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Next-gen Saints Row 4, Gat Out of Hell launching one week early
Deep Silver issued a new trailer and screens for Saints Row: Gat out of Hell today, the stand-alone expansion for the publisher's popular open-world shooter, Saints Row 4. The game will feature "seven deadly weapons" for hero Johnny Gat to use against demonic enemies, each seen in action in the trailer after the break. The expansion will now launch one week ahead of schedule on January 20, 2015 alongside the Xbox One and PS4 ports of Saints Row 4, dubbed "Re-Elected." Deep Silver announced both projects at PAX Prime in late August with January 27 release dates attached to them. Those pre-ordering the $50 Xbox One or PS4 bundles, which include both Saints Row 4 and Gat Out of Hell, will also receive the Devil's Workshop and Plague of Frogs DLC packs for the games. Otherwise, players can purchase Gat Out of Hell on its own for $20 for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3. [Image: Deep Silver]
Saints Row 4 re-elected, will serve terms on Xbox One, PS4
Saints Row 4 is coming to Xbox One and PS4 as Saints Row 4: Re-elected, Volition has revealed. Developer High Voltage is helping with the port, which will contain all the game's released DLC. This updated version of the game will release January 27 - the same day as the newly-announced Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell - and will cost $29.99. [Image: Deep Silver]
Memorial Day brings lots of great sales on iOS games
Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Here in the US, most of us are celebrating a three-day weekend that also serves as the start of summer, which means BBQs, poolside hangouts and lots and lots of time in the sun. Oh, and it means one more thing these days: iOS game sales (all prices USD)! Card game maker Playdek has an awesome sale on, including Ascension (and its IAP), Nightfall (and its IAP), Penny Arcade: The Card Game and Fluxx all for just 99 cents each. You should definitely pick up one or all of those -- Nightfall is complicated, but it's probably my favorite. Puzzlejuice is on sale for 99 cents; it's a really brilliantly designed word puzzle game. EA Mobile has a huge sale on, featuring more than 55 games either 99 cents or free. Some choice picks: Tetris Blitz, The Sims 3 for 99 cents, Need for Speed: Most Wanted for 99 cents, and NBA Jam also for just under a buck. Plague Inc is down to just 99 cents. High Voltage's great Zoombies: Animales de la Muerte just recently appeared on the App Store, but it's already on sale for 99 cents. The great board game adaptation Small World for iPad is down to just $2.99. This is an especially good deal, because the game's about to get a big update for free. WELDER is on sale for free. So is Pocket Heroes and Angry Birds Space. I didn't think AVP Evolution was that great a game, but it's only 99 cents right now. Penumbear is an excellent and beautiful platformer that's only 99 cents as well. Adventure Bar Story, which is a bar simulator set in a fantasy RPG world, is on sale for free. The excellent puzzle game Sporos is free. There's plenty of games for you to play, and we'll probably see even more sales go on over the rest of this weekend. Stay tuned for more updates on app and game sales, and you can always follow us on Twitter at @TUAW for up-to-the-minute sale tips!
Daily iPhone App -- Zoombies: Animales de la Muerte is cute, arcade fun
Zoombies is a fascinating little game. It's made by a company called High Voltage that is probably best known for the Conduit shooter series, though they've been making licensed games for years (I remember visiting the studio for a tour back when I lived in Chicago -- they were based out in the Hoffman Estates suburb back then). Zoombies is a title that's been in development there for a while -- it was first considered for the Wii, then possibly for Xbox Live Arcade and finally has seen release on Apple's iOS. It's easy to see why High Voltage was trying to make this game as a motion control title -- the idea is that you're a kid trying to fight an army of invading undead zoo animals ("Zoo-mbies," get it?), and you are armed with a weapon that you can toss according to a line you've drawn on the screen. Control on the Wii or Xbox would probably have been more direct, but on the iOS touchscreen it means you swipe your finger around, and then the weapon will follow your path. This creates some interesting timing issues -- you want to throw where an animal will be, not where they are. And once you've thrown your weapon, you can't throw it again until it finishes the path, which requires you to keep things as compact as possible. Zoombies' real charm, however, is in the tone and the art style. The whole game, as you can tell by the subtitle, is done in a joyous sort of Mexican mariachi style, and it just oozes fun. The animals are menacingly cute, the kids are great and every level has plenty of "skull goals," which are super satisfying to complete. Even if you don't like that core line-drawing mechanic, this game is totally charming anyway. Clearly, this was a labor of love for High Voltage, and you can tell they had a lot of fun making the game. Zoombies is available for US$2.99 on the App Store now, though there are a lot of in-app purchases included, so I wouldn't be surprised to see that price come down sooner if not later. Still, $3 is cheap, so if Zoombies interests you, you might as well grab it right away.
Zoombies is a fiesta of undead carnage
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Say the name High Voltage, and your first thought might be the Conduit series of first-person shooters (or this). While the studio is indeed known most recently for The Conduit, one of its other ideas has been languishing for quite some time, namely Animales de la Muerte. Originally slated for WiiWare, and then for XBLA and PSN, the game has finally found a home on iOS. Renamed Zoombies: Animales de la Muerte, the game tells the story of two children who must save a Mexican zoo from being overrun by a horde of zombified animals. To do this, the kids utilize every available tool of destruction, ranging from axes to shotguns, roman candles and even the occasional dollop of guacamole. Zoombies is the most festive zombie game I've ever played, and it's also one of the most immediately entertaining.%Gallery-188503%
The Conduit developer lets loose 'Le Vamp,' an iOS endless runner
High Voltage Software, the developer of hardcore Wii FPS The Conduit, is exploring the other side of the family-friendly spectrum with Le Vamp, an endless runner starring a cartoonish vampire boy, out on the App Store for $2.Le Vamp has players manipulate the world around the main character, rather than controlling him directly, as he attempts to outrun an angry mob. High Voltage has its eyes on Andoid systems for another project, The Conduit HD, coming to Tegra-powered Androids on March 14.
The Conduit HD coming to Tegra-powered Android devices March 14
High Voltage Software recently announced a port of the single-player levels from Wii shooter The Conduit to Tegra-powered Android devices. Called The Conduit HD, the game will land on the Google Play store on March 14, offering the first two levels for free to players.The rest of the single-player campaign can be purchased for $4.99, or players have the option of buying levels three through six and seven through nine in two separate packs for $2.99 apiece. While TegraZone notes that the game will be compatible with GameStop's tablet controller, there's no mention of it supporting Nvidia's Project Shield handheld system. %Gallery-180299%
Conduit developer teases franchise news before year's end
A representative for High Voltage Software has teased there's something in the works for Wii shooter franchise The Conduit. Answering questions on GameFAQs, Bob Chamot, a designer at the studio said, "We haven't forgotten about Conduit over here, either. I would expect some new Conduit-related news before the year is out."High Voltage Software has been working on several projects, including the Zone of the Enders: HD Collection. We've followed up with the developer to see if there's anything more it can share about the Conduit project. Whatever it is, we hope it'll be an improvement over Conduit 2.
Conduit 2 trailer does a bit of globetrotting
Where do you think Conduit 2 will take you? Wherever the bad guys are, we're sure -- but those alien creeps aren't located in one convenient place. They're scattered all across the globe, in places like China, the Bermuda Triangle, the Siberian tundra and the rainforests of the Amazon.
Animales de la Muerte reanimated as PSN/XBLA game
Back in 2009, High Voltage Studios discussed its plan to shift Animales de la Muerte, a game with the irresistible concept of "zombie zoo animals," from WiiWare to retail because of a large amount of audio. The twin-stick shooter has resurfaced again, and has returned to the download space -- as an XBLA and PSN game. IGN saw this new version at GDC, noting that even though the game has existed for years, it's in a very early state again as a result of a newly rebuilt engine, with the HUD, many enemies, and even some basic gameplay elements like dropoff locations for rescued non-zombie animals yet to be implemented. Will we ever get to destroy undead penguins? In a game, we mean?
Conduit 2: by the numbers
Sequels aren't always guaranteed to be better than their predecessors, but they'll always be bigger. David Pellas, designer director of High Voltage's Conduit 2, broke down many of the new features included in the Wii-exclusive shooter. Some of the additions rectify surprising omissions from the first game: the ability to sprint, alternate fire for weapons, and a proper sniper rifle. Embarassingly, the first game missed any female NPC skins for multiplayer -- an issue that has been rectified in Conduit 2. Some of the added features are far more significant: the addition of split-screen multiplayer (with a brand new Horde-inspired co-op mode!), for example. The experience is fleshed out with an in-game store system that allows you to purchase new weapons and don new perks with a persistent character across both single and multiplayer. Finally, the campaign adds a feature most FPS games are missing today: boss battles. Does all this newness amount to a better game? That's up to debate, of course. But no one can argue that Conduit 2 -- when broken down into numbers -- is a far more significant game than its predecessor.
Report: High Voltage bringing Conduit to 3DS
High Voltage's love affair with Nintendo continues. Although the studio is still wrapping up work on Conduit 2, it already has plans to bring the franchise onto the 3DS where chief creative officer Eric Nofsinger believes the company can "be a shining star." Like on the Wii, the 3DS library isn't really bursting with high-profile FPS titles. According to Nofsinger, the results of their early prototyping have been "very good," saying that "we're going to be able to have something very close to this [Conduit 2] on the 3DS probably by GDC." Much of the engine used in the Wii game can, seemingly, be pulled over from the console to the handheld. Although the team is working on a Conduit game for 3DS, the game hasn't secured a publisher yet. "I would guess that Sega will be interested," Nofsinger told Eurogamer. "At DICE, the conference in Vegas that's coming up, we'll probably have some more chats."
Conduit dev High Voltage making Kinect-enabled 'licensed' game for 2K
Though it may be best known for its Wii-exclusive sci-fi shooter The Conduit, and its upcoming, The-less sequel Conduit 2, High Voltage Software makes most of its scratch putting out licensed games. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer for Wii and DS? Yup, that's High Voltage. Iron Man 2 ... for Wii and PSP? Also High Voltage. And now the Chicago-area developer is working on another licensed game due out this year -- but there's something unique about this one: it uses Kinect. "It's not announced yet," High Voltage's Eric Nofsinger told Eurogamer. "We're doing that with 2K. It's a licensed game. That's our bread and butter as a developer." Nofsinger added that this new game "works well with or without Kinect" and that, while it "works very well" with Kinect, "I don't think it's this brilliant, genius idea." As if intent on further lowering expectations for the Kinect functionality, Nofsinger said, "It works really well because it's a 360 game. I don't think it necessarily works really well because it's a Kinect game." Regardless of how tacked on the developer thinks this bit of Kinect functionality is, we'll find out more "around GDC" when the game is expected to be announced. High Voltage previously made a licensed Family Guy title for 2K in 2006 and Go, Diego, Go!: Safari Rescue, based on the Nickelodeon series, for 2K Play in 2008.
Conduit 2 delayed again, release date now April 19
High Voltage Studios' Conduit 2 just can't keep its grip on a solid release date. The Wii FPS is now scheduled for release on April 19, after slipping from February and March dates. A studio representative told IGN that the delay will allow the team to "continue to balance and enhance the game's multiplayer, one of the key features and focuses during the development of this ambitious sequel." Unfortunately, with the delay, it's hard to pinpoint another high-profile release to look forward to on Wii in the first quarter. It looks like Wii gamers will need to stick with Black Ops for now.%Gallery-115300%
Conduit 2 channels March 22 launch, new weapons trailer
High Voltage Software's Conduit 2 will be available on March 17, 18 and 22 in Australia, the UK and North America, respectively. There's also a new trailer for the latest alien blasting pew-pew devices after the break.
Conduit 2 trailer catches us up on the going-ons of Ford
Heroes come from the most unlikely places. For example, Conduit 2 protagonist Michael Ford, in the first game, unwittingly found himself at the center of a conspiracy involving The Drudge, a seemingly alien-looking race of creatures who had it out for the human race.
Conduit 2 preview: Pipe dream
High Voltage certainly had ambition and vision when designing the original Conduit for Wii, hyping it as a marquee FPS title for Nintendo's console. Unfortunately, the execution wasn't there. Fast forward a year since its release, and High Voltage is working on a sequel. Although the team admits the first game didn't meet expectations, I couldn't help but get a sense of déjà vu while watching the strictly hands-off demo. This time, it's actually going to be really good -- but isn't that what you guys promised us last time? Conduit 2 has all the features you'd expect of a sequel. More locations! This time, you'll be wandering around a variety of locales, including the mythical Atlantis. (You do make a return trip to DC, but only for one level.) More weapons! With more human, alien and Atlantian guns to use this time around. Better graphics! Or, at least, better art direction and a closer attention to detail. Each level looks very different, with an intentional focus on offering different color palettes throughout the game. Humor! In an attempt to take things a bit less seriously than in the first game, expect many more quips from Ford as he goes through his mission. The banter felt strangely reminiscent of a Duke Nukem game. Yet, in spite High Voltage's efforts to build upon the previous game, there's one feature I still couldn't find in the hands-off demo: fun.%Gallery-105084%
Review: Tournament of Legends
Tournament of Legends was originally conceived as Gladiator A.D., a fighter hinged on stylized gladiatorial combat. But the concept -- and, as it turns out, its potential -- was later scrapped in favor of the shallow SoulCalibur imitation we're now left with. The real tragedy here isn't the lack of any real depth or character. No, the tragedy is how a seasoned developer managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of potential victory and turn what, at one point, appeared to be an inspired historically-influenced brawler into a forgettable mess. %Gallery-95809%
Preview: Conduit 2
The High Voltage representatives showing off The Conduit 2 behind closed doors at the Sega booth were quick to admit that the first game may not have lived up to the hype. While they were incredibly proud of what they created with that game, they admitted there was plenty of room for improvement -- generic, repeating waves of enemies were just one of the frank criticisms they had for their game. The sequel would afford them opportunity to correct these shortcomings. And then we were thrust into the demo. %Gallery-95380%
Epic trailer and screens for Tournament of Legends
Sega released a new trailer for High Voltage's Tournament of Legends (formerly Gladiator A.D.), the weapon-based Wii fighter due in July. The trailer's got some enjoyably melodramatic narration, which, combined with the theme of the game (mythological beings hitting each other with swords and whatnot) and the appearance of huge monsters in each stage, lends a sort of Clash of the Titans feel to it. One detail seen in this trailer that we especially love: the combo counter is displayed in Roman numerals! See the trailer after the break, and check our gallery for IX new screenshots. %Gallery-84611%
