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Drama Mamas: Crushed by a crush
Drama Mamas Lisa Poisso and Robin Torres are experienced gamers and real-life mamas -- and just as we don't want our precious babies to be the ones kicking and wailing on the floor of the checkout lane next to the candy, neither do we want you to become known as That Guy on your realm. Do you play WoW with someone you secretly have a crush on? How is that working out for you? This week's letter writer is worried, and Lisa and I disagree as to what to do about it. Hello Drama Mamas, I am a very happy WoW player, enjoying every aspect of the game and always being able to find something funny and rewarding to do - I have done Arena, Raiding, leveling and also achievement hunting with the same level on enjoyment - I truly love this game and what it has to offer me. Despite enjoying end game content I am not the player that like the environment of a progressing raid guild or a pvp Guild that runs RBGs or other high-ranked PvP action; I am one of those players that is able to play regularly with a casual approach. This is the first step that made me join a "Casual/Social" Guild about one year ago; there, I found a lot of players with my same interests and since then I had even more fun playing this game.
The Daily Grind: Who's your dev crush?
In our tiny part of the pop culture world, players seem to be as absolutely fascinated with the people and personalities at work behind their favorite games as they are with the games themselves. These developers are, for all intents and purposes, the celebrities of the MMO world, and as such, are subject to much scrutiny and intense feelings. I've noticed that the mere mention of a famous developer, community manager or industry leader on Massively is often enough to set off a huge string of comments that typically revolve around how we feel about the person rather than what he or she is currently doing. For example: Paul Barnett. Bill Roper. Richard Garriott. Raph Koster. Eliot Lefebvre. Right now, there are dozens of readers who have skipped the remainder of this article to provide a reactionary comment down below. But for the rest of you, I'd like to know: Who is your "dev crush"? Which developer do you follow most closely? Which one do you believe in the most? Who excites you with his or her work? If you had to have just one developer's babies, whose genes would be most welcome in your household? (OK, that last bit is probably too much, but you get the idea.)
Crush developer Zoe Mode opening new office in London
Did you play the game Crush? We did -- and we loved it. Now the developers, Zoe Mode (previously Kuju Brighton), are expanding their offices into London and are seeking new faces to help their staff grow. They've got two projects lined up already for their new office opening in September. It's not like this new studio is full of empty faces -- the office already has their current Zoe Mode executive producer, Nick Rodriguez, as well as a core team from their Brighton office. If you're in the London area and are qualified for the positions of producer, art manager, or senior programmer, check out their website. [Via Gamespot]
Crush gets smashed to $15
Unfortunately, the incredibly innovative 2D/3D PSP-exclusive puzzle game Crush never met the sales it quite deserved. That's a shame, because we really enjoyed the detailed graphics, the quirky story, the impeccable presentation ... and most importantly, the gameplay. Check out our review, and some videos of the game in action. If you haven't checked out Crush yet, maybe this $15 deal on amazon.com will convince you to pick up one of the most original PSP exclusives ever. [Via CAG]
Onyxia: Bugged at 70
I don't get it. I'm 70, have lots of nice purples, know the game well enough, and have even done Onyxia dozens upon dozens upon dozens of times back in the pre-BC days. But why then does she inevitably present a problem for me and my friends?It's probably because she is bugged. And not just bugged, REALLY bugged.Two groups have now gone in and tried to defeat her. Each time the first attempt was a failure as people relearned not to stand too close to each other (Forsythe run to the center!), run to the side when the rains fire down (<-- 2N, 2N - 1 -->), and all those other small tidbits that make the fight what it is. However when it reached the second attempt, she started acting strange. First, she wouldn't target anyone or let anyone tank her – she just walked around her lair and jerked around a bit. We could still damage her, but that was it. And really it was only the ranged and my crossbow that were able to do any damage (more dots!).
A small defense skill change in 2.4 could herald larger things
It seems like a small change, but it could be the herald of something larger. It's a change to the way the defense skill is described in-game in patch 2.4, as reported by World of Raids. I'll let them describe it: * Old value: Higher defense makes you harder to hit and makes monsters less likely to land a crushing blow. * New value: Higher defense improves your chance to dodge, parry, and block attacks, makes you harder to hit, and makes monsters less likely to land a critical strike against you. So what does this mean? They've added things that have always been part of the skill, but have not been explicitly mentioned on the defense tab before, but what's most intriguing is what they've taken away. I'll explain after the jump.
Playboy: Crush one of '07's most innovative games
There is perhaps no other PSP title as innovative and quirky as Zoe Mode's Crush, a puzzler that successfully implemented 2D and 3D gameplay like we've never seen before. And although the game never sold as well as it should have (Boo Sega's marketing department!), it has received the proper recognition from the critics that it deserves. To add one more accolade to the list, Playboy has chosen Crush as one of its runners-up for 2007's most innovative game. Being included among such wonderful games as Rock Band, Portal, Super Mario Galaxy and Assassin's Creed is no joke ... well, maybe the joke is that Assassin's Creed actually made the list in the first place. Nevertheless, it's great to see one of our favorite PSP titles getting a little more love. If you still have yet to play Crush, then shame on you. However, there's still time to rectify this gross oversight by picking it up today and experiencing one of the most original games ever to grace a handheld.
DS Daily: Video game crushes
Warning: This video contains spoilers While playing Phoenix Wright: Trials and Tribulations, we came across this hilarious scene in which the game pokes fun at the "frothing female masses" devoted to Miles Edgeworth (which, sadly, includes this blogger). We know that they're embarrassing to admit to, since -- as you well know -- video game characters aren't real people. Yet, many of us must concede to having a video game crush at some point in our lives, and it's time to 'fess up and come clean. So, what video game characters have you had (or do you have) a crush on?
Zoe Mode further explains their name
We've talked about Kuju Brighton's Zoe Mode name change before, but a new interview with studio head Ed Daly sheds even more light on the decision. Ed knew that some gamers (and even some staff members) would find a girl's name as company moniker a bit silly, but he wanted to have a drastic re-branding. A name that would have gamers sit up and take notice. The decision to use the image of a real model as the company icon was done because Zoe Mode wanted to emphasize that they were real, and their games were for real people. How did the female embodiment influence their game creating decisions? "We make games for Zoe and her family. Zoe is our conscience that signs off on what we do. We ask 'What would Zoe do? and 'Would Zoe like that?' kind of questions. It does help have a reference point, even if she's imaginary" claims Ed. We don't mean to judge, but maybe Ed and his team are as crazy as the world they created in Crush. [Via Gamespot]
Crush wins Develop Award, is best New Handheld IP
Congratulations to Zoe Mode and Crush -- the game just scored the best New Handheld IP award from the Develop Awards. The Develop Awards are focused on European companies and were judged by almost 100 "industry experts." In addition to Crush, PSP fans will be glad to hear that Sony Computer Entertainment of Europe (SCEE) picked up the biggest award of the evening: the Grand Prix award for their efforts with PlayStation 3. [Via PS3 Fanboy]
Metareview: Crush
It's obvious from our review of Crush, that we think it'll be a worthwhile experience. Does the game press agree with us, or do they think Crush is a bomb? Let's find out! GameSpy (90/100) got certifiably addicted: "With levels that build on each other in terms of complexity (and, thusly, difficulty), the game inspires that kind of 'just one more level' feeling of addiction that may result in you freeing Dan from his insomnia but earning yourself a nasty case in return." 1UP (95/100) loves the originality: "Most games can be described as an amalgam of others, as borrowed game mechanics and thematic elements bounce from game to game within a genre. Crush might have a recognizable aesthetic (think Psychonauts in a dark alley), but it's gameplay is wholly -- and compellingly it's own." EuroGamer (80/100) appreciates the challenge: "There's a genuine sense of achievement and enjoyment when a seemingly impossible level suddenly clicks (or crushes into place, and the confident way the game uses its central conceit as more than just a gimmick is undeniably reassuring and appealing." If only being correct on game quality was like unhatching an evil plan, we'd laugh maniacally right now. Heck, we'll do it anyway. We were right! MWA HA HA HA HA!
Crush developer open to Wii sequel
Crush, the PSP's 2D/3D puzzle platformer, may have waggling in its future, according to an interview with Paul Mottram, senior producer at Crush developer Zoë Mode. We're talking faint "may" and distant future, since this was all idle speculation on his part. When asked the weirdly pointed question of why they made a PSP game instead of putting it on a Nintendo platform, Mottram responded, "There is no reason why it couldn't be transferred to multiple different platforms especially the Wii, DS and PS2 and this is something we are thinking about." He went on to describe the level editor they wanted to include, but couldn't. That definitely sounds like something well-suited to the DS or Wii, right?[Via Joystiq]
Crush producer considers multiplatform release, level editor
Sixty reasons not enough to convince you to buy a PSP? This interview with Crush senior producer Paul Mottram will only serve to justify your stubbornness. Speaking to Sega Nerds, Mottram expresses interest in taking the game to other platforms. "There is no reason why it couldn't be transferred to multiple different platforms especially the Wii, DS and PS2," he said, "and this is something we are thinking about." Discussing a potential sequel, Mottram said "It's something we'd all love to do since there are so many features we didn't get the opportunity to put into this version." Consideration is at least six degrees away from confirmation and execution, but it does seem the folks at development studio Zoë Mode aren't feeling compelled to keep the franchise PSP-exclusive. Should a sequel or new release come out, it will give Mottram and co. a chance to implement a level editor, one of the big ideas that they had but never made it to the final product. "We have a terrific in-game level editor running on the PSP which our designers used to create all the levels in the game. Unfortunately, we didn't have the time to get this running on a commercial PSP or implement all the necessary user friendly features we would have needed if it was to be shipped with the game. As you could imagine designing Crush levels can be tricky at times." Crush designer Alex Butterfield gave a speech at this year's Game Developers Conference discussing the challenges of making levels in the game. Mottram summed it up best: "You could spend hours perfecting a level only to see someone instantly circumvent the entire level with a crush we had never considered." %Gallery-3191% [Via PSP Fanboy]
Level editor abandoned in Crush (but could appear in sequel)
This awkwardly-worded headline does a horrible job at conveying the incredible excitement that surged through me when reading Sega Nerds' interview with Zoe Mode. Paul Mottram, producer of Crush, revealed that there was an in-game level editor used by the developers, but it couldn't be finished in time: "We have a terrific in-game level editor running on the PSP which our designers used to create all the levels in the game. Unfortunately, we didn't have the time to get this running on a commercial PSP or implement all the necessary user friendly features we would have needed if it was to be shipped with the game. As you could imagine designing Crush levels can be tricky at times." Of course, the developers would have more time to work on such a mind-blowing feature in a potential sequel ... something Zoe Mode isn't denying. "It's something we'd all love to do since there are so many features we didn't get the opportunity to put into this version."
Video walkthrough reveals answers to Crush
Crushed about one of Crush's more diabolical levels? Don't feel too bad -- you're not alone. Many gamers have found the innovative 2D/3D puzzle game to be maniacally difficult. For better or worse, longtime PSP Fanboy reader JIMMY has provided some incredible video walkthroughs for the game. Each video will reveal, step by step, how to get to the exit. But, beware! While we're incredibly grateful for these guides, they may defeat the incredible sense of accomplishment one can get for getting to the end successfully. Do you want to risk that? Of course, finding the answer certainly beats being stuck on a single level for hours on end. See also: Complete Loco Roco guide for download
Crush gets Develop Award nomination
While PSP is home to many great PlayStation franchises, it's also where many exciting, new and innovative IPs have taken off. Crush is yet another example of a great original PSP title, and it's already getting the attention of critics and developers alike. The Develop Conference has announced its nominations for award recipients, and Crush stands as the easy favorite in the "New Handheld IP" category. Awards will be announced on July 25th. Will the unanimously beloved Crush get a win? [Via Joystiq]
PSP Fanboy review: Crush
Crush is many things. It looks and sounds great, is very competent technically and is incredibly difficult. It comes packed with style, innovation and replay value. Not to mention it has a genuinely compelling story, told through the use of atmospheric and well-acted cutscenes. Puzzle games - even those that pretend not to be puzzle games, such as Crush - don't come much better than this. If this sounds like something you want in a game, then pick up Crush. Now.
Worldwide PSP releases for the week of May 27
Every Sunday PSP Fanboy lets you know what's coming out for the PSP worldwide. If a game is listed as coming out in a different country from where you live, don't worry. Your PSP can play games from any region. That gives every game on this list the potential to be in your future game library. It's a slow game week, but finally Crush hits the US. Keep reading to find out if there's a game you want this week! US Games Crush Surf's Up Legend of the Dragon EU Games Smash Court Tennis 3 Asian Games Minna no Golf Ba Release dates may always change, so you may want to call before heading to your local game shop. Do any of these games interest our readers?
One more look at Crush
Crush is already being enjoyed by the lucky Europeans that received the game a week earlier than the rest of us. While Jem is already prepping his review of the game, we wanted to take one more look at Sega's innovative dimension-twisting puzzle game. Check out this new trailer, and some new images in our updated gallery. %Gallery-3232%
Worldwide PSP releases for the week of May 20
Another week, and luckily another set of game releases. Every Sunday we give you the 411 on what's coming out for the PSP worldwide. If a game is listed as coming out in a different country from where you live, don't worry. Your PSP can play games from any region. That gives every game on this list the potential to be in your future game library. We have some interesting choices this week, so read on! US Games Brooktown High Senior Year Diner Dash Legend of the Dragon Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End EU Games Crush Heatseeker Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Winx Club Asian Games Bleach: Heat the Soul 4 Juiced Eliminator Release dates may always change, so you may want to call before heading to your local game shop. I totally want Bleach, but do any of these games interest our readers?
