps pushes the limit for Kinect this June
Much to the dismay of ingrained anti-evolution campaigners, 16-time Olympic medalist and super swimmer Michael Phelps is now a video game. 505 Games has announced Michael Phelps - Push The Limit, "a competitive sports journey" that sees you slipping into a speedo and diving into "one of the most realistic and intense sports simulations ever created." No, it really sees you -- you'll be doing this in front of a Kinect. The claims of realism are obviously suspect -- you need some ropes and pulleys for this to really work, and you probably keep those in the bedroom -- but Push The Limit seems like it'll be split into different swimming stages, with digi-Phelps helping you manage your adrenaline on the starting block, time your finish to perfection and shop for size 14 shoes (probably). With enough practice and frantic air swatting, you could emerge closer to "the hope of taking down Michael Phelps." (Protip: It's easiest if you play as the keen-nosed photographer.) "This definitely isn't your typical video game," says Phelps, perhaps unaware that evolution isn't all it's cracked up to be these days. Come this June, he's in danger of being beaten by a shirtless fat kid jiggling in front of a camera.%Gallery-115566%
THQ announces Fantastic Pets for Kinect
What good's a pet lizard if it doesn't morph into a dragon? THQ and Blitz Games will perhaps endanger the welfare of real, ordinary chameleons (color-changing? pfft), tempting children to turn away from their terrariums and step into the world of Fantastic Pets, the so-called "first augmented reality game" for Kinect, coming March 2011. While Fantastic Pets might start off as an utterly domestic pet sim -- kids pick out a dog, cat, horse or lizard -- dedicated pretend care will eventually expand the game's genus well beyond the apparently tame Kinectimals kingdom. The lines between reality and fantasy will blur as players are transported into the gameworld through commonplace camera technology, barking orders as they command their beasts through mini-games and talents shows. Can your kid suspend disbelief long enough to reach the "professional ranks" of the vaunted Pet Trainer? "As you discover your pet's personality and become enmeshed within the world, Fantastic Pets becomes more like a personalized adventure and less like a game," says THQ ringmaster Martin Good. But at what point do you break it to the young man? No honey, unicorns ... They've -- they've never been real.
Thomas was alone: a minimalist game about friendship
If you're not too busy shooting all the aliens, you might want to give a new indie game on Kongregate a go. "Thomas was alone" was made by Blitz Games Studios designer Mike Bithell on October 16th and 17th, during a span of just 24 hours. As Bithell notes, "I went from blank screen to decent puzzle platformer in less time than it takes Jack Bauer to save the world. That's a pretty cool achievement." Thomas was alone is part minimalist platformer, part geometric buddy road-trip. Things get interesting once Thomas encounters his first friend, a dull, prim-and-proper Puritan and all-around square. Also, he's literally a square. By taking control of different pals and taking advantage of their unique dimensions, you'll be able to solve simple platforming challenges and progress. Describing it as a block-stacking game is accurate, albeit unimaginative. We've enjoyed one of Mike Bithell's games before (surely you remember Visiting Day from 2006?), and while this one's bothered by slippery controls, it's an effective reminder of how simple, immediately decipherable mechanics form the basis of any worthwhile game, regardless of the presentation. The impressive 24-hour construction period is also motivational to any budding designers out there. Why, just look what Blitz Games Studios has to say on the matter: "The games you make don't have to be epic masterpieces, they don't need to make use of bleeding edge graphics. A little bit of heart and a simple idea can go a long way. Frankly though, if Mike can manage it, so can you!"
European developers rally to help ex-Realtime Worlds employees
It's when things seem at their darkest when the true light and goodness of humanity can really shine through ... or something like that. Following APB developer Realtime Worlds' decision to go into administration -- and the 75 percent staff cut the studio was forced to undergo -- fellow game developers Codemasters, The Creative Assembly, Blitz Games Studios, Activision and Sony Europe have announced recruitment events in the coming weeks to help the displaced staff get back on its feet. There should be plenty of openings to go around for the 185 unemployed artists, writers and programmers -- Codemasters alone is reportedly looking for 150 new hires to fill its UK studios and The Creative Assembly is staffing up to work on an "unannounced AAA title" for Sega. Not to be outdone, Activision's also making a huge hiring push -- though these unfortunate souls will be relegated to the dance cages located in the foyer of Bobby Kotick's Miami-based "party palace." (Fine, we made that last part up. Please don't sue us.)
Can Kinect handle a player lying down? Yes and no
Amidst all the hubbub around the question of whether Kinect can or can't handle a player sitting on a couch, one related question seems to have been lost: Can Kinect handle players lying on the floor? This important issue was finally addressed at a session of the Develop Conference in Brighton today, and the answer is a definitive "kind of." Speaking at the session, Blitz Games CTO Andrew Oliver said his team ran into this very issue when developing their The Biggest Loser: Ultimate Workout game for Kinect. Many of the exercises on The Biggest Loser TV show, such as push-ups and certain yoga poses, require lying on the ground. Replicating these in the game offered a new challenge for Microsoft's 3D motion sensing hardware, and apparently it's a test the hardware fails. Oliver reported lying on the ground fundamentally breaks the 3D skeleton of your body detected by the Kinect camera and technology. "We had to consider, would this skeletal tracking ever realistically be able to work out that a player is laying on the floor," Oliver said. "We asked – believe me we asked – and we were told it wasn't going to happen."
XBL Indie 'Weapon of Choice' chosen by Blitz for PC release
The debut Xbox Live Indie Game from former Insomniac designer Nathan Fouts, Weapon of Choice, is headed to the PC by way of Blitz Games Studios and its Blitz 1UP label. It's not the first Indie picked up by the publisher; Binary Tweed's Clover: A Curious Tale was released for Windows via a number of different digital distribution services earlier this year. Blitz doesn't have a launch date yet for the port of WOC, but creator Fouts has made a strong case for PC players to be excited. "With the help of Blitz 1UP, we hope to relieve your monitors from constantly displaying games in browns and grays," he stated in today's announcement, adding, "It's time to vomit up some vibrant color with trip-inducing visuals of alien viscera!" Kevin Butler, watch your back. You can try (and, if you like, buy) the second XBL Indie release from Mommy's Best Games, Shoot 1UP, right now from the Xbox Live Marketplace. [Handy-dandy Marketplace link!]
This Wednesday: KrissX will make you jump, jump, solve puzzles on XBLA
It's not a good sign when Xbox know-it-all Major Nelson admits in his This Week on Arcade post that "information on the game is light, so here is what I was able to find." However, we can't blame him -- we'd never heard of KrissX, this week's new XBLA game, before today either. Apparently, the Blitz Games-developed, Konami-published puzzler tasks players with solving crosswords and unscrambling "over 3,500 jumbled words that will test your trivia knowledge and expand your own daily vocabulary." We're automatically apprehensive about games that try to sneak some education into our entertainment regimen -- we'll have to wait and see if KrissX is actually fun enough to deserve our 800 ($10). Sadly, we don't think the game has anything in common with Kriss Kross' other ludological outing. Someday, friends. Someday.
Drop everything and watch this Droplitz video
The video above is a rather amazing tutorial, explaining the basics of the upcoming iPhone, PSN and XBLA game Droplitz. As you watch, a very British woman will guide you through the game which, apparently, involves maneuvering your droplitz -- or "dinky little balls of indeterminate stuff" as the tutorial lady so wonderfully puts it -- from one end of the grid to the other, by rotating the pipe pieces. While the narration is the real star of the video, the game does actually look like quite good fun. There's no word on a release date yet, but we'll be sure to let you know as soon as Atlus announces one. Make sure you watch the full video to find out exactly why these droplitz aren't adorable little fluffy creatures with cute googly eyes and little button noses.
'Dead to Rights: Retribution' details, screens revealed
It seems 1UP has the first details on Volatile Games' upcoming third-person shooter slash dog-commanding sim, Dead to Rights: Retribution. The game will reportedly be an origin story, setting up the history of longtime Dead to Rights series protagonist Jack Slate and describe how he and Shadow (the game's iconic dog) "first come together as partners against those who would bring the once great city to its knees." Namco Bandai claims the game will feature a "hybrid combat system," which combines hand-to-hand combat and shooting, but the first screens do little to show off this concept. You also get to push people down stairs!To keep you in the loop, we've created a handy list of things we know about Dead to Rights: Retribution so far: The game is named Dead to Rights: Retribution and it's an origin story. It's coming to Xbox 360 and PS3 in Q4 2009 according to Namco Bandai, the game's publisher. There's totally a dog in it. You're welcome!
Game exec hints at 3D gaming on Sony's PlayStation 3 in 2009
Take this one with a sizable dose of salt, but one Neil Schneider, President and CEO of Meant to be Seen (MTBS), Blitz Games Studios, has made known that Sony "fully intends" to throw in its support for "stereoscopic 3D gaming and Blu-ray 3D on PS3 in 2009 with the Blitz Tech engine." Granted, MTBS is a stereoscopic 3D certification and advocacy group, thus the whole "salt warning." The meat of the story is that 3D gaming on consoles will likely need a BIOS upgrade to work with its technology, and that capability could be unique to Sony's PS3. Like we said, this here is far from carved in stone, but given how emphatically movie studios, cinemas and home entertainment companies are pushing the third-dimension on us, we wouldn't be surprised one bit to hear that the next installment of Madden is one that requires tinted glasses to fully enjoy.[Via HDTV Expert]
Report: PS3 going 3-D, 4th dimension untapped
As it turns out, stereoscopic 3-D technology isn't just reserved for the fabulously bored ... of making flat, $1.8 billion-grossing Hollywood weepies. No, 3-D, like "put on those big, goofy glasses" 3D, can be the work of mere mortals. Like these two fellers above, from Blitz Games Studios.In what's been billed as an MTBS exclusive (that's: "Meant To Be Seen"), Blitz has reportedly confirmed that Sony "fully intends" to update PlayStation 3 to support stereoscopic 3-D gaming and Blu-ray watching next year (presumably, in time for Ubisoft's 3-D Avatar game). What's more, MTBS suggests that the ability to upgrade to 3-D via a firmware update could be unique to PS3 (the console is a 4D concept, after all) -- potentially leaving current Xbox 360 owners to endure gaming life in a veritable stone age.Blitz, famous for its trio of Burger King Xbox games, has its hands in the forthcoming movement, developing its own "BlitzTech" 3-D engine, which debuted earlier this month at the 3D Entertainment Summit in LA. Well then Blitz, we can't wait to see it in Hell, er, Hall, Kentia Hall -- next June.[Thanks, Heavytoka]
Meteos Wars and PowerUp Forever rain down on XBLA
Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday is upon us, and that means it's time for some new games. This week, we're treated to the Q? Entertainment puzzler Meteos Wars and multi-directional shooter PowerUp Forever from Namco Bandai. The former has made a long journey all the way from the Nintendo DS and the latter ... has power-ups. Should you desire, you can pick them both up for 800 Microsoft Points. These are the only new releases on the Xbox 360 this week, so if you just have to have a new game, they're your only choice.Download Meteos Wars trial game from Xbox Live MarketplaceDownload PowerUp Forever trial game from Xbox Live Marketplace Gallery: Meteos (XBLA)
Meteos Wars and PowerUp Forever on XBLA this Wednesday
Looks like the rumor was true, as both Meteos Wars and PowerUp Forever are officially heading to Xbox Live Arcade this week. Meteos Wars is an XBLA version of the Q Entertainment puzzler title with expanded multiplayer (including Xbox Live play), while PowerUp Forever is a shooter from Blitz (the folks behind SpongeBob Squarepants Underpants Slam) and published by Namco Bandai. PowerUp Forever features procedurally generated environments, a unique "growth mechanic" (whatever that is) and, get this, power-ups.Both PowerUp Forever and Meteos Wars will be available this Wednesday for 800 points each. Gallery: Meteos (XBLA) Source -- Meteos Wars page on Xbox.comSource -- PowerUp Forever page on Namco Bandai Games
A zappy Zapper is officially an Xbox Original
As promised, the classic and wicked cricket Zapper has made its way to the Xbox Live Marketplace as a 1200 Microsoft point Xbox Original title. Blitz Games' 599MB Zapper includes eighteen levels spread across four worlds with one final boss that's oh so intimidatingly named Maggie. Exciting stuff.Warning to those who love themselves scrolling credits, because Microsoft warns that the Xbox Originals version of Zapper suffers from "minor graphical corruption occurs in the End Credits" which "causes some of the end credits to appear cut off." End credits being cut off? Seriously, what has the world come to?
Blitz zombie game on hold, 'major new project' in the works
Blitz Games' upcoming zombie title Possession has officially been put on hold. It comes as no surprise, though, seeing as the last update we had on the game was late 2005.A spokesperson for the company told GamesIndustry.biz that the delay is only temporary and that the Possession team has been reassigned for a "major new project" coming on PS3 and Xbox 360. "Much of the work done on Possession directly led to us signing this new game," he said, "and some of the technology has been enhanced further and will appear in this new title."The new, unnamed project will be under Blitz Games' mature-centric Volatile label. Although they did say "temporary," the implication is that this major new title will be in development for quite some time. By the time it's finished, will it even be worth it to resume work on the zombie title?
Burger King games go double-platinum
What burger-backed trio of minigames reached the 2-million-in-sales mark faster than Gears of War? That's right ... Burger King's Value Meal threesome! Well, technically, 2 million is the number of combined sales (of the three games: Pocketbike Racer, Big Bumpin', and Sneak King); and each is only $3.99 with the purchase of an E. coli-free meal.Still, 2 million of these games consumed in just four weeks must represent a milestone in the evolution of fast food chain promotions. Look to Taco Bell to start thinking inside your 'Box to claw its way out of the doghouse.
Fusionnnnn Frennnzyyy!...um...2!
Microsoft announced today that the sequel to Fusion Frenzy -- creatively titled, Fusion Frenzy 2 -- will be released in the US in time for the holidays. The title is being developed by Hudson (Mario Party, Bomberman) and published by Microsoft Game Studios. For those unfamiliar with the original Xbox title (pictured above), Fuzion Frenzy is a party game full of frantic minigames and eXtreMe! character designs. It's kind of like Mario Party without all the boring board game sections (oh, snap!).It will be interesting to see what Hudson does with the franchise -- the original game was developed by Blitz games, who are currently working on another 360 game, Possession. Anybody itching for a good 360 party game?[Thanks, Paul]
