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'Carmageddon' comes to PS4 and Xbox One this year
Carmageddon enjoyed a brief (if imperfect) revival on PCs and mobile a few years ago, but what about living room gamers? Don't worry, you'll be covered soon. Stainless Games has revealed Carmageddon: Max Damage, an upcoming take on the car- and pedestrian-crushing racing game for the PS4 and Xbox One. The title promises a ton of things to do, including four online and six offline events, 30 vehicles, 10 open environments and 90 power-ups. However, the studio isn't shy about sticking to the series' core look-at-us-we're-controversial formula -- this is still about running over pedestrians in creative ways, and smashing into the occasional car while you're at it.
Carmageddon's once-banned violent antics are a surprisingly perfect fit for iPhone
You'd never know it from looking at it today -- what with the ultra-graphic deaths in games like Call of Duty and its contemporaries -- but Carmageddon was once a hugely controversial game. Its automotive violence got the game banned in several countries in the late '90s, but now that we're (theoretically) desensitized to pixelated blood and gore, the once abhorred title is now available for your iPhone and iPad. You play Carmageddon much like a traditional racing game, but with a few twists. First, there are three ways to complete each stage: by finishing the required number of laps of the track and hitting every checkpoint along the way, destroying the vehicles of your opponents by running into them or damaging them in some other way, or running over every pedestrian on the track. There are a total of 30 playable vehicles ranging from sleek sports cars to bulldozers, all of which are perfectly suited to running down screaming city dwellers and crushing your competitors. As you perform various actions around each track, you'll gain in-game cash that you can use to repair your vehicle mid-race. This becomes increasingly important as you face more skilled opponents, since your car can get taken out of the race rather quickly if you fail to repair it. One of the coolest features of Carmageddon's iOS incarnation is the built-in replay editor. While you cause vehicular mayhem, the app is constantly recording your shenanigans, allowing you to grab the craziest parts of your run, tweak them to your liking and publish them to YouTube. It's slick, quick and it's a great way to relive the hilarious moments that are bound to happen. At the moment, Carmageddon doesn't have MFi game controller support, which is a bit of a disappointment. The on-screen control buttons work fine most of the time, but a physical control option would definitely be a great addition. At US$0.99, Carmageddon is a great deal and even if you've never played the PC original, it's a great window into the most controversial game of yesteryear.
Humble Mobile Bundle 2 spotlights Star Command, Carmageddon for Android
Humble Mobile Bundle 2 launches today with six games in tow, some of which make their Android debut as part of the collection. The Kickstarter-funded strategy-RPG Star Command and Tiny Wings-like autoscroller Time Surfer headline the bundle, marking the first time either game has been available for Android. Bundle buyers additionally get Noodlecake Studios' platformer Punch Quest and Ninja Kiwi's tower defense game Bloons TD 5. Beat the average purchase price (currently around $4) and you'll also receive Crescent Moon Games' action-RPG Ravensword: Shadowlands and the gory racing classic Carmageddon. Humble Mobile Bundle 2 is available through October 9.
Carmageddon free, The Incident and more on sale
Just in time for the weekend, here's a few apps that have dropped their (already cheap) prices even lower, meaning that you've got plenty to play here for just a few bucks' worth (all prices USD). The PC classic turned iOS port Carmageddon has gone completely free for today only. The Incident is on sale for 99 cents. The Sky Gamblers: Storm Raiders flight-simulation title has dropped down to just a buck. Just a few weeks after release, Sega's dropped The House of the Dead: Overkill to just $2.99. The game's not fantastic, but it does have a really innovative shooting mechanic built for iOS. Crazy Taxi is also on sale for 99 cents. Zach Gage's Halcyon is currently completely free to download. Chillingo has dropped Tiny Troopers 2: Special Ops down to free as well. Velocispider is on sale for 99 cents. NetherRealm's impressive Batman: Arkham City Lockdown is just under a dollar, too. Excellent price to try that one out at if you haven't. Cavern is a roguelike RPG with some good buzz that's on sale for $1.99. Big Fish Games' cute and polished point-and-click adventure title Fetch is only $2.99. That's just a buck off the usual price, but the game's well worth it. Finally, the retro arcade space shooter Plasma Sky is also available for free right now. Personally, I'm still enjoying Firaxis' free Haunted Hollow, but I'm loading up a few of these on my iPad as well. Enjoy!
Carmageddon comes to Android thanks to dangerously deranged Kickstarter backers
Having crushed its $400K funding target on Kickstarter last year, Stainless Games has now ported its resurrected vehicular combat game to Android. This latest mobile version of Carmageddon can be had on Google Play for $1.99. Show sufficient disregard for pedestrians, however, and you might get there in time to download it free. Update: For those on iOS, the game -- which is normally $3.99 -- is free for the taking today.
Carmageddon rams Android May 10, free for first day
Stainless Games's enhanced re-release of Carmageddon swerves onto Android on May 10. That's a little later than originally planned, but when a classic game's going for free, we're not bothered. As promised in the Kickstarter campaign for Carmageddon: Reincarnation, Stainless isn't charging a cent during the racer's first 24 hours on Google Play. The enhanced version of the 1997 mayhem maker sports slightly enhanced graphics, and touch pads that can be placed where you want on-screen.
Carmageddon for iOS out now, free for a day
Carmageddon is an old PC title from the company now called Stainless Games, and earlier this year, they held a Kickstarter to update the game and release it out on iOS. The Kickstarter got funded, and Stainless has now delivered on its promise, and released the title on Apple's App Store. The new version works pretty much the same way the old version worked: It's a racing game where your goal is often to simply cause as much carnage as possible, hitting opponent cars and drilling pedestrians for more points and time on the clock. The graphics haven't been completely updated (the cars are basically still just standard polygons), but the UI is cleaner, a physics engine has been added in with power-ups and other goodies, and there is a really robust replay system, which lets players save their best shots and stunts on video, and edit and upload those to YouTube and other video sharing services. And here's the best part: As a reward to the game's Kickstarter backers, Carmageddon is completely free to download today. Definitely go pick it up right now, whether you're interested or not, because there's no reason not to. After today, it'll go back up to the standard price of US$1.99 -- still cheap, but not quite as cheap as free. It's good to see a promised Kickstarter project come all the way out to fruition, and good on Stainless for keeping all of their promises. No doubt we'll see them back on Kickstarter with another project soon.
PSA: Carmageddon now on iOS, free for first day
Carmageddon is now on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, and as promised British studio Stainless Games is offering it for free on its first day there. It's launched slightly later than anticipated, but the gory racer once infamously banned in its home nation is now available to all at no cost. Well, all the age of 12 and over - come on, it's still Carmageddon. Anyway, if you're unlucky enough not to nab it in the first 24 hours, it'll still be available but at its regular price of $1.99.A lot's changed since Carmageddon released in 1997. Back then Grand Theft Auto was only a single game, nobody really knew who Britney Spears was, and a certain Steve Jobs had just returned to a struggling company called Apple to save them from near bankruptcy. Stainless' classic, however, plays on iOS much as it did 15 years ago, albeit with a few touch-ups. It now comes with various customized controls, editable video replays, retina display and iPhone 5 support, leaderboards, and other enhancements to boot. It of course still features, as Stainless puts it, "buckets of gibs."The Android version is due to hit late 2012/early 2013.
Carmageddon 'should' hit iOS next week, Android late 2012/early 2013
The iOS version of the infamously violent Carmageddon should be available for download next week, Stainless Games tells us. Founders Patrick Buckland and Neil 'Nobby' Barnden say they've submitted the racer to the App Store, and pending Apple's approval it arrives sometime next week. The Android version, however, remains in development and won't hit until around late 2012/early 2013.While the port remains faithful, it's also tweaked for iOS beyond a slight visual uplift. The controls are very flexible, with touch pads for pedals and steering able to placed anywhere across the screen, and tilt controls are supported as well. There's also the integrated ability to share videos of your greatest maims on YouTube and Facebook. Stainless tells us it's tried to make the 1997 game more accessible for a modern audience, including making specific tweaks to the opening levels to help new players through a little easier. There is, though, a range of difficulties to keep those hailing from the old school in their driving seats. Multiplayer is sadly absent, but Stainless promises it's a big part of the upcoming Carmageddon: Reincarnation.We asked Patrick and Neil if they were tempted to tweak the iOS version to bring it up to an 18 rating (it's been rated as a PEGI 12). The pair laughed that they weren't with "this game," implying they may well be with the upcoming Reincarnation. As Stainless promised in the Reincarnation Kickstarter, the game will be free for the first 24 hours of its release, costing $1.99 after that.
Carmageddon Max Pack smashes into GOG
Carmageddon Max Pack has recklessly careened into GOG.com, and is now available for download. If you happened to support the Carmageddon Reincarnation Kickstarter campaign, Stainless will distribute your code for this classic car combat game. If you didn't, you can just buy it for $9.99.GOG promoted it in an unusual way (which, for GOG, is not itself unusual), with team members decrying its "pointless violence" in the trailer above. "It's not even a racing game!" Now there's a glowing endorsement.
Carmageddon cruising to iOS, Android this summer
The original Carmageddon will be coming to iOS and Android devices this summer, as announced on the Kickstarter page for the Carmageddon: Reincarnation project. The mobile-optimized version of the game will feature Game Center integration on iPhone and iPad as well as the ability to upload movies from the game to YouTube.Carmageddon will be free for iOS users for the first 24 hours of the game's release on the App Store as a "thank you" to fans that donated to Stainless Games' Kickstarter project, and will sell afterwards for an undetermined price. Funding for the project reached $500k Saturday, and will close this Wednesday.
Carmageddon will be free (for a day) on iOS
Carmageddon is an old PC game that recently got the Kickstarter treatment, as developer Stainless Games is planning to build a sequel. Not only did the project get completely funded, but the company hit its "stretch goal," so as a result, the game will also come out for iOS when it arrives later on this year. And that's not all. It will be free on launch day as well. Yes, instead of messing around with UDIDs or special versions, Stainless has just decided to make the game free for a day at launch. That way you'll be able to see the fruits of the company's work, whether you've backed the Kickstarter project or not. There's a trailer out as well, and it sure does look like Carmageddon. The game should be a lot of fun, especially at the price of zero dollars.
Carmageddon: Reincarnation hits $400k goal with 10 days to go
Carmageddon: Reincarnation reached its $400k funding goal on Kickstarter this morning, ten days before its deadline. The Stainless Games team posted a video (above) to their Kickstarter page celebrating the funding achievement, which was first announced on May 8.Since the project's announcement, the team added roughly a dozen updates on tiered rewards for those pledging, including details on the game revealed in a Q&A session on Reddit. Carmageddon: Reincarnation will be in "iterative development" with the potential for DLC after release. Additionally, the team described their plans to allow for the game to be modded, saying their "suite of modding tools is going to be really comprehensive and encourage extensive messing about with the game."[Thanks, Will!]
Carmageddon and its 'Splat Pack' coming to GOG
Carmageddon is being refreshed with a Kickstarter-supported new game. But if you want some vintage 'Geddon, you'll be able to get that too – the original game, and its "Splat Pack" expansion, are coming to digital retailer GOG.com in "the coming months."The bundle will cost $9.99 if you want to buy it outright; it'll also be available for free to anyone who kicked in $25 or more to the Reincarnation Kickstarter, presumably under the assumption that people who like Carmageddon would like Carmageddon.
Carmageddon earns Reincarnation as a Kickstarter project
Carmageddon: Reincarnation, initially announced as a downloadable multiplatform game last year, now depends on Kickstarter for completion. Patrick Buckland and Neil Barnden, CEO and Executive Director of Stainless Games, tell an all-too-common horror story from creatives stuck in a bad business deal. After doing work-for-hire projects with their new company in the mid '90s, they finally released a passion project, called Carmageddon, which featured goofy and gory, over-the-top vehicular carnage, and still claims a place in the heart of older PC gamers everywhere. In order to get published, they sold rights for the title to SCI, which co-published the game with Interplay. The title was followed up with a sequel in 1998 (it was called Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now, back when games could be called things like that), but when the sequel didn't do as well, the worst happened: Buckland and Barnden lost their own creation. They've spent years since then trying to get the rights back.%Gallery-154880%
Waze makes plans to deal with LA's Carmageddon
Here in Los Angeles, there's a cataclysmic event about to happen. No, it's not the next earthquake (as far as we know) or an alien invasion. It's Carmageddon, which is what the locals have started calling a closure period over July 16 and 17 where the city will shut down the 405 highway from the 10 to the 101. That's a huge stretch of road in a city that depends on its cars, so people are expecting the fallout to be pretty monstrous -- while lots of folks (including me -- my apartment is about two blocks from the 405 on Santa Monica) are hoping to just stay home for the weekend, we've all got places to go and things to do, so we may end up navigating the traffic anyway. iPhone app Waze is helping to jump on this grenade -- the company has teamed up with Los Angeles' KABC 7 to bring real-time traffic updates to and from the iPhone all throughout Carmageddon weekend, both using its social mobile network of users (which just recently hit 4.5 million drivers around the world) to track movement on the road, but also to connect the TV station with volunteer users, who can report where reporters might not actually be. The company's set up an anti-Carmageddon website, and hopes to provide alternate routes and information to frustrated drivers all weekend long. I hope it helps -- this particular stretch of the 405 is about six lanes wide, and serves about 500,000 people on any given weekend, so presumably all of those people will be off the highway and looking for other streets to use. Fingers crossed that it's not quite as apocalyptic as it seems it might be.
Carmageddon: Reincarnation coming next year as a downloadable game
Fans of virtual vehicular violence, and of puns with the word "car" in them, will be delighted to know that the rumor of the Carmageddon series' return is absolutely true. Last week, the story surfaced that the rights to the series had been purchased from Square Enix, with the next entry planned for a pre-E3 reveal. Stainless Games, developers of the first two Carmageddon games, are now in charge of the franchise, and are working on a new downloadable game for release next year. The title, Carmageddon: Reincarnation, shows Stainless's commitment to the word "car," if nothing else. Platforms weren't named, but the official Carmageddon site calls it "multiplatform motoring mayhem." "All the laughs, the crazy power-ups, and extreme destruction will return," said Stainless Executive Director Neil Barnden. "We will make sure the existing fans get what they want and expect from a Carmageddon game, and a new generation discovers the delights of sliding into a Cunning Stunt."
Rumor: New Carmageddon is an independent title
VG247 reports that a "source familiar with the matter" has shed some light on the rumored return of Carmageddon. According to the source, an unnamed company has purchased the Carmageddon rights from Square Enix, with an official reveal planned before E3, though it will not be shown at the convention. According to the recently discovered Carmageddon website countdown timer, the reveal is seemingly set for June 1. The game's developer hasn't been revealed, though Stainless Games seems a reasonable possibility given it developed the first two titles in the series. The source adds that said website is not actually owned by Square Enix, seemingly despite Whois information to the contrary. Assuming the Carmageddon rights were only recently transfered from Square Enix, it's possible that the domain information has not yet been updated.
Carmageddon site registered to Square Enix updated with countdown
If you're compiling a mental list of franchises which will be summoned from their respective graves at E3 2011, it might be a safe bet to tack Stainless Games' Carmageddon onto the list. The website Carmageddon.com -- a domain registered to Square Enix Europe, owner of the original game's co-publisher SCi -- was recently updated with an ever-popular countdown timer, as well as three Jolly Rogers. The countdown is scheduled to terminate at 5 a.m. on June 1, which seems like a weird time to announce much of anything -- assuming there's something to announce. Now, if it were us, we'd wait the extra week and announce it at the gigantic, well-publicized annual trade show. Unless, of course, this is a countdown-countdown; a maneuver that's also rapidly increasing in popularity.
Photoshoppers repurpose film posters for games
[Image credit: RiffRaff1138] Care of the forum users at Something Awful, a gaggle of films posters recently got Photoshopped into video game iterations of themselves. Everything from Avatar (Mass Effect) to Jurassic Park (DinoPark Tycoon) got the treatment, though our favorite is undoubtedly what Schwarzenegger's Last Action Hero has become. Now if only someone could get to work on a Breakfast at Tiffany's-derived Bayonetta poster, we'd be all set. [Via Kotaku]
