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Insecticide site gets overhaul
After the game was announced, we were excited to see what Insecticide was bringing to the DS table. We imagined a feast chock full of delicious foods, allowing us to gorge ourselves until our heart's content. Well, until that time when the game releases, we'll just have to settle for some screenshots from the game's website. Check them out in the gallery below.
E307: DS Insecticide trailer dances before our eyes
Insecticide combines a noir theme with visual elements of Psychonauts and personality-filled characters reminiscent of an adventure game. This is our first chance to see any of the actual DS version of the game, however, and something tells us the publisher doesn't want us to see it. The PC trailer certainly didn't get the shaky-cam treatment.Check after the break for a textbook example of how not to make a video game trailer. Seriously, this goes beyond poor editing or bad screen quality and into intentional obfuscation. But it's worth it to check it out, because Crackpot's game looks fantastic.
Today's scurriest video: Insecticide
Scheduled for release later this year, Insecticide could make an interesting adventure, as seen in its new backstory trailer. Insecticide is in the first crop of Gamecock titles strutting to market. This PC and DS game is created by Crackpot Entertainment, which boasts adventure game veterans with ties to the classic LucasArts hits.We're still unclear about the actual gameplay -- the companies involved say it'll be in that classic vein -- but the game's style already has our hopes high. See the video, and count the legs after the break.
The DS gets buggy
Gamecock Media, the new publisher formed by former Gathering of Developers executives, have announced a new DS game from Crackpot Entertainment: a "third-person shooter/detective game" called Insecticide. The game, also coming out for PC, stars Detectives Chrys Liszt and Roachy Caruthers as they attempt to solve a murder at the Nectarola soft drink company. In addition to shooting bad guys, players will have to investigate environments and clues using the stylus.We are loving the concept art. It's got a great detective-thriller atmosphere combined with Psychonauts styling, which is very appropriate for what looks and sounds a whole lot like an adventure game. Obviously this art is a little too hi-res for DS, but we hope they can pull off a similar look.%Gallery-3405%[Via press release]
Gamecock: former 'G.O.D.' heads launch indie-friendly publisher
Former Gathering of Developers executives Mike Wilson and Harry Miller are buck-buck-bucking the trend of safe bets (major licenses and sequels), founding an "independent, artist-driven" game publishing company dubbed Gamecock Media Group. "At least they're not infringing on my trademark: Gamepecker," approved Joystiq's Chris Grant. The Gamecock brand is symbolic of Wilson and Miller's "keep it fun" attitude, explained a rep from the 'cock pen,' adding that "Gamecock will just be a little name on the back [of the box]." This is an effort to spotlight independent developers and offer these studios the necessary freedom and financial incentives to contribute original content to the industry. "[Things] are getting stale. We aim to change that," vowed Wilson. Gamecock has announced the following five titles, which it plans to publish during the next few years, spanning PC, consoles, and handhelds: Fury (Auran) - PvP MMO game for PC; scheduled for release during 2007 holiday season Insecticide (Crackpot Entertainment) - film noir action-adventure game set in a decaying world run by bugs; available for the 2007 holiday season on handheld (TBA) and PC Mushroom Men (Red Fly Studios) - set in an incredibly detailed, stylized world where mushrooms have taken on human-like features and are now embroiled in a civil war; slated for a spring 2008 release on a "next-gen" console and handheld (both TBA) Hail to the Chimp (Wideload Games) - impossible-to-classify party game based on politics in the animal kingdom; scheduled for release in spring 2008 for "next-gen" consoles (TBA) Hero (Firefly Studios) - a brutal, but comical romp through the "real" world of medieval dungeons; coming to a "next-gen" console (TBA) and PC in spring 2009 %Gallery-1590%
UK drivers trust GPS more than their own eyes
We've heard reports before about the dangers of driving while under the influence of GPS, but it looks like drivers in the UK have taken trust of their navigation units to the extreme. Twice in the space of the last two weeks, we've seen reports of British drivers taking serious risks because they trust the info displayed on the small screen more than what they see through their windshield. In the most recent case, drivers passing through the village of Luckington have found themselves landing in the River Avon, by following a GPS-recommended route that pointed to a bridge that has been closed for a week. Despite warning signs on both sides of the road, and nothing but water straight ahead, local villagers have found themselves pulling an average of two cars a day out of the river for the past week. "When you ask what happened, they say, ‘My sat-nav told me it was this way,'" one resident told The Times. Meanwhile, the village of Crackpot (yes, that's really its name) has had to deal with drivers whose navigation systems have directed them to the edge of a cliff with a hundred-foot drop. So far, there have been no serious injuries, but drivers have found themselves stranded on a rocky path. "It's only a matter of time before something happens," said one resident. Listen, we like GPS as much as the next sense-of-direction-impaired driver. But we also do our best to use our eyes, as well. And if you don't, well, there's a village in England named for you, and it ain't Luckington.Read - LuckingtonRead - Crackpot
