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Bury the Shovelware: Elf Bowling 1 & 2
It's Christmas Eve, and Santa has come a little early. But apparently we've all been very terrible, for there exists a gift far worse than coal. In fact, coal seems downright awesome compared to this. After all, it's flammable. I am being utterly sincere when I say that I would much rather play Cake Mania 2 than this pile of reindeer droppings. Pedigree Elf Bowling 1 & 2 shares the same developer and publisher: Ignition Entertainment. A quick scan of their products page shows a great diversity in games. Notably but understandably missing is this game. It's difficult to comprehend the fact that the same resources which gave us the excellent and underrated Mercury Meltdown Revolution are also responsible for Elf Bowling 1 & 2. The company also published Metal Slug 7 in North America. The Critics Said ... Metacritic is a great tool to use when I determine the critics' reception of a game for this series. I've referenced the bottom of the list before. According to the "Index of Nintendo DS Game Reviews by Score" page, the worst-received game for the DS is Deal or No Deal with a metascore of 17. Yet Elf Bowling for the DS manages to do that 5 points better -- err, worse -- with a metascore of 12. Why it doesn't appear on the list is because it only contains four reviews and five are needed to appear on the grand tally. The four critics that did review Elf Bowling (the poor, poor souls) are all fairly consistent in stating that this game is the suck.
Ignition, SNK to co-publish Metal Slug 7 in North America
Mercury Meltdown publisher Ignition Entertainment has announced that the company has inked a deal with SNK Playmore to co-publish titles in North America, the first of which will be Metal Slug 7 for the DS. The pair are not exactly strangers, having been cozy together for quite some time on the European side of the pond. Beyond Metal Slug 7, which represents the retro shooter's first outing on Nintendo's handheld, no other titles have been announced, though considering SNK's pedigree we expect the fruits of this union, whatever they are, to be decidedly 2D.
Mercury Meltdown pub expands, promises new next-gen IP
As much as we have grown tired of having games developed for this generation of consoles referred to as "next-gen entertainment," that ire is evidently not shared by all. Ignition Entertainment, publisher of Mercury Meltdown and the adolescent undead romp Teenage Zombies, today announced the opening of not one, but two new studios committed to so-called next-gen game development. The new studios will operate out of both Tokyo and Florida, and according to Ignition will focus on creating "new IP specifically for the next generation formats," but which formats exactly remain a mystery. In fact, no details about upcoming projects from either Ignition Tokyo or Florida have been announced, though in looking at the company's subsidiary Digi-Guys, which has been working on WarDevil since well before the launch of the Xbox 360, it's clear that these studios are not in a hurry.
Ignition takes on zombie genre for Nintendo DS
With Ignition Entertainment's Banbury development studio, best known for the Mercury series of puzzlers, now in the hands of UK developer Rebellion, Ignition has begun to look elsewhere for its next great property, and while its latest announced project may not end up being a winner, we certainly have to give it props for its mouthful of a title -- Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys! Currently in development for the Nintendo DS and expected to ship in North America and Europe next Spring, Teenage Zombies already has us chuckling at its absurd plot, which sees aliens capturing the human race using mind control, but then succumbing to the zombie "super race," which has of course has little to no mind to bend to their will. The game follows a trio of teen zombies who rise from their graves and begin to munch on the aliens and their 'pulsating pink brains,' before finally settling down for lunch on the alien leader, the 'Big Brain.'While few specifics have been revealed about the game so far, Ignition describes Teenage Zombies as featuring a "whimsical style" that parodies 50s style sci-fi and the zombie genre using comic book-style story panels. This, of course, makes us think back to Artificial's Monster Madness, which was a disaster, though we remain hopeful, if for no other reason than this game's promise of letting us be not one zombie, but three.
Deal or don't drive it off the lot?
Mercury Meltdown Revolution's $19.99 pre-order pricing at Amazon could be the deal we've been all been hoping for. Of course, we're suspicious about the quality of Ignition Entertainment's budget title, but it's hard to argue with a bargain like that.Like a lemon on the used car lot, maybe the price suggests a faulty engine? Or perhaps Amazon just doesn't expect to sell many copies of the labyrinthine game, and the online retailer is looking to unload as much of its incoming stock as possible? Either way, if the idea of guiding a toxic, liquid metal ball through a virtual maze interests you even a little, this isn't a bad way to spend twenty bucks.[Via NeoGAF]
Mercury Meltdown Revolution rolls onto Wii
Ignition Entertainment has announced that the Mercury series of puzzle games will arrive on the Wii next Spring, in the form of Mercury Meltdown Revolution. As it involves you tilting the playing field in order to guide a blob of mercury to its intended destination, it doesn't take any sort of scientist to make the mental connection between the game and the Wii's unique controller. Ignition president (and non-scientist), Paul Robinson, explains that "the original game design was intended for a tilt controller. Now gamers can fully interact with the Mercury blob, navigating through the labs with precision and unprecedented speed."The press release is quick to note other key features, such as the presence of over 150 levels, "advanced rendering techniques" and most importantly, "state of the art blob physics." Admittedly, we initially read that last one as something else entirely.
Mercury still making its way to Wii
Spring of '07 isn't exactly November of '06, but we'll take Mercury Meltdown Revolution whenever Ignition decides to give it to us. The popular puzzler, in which players guide a flowing blob of mercury throughout various environments ala Marble Madness. Except, y'know, with deadly liquid metal. Ignition Entertainment president Paul Robinson seemed excited about the upcoming title. "We are thrilled to bring Mercury Meltdown to this ground-breaking game console that truly reinvents the gaming experience." And we're thrilled to have you aboard!
