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Rumor: Alien Hominid HD on XBLA next week
Earlier this week somebody over at Xbox.com flipped the wrong switch and activated what looked to be the next set of games for Xbox Live Arcade. Although they quickly course corrected and pulled the page, the URL for Alien Hominid HD is still active. They've also updated a few bits of information to the page since accidentally posting and used a spell -check. The earlier new and "imprived" graphics are a sure sign the page was activated too early. The only thing that's a little sad is Alien Hominid looks to be only two player co-op locally, which means no blasting away with your buddy on the other side of our third rock from the sun. So, we don't know if Alien Hominid HD is ready to roll, but it sure looks like Xbox.com is locked, loaded, spell-checked and ready to go.
Alien Hominid HD reviewed
Our buddies at XBLArcade report that the latest issue of the Official Xbox Magazine contains a review for Alien Hominid HD for Xbox Live Arcade. The review cites the games unique visuals, excellent co-op, and nonstop action as the game's good points. The review also notes that the game is finished too quickly and that the minigames aren't really worth much playtime. Overall, the game receives a 7.5 out of 10. Not too shabby. Unfortunately, the review doesn't state how much the game will cost with it hits the Arcade. We're hoping the game will debut for 800 points or less.So there you go, Alien Hominid HD is pretty good. Now all we need is a release date.
The Political Game: Can you create a gaming city?
Each week Dennis McCauley contributes The Political Game, a column on the collision of politics and video games:At the vgXpo in Philly last weekend I was asked to serve on a panel discussing how to make Philadelphia into a video game Mecca. Tough question. Among life's imponderables, that's right up there.At first blush it seems like a mega-long shot. Sandwiched between New York and Washington, Philly has a long-standing municipal inferiority complex. And even though it's the nation's fourth largest metropolitan area (behind NYC, Los Angeles and Chicago), this Rodney Dangerfield of a town seemingly gets no respect.Although Philly area people are avid gamers, from a game development standpoint, there isn't a whole lot happening in or around the City of Brotherly Love. A suburban company, eGames, cranks out some nice casual fare for the PC crowd. Majesco, more familiar to console and handheld fans, is headquartered in New Jersey, closer to New York than Philly, truth be told. Maybe the most happening thing in town right now is Newgrounds.com, the Flash portal operated by Tom Fulp, who also designed the indie hit Alien Hominid.
Crashing castles on Xbox Live Arcade
Behemoth has announced that they are bringing Alien Hominid and a new original title to Xbox Live Arcade. The new title, Castle Crashers, is sure to remind many of old school beat 'em ups like Golden Axe and Guardian Heroes. The game features lots of enemies, 4 player co-op, and some serious action. Bonus points to Behemoth for making the characters look like the Black Knight (who, as you know, always triumphs). After you watch the gameplay video above, be sure and check out the official trailer on Xboxyde.I'm just going to abandon all journalistic objectivity here and say Castle Crashers looks like it's going to kick ass.[Via Joystiq]
Alien Hominid to crash land on XBLA this year [update 1]
There's two ways you could look at this, depending on how cynical and jaded you are. You could jump up and down knowing that Alien Hominid, one of the most successful and interesting indie games ever made, is coming to Microsoft's popular Xbox Live Arcade service this winter ... or you could grind your teeth knowing that your perfectly suitable Xbox copy isn't backwards compatible (yet?) so, if you want that side scrolling action, you'll be shelling out for the same game again. Granted, it was only $20 to begin with, and a $10 XBLA price would still keep the total well below your average AAA title, but it's the principle dammit! This is a slippery slope for Microsoft to be on. Cynical (and/or cheap) gamers have foretold the day when Microsoft would use future profits to determine the fate of backwards compatibility on a particular title. Conspiracy theorists will point to Alien Hominid's relatively spartan and humble graphics as proof positive that Redmond isn't playing fair. Of course, these accusations will be premature since there are certain to be more backcompat updates before the Fall console launches, but they'll be made regardless. Game Informer reports that Alien Hominid developer The Behemoth is also bringing their in development title Castle Crashers to XBLA in early 2007. For more indie-dev goodies, check out the excellent Gamasutra podcast this week for an interview with The Behemoth's John Baez. [Thanks, Shizzle] [Update 1: 1UP previewed the game at the Comic-Con expo that began today. They confirm the obligatory 360 upgrades like high-def and widescreen support, but also note that "the developers are looking into adding a few bonuses here and there to give the Live Arcade version something extra for players who are familiar with the original" but add "we don't have any details on that front at this point."]
