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The Baconing details and screens sizzle, pop onto internet
Hothead has shed some new light on The Baconing. It would seem that DeathSpank's new adventure takes place directly after Thongs of Virtue, and deals with the aftermath of Deathspank foolishly donning all six of them at the same time. As a result, he summons an evil version of himself: the AntiSpank (shouldn't it be LifeSpank?). Check out some new screens in the gallery below.%Gallery-126995%
Hothead Games settles on Kard Combat, deals out some details
Hothead Games, we have never been this disappointed in you. After you asked for titles for your magically-charged iOS trading card game, and we responded with pure gold like Hocus Poker and Guess Who: Portraits of Power, you went with ... Kard Combat. Sure, it succinctly sums up the free-to-play game's two biggest constituent elements, but we think that moniker could have used a bit of spicing-up. Also, some spell-checking, because "Card" is spelled with a "C," you silly geese. Magic: The Gathering creator Richard Garfield served as a co-designer on Kard Combat, and explained in a press release, "For years I've wanted to create Magic-like experiences for people who play video games. Kard Combat on iPhone and iPad does this and is simple enough for anyone to pick up and play, but with plenty of depth for the hardcore player." Check out the gallery below and the trailer after the jump to see just what kind of depth we can expect from the egregiously misspelled title. %Gallery-126811%
Hothead explains lack of 'DeathSpank' in The Baconing's title
When Hothead announced the third entry in its dungeon crawl SLASH role-playing series this past week -- titled solely "The Baconing," dropping its usual "DeathSpank" moniker -- we couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the series' main character to get him taken off title duties. Did series creator Ron Gilbert take the rights to the character with him, for instance? As it turns out, there's a fairly simple reason behind the name change: "We haven't removed the words or name 'DeathSpank' from the title for any legal reason. In fact, the title was changed just by asking our fans," a Hothead rep told Joystiq. Aha! Still, we couldn't help but wonder why Hothead would voluntarily ditch the brand name that it stuck to the last two games, effectively walking away from the brand recognition it built up over the past two entries.
DeathSpank: The Baconing is the third entry in the DeathSpank series, coming this summer
DeathSpank's run-ins with the evils of thongs are continuing this summer in a third DeathSpank game for Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PC/Mac. Hothead revealed as much this afternoon, detailing DeathSpank: The Baconing as the final chapter in DeathSpank's quest "to once and for all destroy the evil power of thongs." The dev studio tells Kotaku that The Baconing will be "more satisfying to play than last year's games," with a handful of new areas to explore, a brand new sidekick named "Bob from Marketing," and a quartet of new bosses to battle. Hothead also promises gamers will feel "more in control" of DeathSpank's moveset with an overhauled combat system. As Ron Gilbert is no longer with Hothead, this will be the first game in the series he created to not have him at its helm. And other than the teaser logo shown off in a video clip (found after the break), Hothead has yet to release any visuals for this summer's game. But given that we're wearing shorts even here in the USA's usually frozen Northeast, we imagine those assets aren't far off.
Hothead working on Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy project
Nothing goes better with our morning Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster than a surprise, and this is a neat one: Hothead Games says it's working with the well-respected and completely fictional Megadodo Publishing to create a new version of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy available for the very first time here on primitive, mostly harmless Earth. The announcement stopped short of saying if this was an actual game based on the Douglas Adams series or even what platforms it will appear on, but we're sure the end result will be positively hoopy.
TUAW's Daily App: Bunny the Zombie Slayer
Hothead Games, the developer behind DeathSpank, Swarm and the Penny Arcade series of PC and console games, just released Bunny the Zombie Slayer, its first title on iOS. Just in time for Easter, the game has you playing as a bunny fighting zombies by lobbing Easter eggs at them, taking them down by lining up your shots and using special eggs with various functions. The game's reminiscent of Pro Zombie Soccer as you take down shambling hordes with a very arcade-style weapon. It's fun, and Hothead's great art direction and design keep things fresh every time you load it up. The game's low on features, with no Game Center integration or multiplayer, but it's still a nice deal at US$0.99 for a universal version on iPhone or iPad. Bunny the Zombie Slayer is a nice debut for the iPhone from the increasingly impressive Hothead, and hopefully we'll see more from them on iOS in the future.
Swarm review: Tough crowd
I'd like to think of Swarm as a playful, overtly sadistic embodiment of the phrase, "like lambs to the slaughter." That's a confusing message, because the game casts you in the role of both the shepherd, who must guide an oblivious blue flock to the end of the level, and the slaughterer, who extracts a real benefit from every minced-up minion. The swarmites are clearly designed to be extinguished -- and to extinguish even the smallest blip of sadness or guilt you might feel upon seeing them crushed, burnt, electrocuted or disintegrated in one of the many death traps scattered across the universe's least hospitable planet. Their eyes project no intelligence, their doughy bodies are devoid of gross internal organs and there's not a single personality in a group of 50. They look like stupid, disposable jelly beans. You'd think that the game would invite you to revel in their torture, what with all the "death medals" you unlock and an ever-increasing online counter that keeps track of all the splattered simpletons. A good score is crucial to advancement in Swarm, and the only way you'll get one is by building up a time-sensitive multiplier that's fueled by point orbs or sacrificed swarmites. If your blue blob is racing across the screen and you don't see any points, you're encouraged to steer a peripheral peon off a cliff or into a fire. It's like swerving your car through a puddle to soak a roadside pedestrian -- it's a dick move, but it's a guilt-tinged delight and on your way.
Swarm trailer proves that one can be more intimidating than 50
With Swarm available today, Ignition and Hothead have released one last trailer demonstrating exactly who the target audience is for the downloadable multi-character platformer: sadistic children. Sadistic children aged 12 or older, of course -- thanks, PEGI.
Swarm priced at $15, marches to Euro PSN on March 30
The Swarm has been granted its European visa and will enter the union on March 23 and 30 on XBLA and PSN, respectively (while North American PSN users can get it on March 22). Taking control of the "pudgy, clueless little blue morons" will cost 1200 Microsoft Points on Xbox and $14.99 on PSN. PlayStation Plus members get a slight discount, downloading the little goobers for $12.99. On the surface, Swarm sounds like a Pikmin- or Lemmings-style type of game, but it actually has more in common with platformers, as we recently found out in our hands-on preview.
Swarm storms PSN on March 22, XBLA on March 23
Hothead's crazy crowd-control platformer, Swarm, is set to arrive en masse by the end of March. According to the game's official Twitter feed, it'll be available on PlayStation Network on Tuesday, March 22, and then on Xbox Live Arcade the following day. Though it might appear to be a Lemmings-esque puzzle game, the titular Swarm refers to the blob of rotund, blue guys that you guide as a singular entity, while losing errant members of the crowd to horrific death traps in order to maintain a combo. We're confident that years of giving school tours through the local slaughterhouse have imbued us with enough skill to amass a huge score in this game. [Thanks, DarkKnightRJ]
Swarm preview: Extensive expendability
From the premise of Swarm -- guide a group of identical, stupid creatures through trap-filled worlds -- and from screenshots and video, it's easy to assume it's a Pikmin-style action-strategy game, with one player character wielding a small army of critters to fulfill goals. At least, it was easy for me to assume that. But there's a lot more action and a lot less strategy than you're thinking. In fact, Swarm is pretty much a platformer, albeit a platformer in which you control 50 avatars simultaneously. Now you might be thinking that it would be pretty much impossible to control 50 avatars simultaneously -- and you would be right. In fact, your little Swarmites are constantly dying off due to traps, environmental hazards, and good old-fashioned failed jumps. Not only is this okay, it's necessary; each death increases your score multiplier, and interesting deaths result in in-game awards.%Gallery-117836%
Swarm trailer runs us through the first level
If controlling small, isolated hordes of dim-witted beings is something that interests you, then you've got to be spinning in your chair in excitement for Hothead's Swarm. Well, stop before you vomit -- and also so you can watch this new trailer.
Swarm converging on March launch
Last time we heard about Swarm, the game was given an "early 2011" release window on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. Today, we have news from developer Hothead Games that the blue crowd control-'em-up will hit digital marketplaces sometime in the month of March. Rounding out the release news is a new "Ask Dr. Mike" trailer and several colorful new screens of the adorable little blue hoard in action. If you're looking for a leg up in the game before it arrives later this year, Dr. Mike has a smattering of helpful hints waiting just after the break.%Gallery-115648%
Hothead sheds more light on the death of Penny Arcade Adventures
Back when the discontinuation of the Penny Arcade Adventures series was first announced, Team PA explained that the decision was made due to the team's concern about developer Hothead being forced to split attention between PAA and then-recently-announced DeathSpank. As PA writer Jerry Holkins told it: "I think they could've made DeathSpank and Episode 3 but I think Episode 3 would've suffered. I mean, I know it would have suffered. So we'd rather not do it than do it half-assed and so we're going to finish that story but it's going to be on our website."Today, in an interview with Eurogamer, Hothead director of technology Joel DeYoung laid a little more blame at the feet of Holkins, implying that Tycho's alter ego had trouble keeping up with the workload required. "I think he really struggled to get the volume of text written for Episode 1, and then with Episode 2 coming out so quickly thereafter - it was five-and-a-half months," DeYoung said. "That was not worked on in parallel, and getting him to deliver that text was, er, frankly quite a struggle."This revelation comes a few days after Hothead erroneously teased that Episode 3 would be produced if the first two sold well on the Mac App Store, a notion that PA artist Mike Krahulik quickly batted down on Twitter.Though we may never know the real cause behind Episode 3's termination, whether it's Penny Arcade or Hothead that had too much on its plate, we'd imagine the truth, as is usually the case in situations like these, hovers somewhere in between.
Penny Arcade Adventures tearing up Mac App Store charts, Ep. 3 still unlikely
Just four days after the launch of the Mac App Store, some developers are finding unexpected success. The first two episodes of Hothead Games' truncated Penny Arcade Adventures trilogy are currently ranking high in the bestselling apps chart at number 21 and 56, respectively (and certainly boosted by their $4 sale prices). This prompted the developer to tweet, "We're thrilled that Precipice of Darkness has been doing well on the Mac App Store!"While that was heartening, it was the now-pulled followup tweet (screen-capped above) that raised eyebrows: "For those of you that want PA Episode 3, all you need to do is get 100,000 of your friends to buy 1&2. Seriously. Do that and we'll make it," a Hothead staffer wrote. Turns out that's not quite the case."That's certainly news to me!" Penny Arcade biz dude Robert Khoo told Joystiq, adding, "there's nothing new to say about future [episodes]." Penny Arcade's Mike Krahulik responded to Hothead's tweet, stating simply, "that's actually not true."
DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue coming to PC, Mac this year
The virtuous thongs of DeathSpank's sequel will arrive on PC and Mac later this year, EA has announced. DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue will launch on PC November 30, with a Mac release following on December 14 (the original DeathSpank will be released for Mac the same day as ToV -- that's a lot of spanking!). Like the console versions, Thongs of Virtue will cost $14.99. DeathSpank: ToV comes with two pieces of free DLC at launch: "Snowy Mountain Dungeon" and "Sidekick Tankko: Half-man, half-spider, and all awesome." If you absolutely can't wait for next Tuesday, a minigame on the DeathSpank website ("DeathSpank: Spank This!") offers you a chance to win free stuff. One grand prize winner will get "a squawkin' chicken, a signed DeathSpank poster, a free copy of DeathSpank, and an Intel Core i7-870." All prize winners, actually, will get that squawkin' chicken, which leads us to believe there's a very large squawkin' chicken population at Hothead. That must make it hard to concentrate on programming.
Hothead asks for help in naming its next game -- and we oblige!
If you see us walking around over the next few days, randomly shouting phrases like "Card Wizard" and "Spell Deck," we need you to know that we haven't completely lost our minds. We're just trying to come up with some helpful submissions for the name of Hothead's next game. All we know about the game is that it features wizards, and also cards, as evidenced in the screenshot above. Here's a little inspirational fuel for your brain-fires -- let's see if you can top us, possibly ascending yourself to ludological superstardom in the process: Card Carrying Wizard Club Cardmaster's Quest: Eternal Mana War of the Deckwizards Cards of Duty: Black Arts Get Out of My Dreams, Get Into My Cards Gin Runey Go Fish (With an Enchanted Fishing Pole or Something, I Don't Know) Guess Who: Portraits of Power Hocus Poker Middle Earth Hold 'Em Protect Ya' Deck Yu-Gi-Oh Just drop your ideas in the comments of Hothead's post, and feel free to also share your cleverness with your fellow commenters below! [Thanks Austin!]
Shank and 'Spank now available on PC
Shank and DeathSpank are ready for action now on Steam for $15 apiece. Shank doles out death in what the movie advertisements will refer to as a roaring rampage of revenge, while DeathSpank delivers demise at the end of a punch ... line. We enjoyed both titles when they were first released over the summer on consoles. We found Shank to be a "cure for murder" (but please consult your physician before taking Shank) and said DeathSpank was "built on a solid foundation of time-tested gameplay and bacon."
DeathSpank soundtracks could be released for free in exchange for 'Likes'
Are you looking for a set of tunes to listen to while vanquishing scores of foes in search of marginally improved equipment? Sounds like you need the Jeff Tymoschuk-composed soundtracks to DeathSpank and its follow-up, Thongs of Virtue. As revealed on the game's site, the soundtracks might be released for free if enough fans "Like" Hothead Games' official Facebook page. Oh, and in this case, Hothead has quantified "enough fans" as "4,000 fans." At the time of this writing, the page is currently sitting at a little under 700 members, so you've got a ways to go before the albums are released. Still, if there's anything we know about you guys, it's that you aren't quitters. You're not quitters, are you? You don't seem like quitters. [Thanks, Patrick]
DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue offers free DLC during launch week
Even if it seems oddly soon for a sequel to DeathSpank, it might be worth your while to grab Thongs of Virtue soon rather than letting a more appropriate interim pass. EA announced that those who purchase the followup during the week of launch (September 20-27 on PSN, September 22-28 on XBLA) will get two free items of DLC. After that period, the "Snowy Mountain Dungeon" and playable co-op character "Sidekick Tankko" will be sold for $2.99/240 Microsoft Points and $0.99/80 Microsoft Points, respectively. That's not much, but it's certainly more than the nothing the DLC costs now. As a side note, now we understand why Thongs of Virtue is a "sequel" and not an "episode." Buying DLC for one part of an episodic game seems weird, but DLC for a separate downloadable game is par for the course.
